Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astrophysics
Scientific paper
Dec 2006
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2006aas...20910802c&link_type=abstract
2007 AAS/AAPT Joint Meeting, American Astronomical Society Meeting 209, #108.02; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society,
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astrophysics
Scientific paper
It is common belief that Einstein’s general theory of relativity won worldwide acceptance after British astronomers announced in November 1919 that the sun’s gravitational field bends starlight by an amount predicted by Einstein. This paper demonstrates that the case for Einstein was not settled until much later and that there was considerable confusion and debate about relativity during this period. Most astronomers considered Einstein’s general theory too metaphysical and abstruse, and many tried to find more conventional explanations of the astronomical observations. Two American announcements before the British results appeared had been contrary to Einstein’s prediction. They came from Lick and Mt. Wilson observatories, which enjoyed international reputations as two of the most advanced astrophysical research establishments in the world. Astronomers at these renowned institutions were instrumental in swaying the court of scientific opinion during the decade of the 1920s, which saw numerous attempts to measure light-bending, as well as solar line displacements and even ether-drift. How astronomers approached the “Einstein problem” in these early years before and after the First World War, and how the public reacted to what they reported, helped to shape attitudes we hold today about Einstein and his ideas.
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