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Autograph letter signed ('Planck') to [Ludwik Silberstein], Berlin-Grunewald, 19 October 1919
Details
Max Planck (1858-1947)
Autograph letter signed ('Planck') to [Ludwik Silberstein], Berlin-Grunewald, 19 October 1919
In German. Four pages, 219 x 141mm, bifolium, annotated by the recipient at upper left corner of p.1. Housed in a custom cloth box.
The originator of quantum theory hails the perfection of general relativity. Planck reacts to a report sent by Silberstein of the meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science at which Arthur Eddington had made the initial announcement of his experimental confirmation of general relativity, commenting that the report is more equivocal than he expected: 'According to this report, the situation there [i.e. in Britain] is somewhat different from what I thought; for here, the prevailing view is that the displacement effect of light rays towards the sun has been unequivocally proven'. He goes on to sum up his feelings about general relativity:
'What do I think of Einstein's theory of gravitation? Unfortunately I cannot say in a single word. Initially, I found this theory very unappealing, especially because of the limiting conditions at infinity, even though I found no logical contradiction in it. Over time, however, I grew accustomed to point of view of this theory and became increasingly receptive to the beauty of the roundedness it offers. Even my concerns about the limiting conditions at infinity faded when Einstein introduced the hypothesis that space is closed in itself, and therefore has no boundaries at all.
I therefore believe that the decision can only be reached through success, namely through experience, and that is precisely why your reports on the results of the review of the various measurements are so extraordinarily interesting to me'.
Planck concludes with a cautious reaction to a counter-theory of Silberstein's: 'it would certainly be of the utmost importance if this theory were to lead to a positive, measurable effect in any field. For demonstrating such an effect would undoubtedly be far more beneficial to it than demonstrating the absence of Einstein effects'. In the opening pages of the letter, Planck expresses his delight that Silberstein is working towards the resumption of international scientific exchange (interrupted by the First World War), 'truly a noble aim', and he approves the project of limiting initial exchanges to mathematics, being 'furthest removed from all material and selfish interests'. Silberstein is welcome to use parts of a recent lecture of Planck's to support this initiative, but it is essential that Planck's involvement in this publication should be kept a secret, as this might otherwise prove counterproductive.
Arthur Eddington had made an initial announcement of his photographic data of the solar eclipse at a meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science in Bournemouth on 12 September: at this stage, measurements indicated a deflection of light somewhere between the predictions of Newton and Einstein's new theory. Interestingly, the version of events which reached Einstein (via H.A. Lorentz) was that 'the English expeditions have really verified the deflection of light by the sun' (letter to his mother, 27 September), and Planck had clearly hear much the same. In fact, the more convincing data, combining Eddington's observations with those from Greenwich and Cambridge, was not published until 6 November, at a joint meeting of the Royal Society and Royal Astronomical Society. It was this result which made front-page news and propelled Einstein to a level of fame hitherto unknown by any scientist.
'Planck was the first major figure to recognize Einstein’s seminal 1905 work on relativity theory, and he became Einstein’s greatest champion in the world of science and one of his closest personal friends' (Stone, Einstein and the Quantum (2013) 6). It was thanks to Planck, as dean of Berlin University, that Einstein moved to Berlin in 1914 to a professorship specially created for him. The recipient, the Polish-American physicist Ludwik Silberstein (1872-1948), had published an early textbook on relativity in 1914, which he expanded to include general relativity in 1924: nevertheless, in 1935 he garnered some publicity by ostensibly identifying a fundamental flaw in Einstein's field equations.
Autograph letter signed ('Planck') to [Ludwik Silberstein], Berlin-Grunewald, 19 October 1919
In German. Four pages, 219 x 141mm, bifolium, annotated by the recipient at upper left corner of p.1. Housed in a custom cloth box.
The originator of quantum theory hails the perfection of general relativity. Planck reacts to a report sent by Silberstein of the meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science at which Arthur Eddington had made the initial announcement of his experimental confirmation of general relativity, commenting that the report is more equivocal than he expected: 'According to this report, the situation there [i.e. in Britain] is somewhat different from what I thought; for here, the prevailing view is that the displacement effect of light rays towards the sun has been unequivocally proven'. He goes on to sum up his feelings about general relativity:
'What do I think of Einstein's theory of gravitation? Unfortunately I cannot say in a single word. Initially, I found this theory very unappealing, especially because of the limiting conditions at infinity, even though I found no logical contradiction in it. Over time, however, I grew accustomed to point of view of this theory and became increasingly receptive to the beauty of the roundedness it offers. Even my concerns about the limiting conditions at infinity faded when Einstein introduced the hypothesis that space is closed in itself, and therefore has no boundaries at all.
I therefore believe that the decision can only be reached through success, namely through experience, and that is precisely why your reports on the results of the review of the various measurements are so extraordinarily interesting to me'.
Planck concludes with a cautious reaction to a counter-theory of Silberstein's: 'it would certainly be of the utmost importance if this theory were to lead to a positive, measurable effect in any field. For demonstrating such an effect would undoubtedly be far more beneficial to it than demonstrating the absence of Einstein effects'. In the opening pages of the letter, Planck expresses his delight that Silberstein is working towards the resumption of international scientific exchange (interrupted by the First World War), 'truly a noble aim', and he approves the project of limiting initial exchanges to mathematics, being 'furthest removed from all material and selfish interests'. Silberstein is welcome to use parts of a recent lecture of Planck's to support this initiative, but it is essential that Planck's involvement in this publication should be kept a secret, as this might otherwise prove counterproductive.
Arthur Eddington had made an initial announcement of his photographic data of the solar eclipse at a meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science in Bournemouth on 12 September: at this stage, measurements indicated a deflection of light somewhere between the predictions of Newton and Einstein's new theory. Interestingly, the version of events which reached Einstein (via H.A. Lorentz) was that 'the English expeditions have really verified the deflection of light by the sun' (letter to his mother, 27 September), and Planck had clearly hear much the same. In fact, the more convincing data, combining Eddington's observations with those from Greenwich and Cambridge, was not published until 6 November, at a joint meeting of the Royal Society and Royal Astronomical Society. It was this result which made front-page news and propelled Einstein to a level of fame hitherto unknown by any scientist.
'Planck was the first major figure to recognize Einstein’s seminal 1905 work on relativity theory, and he became Einstein’s greatest champion in the world of science and one of his closest personal friends' (Stone, Einstein and the Quantum (2013) 6). It was thanks to Planck, as dean of Berlin University, that Einstein moved to Berlin in 1914 to a professorship specially created for him. The recipient, the Polish-American physicist Ludwik Silberstein (1872-1948), had published an early textbook on relativity in 1914, which he expanded to include general relativity in 1924: nevertheless, in 1935 he garnered some publicity by ostensibly identifying a fundamental flaw in Einstein's field equations.
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Eugenio Donadoni
Senior Specialist, Medieval & Renaissance Manuscripts