Dynamic theory of gravity: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 19:48, 30 July 2006

Revision as of 20:04, 30 July 2006

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:''... Supposing that the bodies act upon the surrounding space causing curving of the same, it appears to my simple mind that the curved spaces must react on the bodies, and producing the opposite effects, straightening out the curves. Since action and reaction are coexistent, it follows that the supposed curvature of space is entirely impossible - But even if it existed it would not explain the [[Celestial mechanics|motions of the bodies]], as observed.'' <small>^[1]</small>

This statement appears to reflect several misconceptions concerning [[Albert Einstein]]'s theory of gravitation:

*In general relativity, it is ''spacetime'' which is curved by a gravitational field, not ''space''.

*General relativity does give a self-consistent description of the motion of celestial bodies.

*Also inIn 1937, Einstein, Infeld, and Hoffman argued that description in terms of geodesics of the motion of massive objects immersed in a gravitation field follows from the [[Einstein field equation]] of general relativity. To be fair, these arguments are not easy, and physicists to this day continue to try to improve them. However, they are generally regarded as essentially correct and can be supported.

All in all, Tesla's 1937 announcement appears to have made little or no impression upon contemporary physicists, perhaps because his statement appears to have been too vague to guess very much about the nature of his alleged theory, and appears to have been couched in language which was already receding into the distant past.