ALBERT EINSTEIN
NOBEL LECTURE
FUNDAMENTAL IDEAS AND PROBLEMS
OF THE THEORY OF RELATIVITY
Lecture delivered to the Nordic Assembly of Naturalists at Gothenburg,[1] July 11, 1923.
If we consider that part of the theory of relativity which may nowadays in a sense be regarded as bona fide scientific knowledge, we note two aspects which have a major bearing on this theory. The whole development of the theory turns on the question of whether there are physically preferred states of motion in Nature (physical relativity problem). Also, concepts and distinctions are only admissible to the extent that observable facts can be assigned to them without ambiguity (stipulation that concepts and distinctions should have meaning). This postulate, pertaining to epistemology, proves to be of fundamental importance.
These two aspects become clear when applied to a special case, e.g. to classical mechanics. Firstly we see that at any point filled with matter there exists a preferred state of motion, namely that of the substance at the point considered. Our problem starts however with the question whether physically preferred states of motion exist in reference to extensiveregions. From the viewpoint of classical mechanics the answer is in the affirmative; the physically preferred states of motion from the viewpoint of mechanics are those of the inertial frames.
This assertion, in common with the basis of the whole of mechanics as it generally used to be described before the relativity theory, far from meets the above "stipulation of meaning". Motion can only be conceived as the relative motion of bodies. In mechanics, motion relative to the system of coordinates is implied when merely motion is referred to. Nevertheless this interpretation does not comply with the "stipulation of meaning" if the coordinate system is considered as something purely imaginary. If we turn our attention to experimental physics we see that there the coordinate system is invariably represented by a "practically rigid" body. Furthermore it is assumed that such rigid bodies can be positioned in rest relative to one another in common with the bodies of Euclidian geometry. Insofar as we may think of the rigid measuring body as existing as an object which can be experienced, the "system of coordinates" concept as well as the concept of the motion of matter relative thereto can be accepted in the sense of the "stipulation of meaning". At the same time Euclidian geometry, by this conception, has been adapted to the requirements of the physics of the "stipulation of meaning". The question whether Euclidian geometry is valid becomes physically significant; its validity is assumed in classical physics and also later in the special theory of relativity.
In classical mechanics the inertial frame and time are best defined together by a suitable formulation of the law of inertia: It is possible to fix the time and assign a state of motion to the system of coordinates (inertial frame) such that, with reference to the latter, force-free material points undergo no acceleration; furthermore it is assumed that this time can be measured without disagreement by identical clocks (systems which run down periodically) in any arbitrary state of motion. There are then an infinite number of inertial frames which are in uniform translational motion relative to each other, and hence there is also an infinite number of mutually equivalent, physically preferred states of motion. Time is absolute, i.e. independent of the choice of the particular inertial frame; it is defined by more characteristics than logically necessary, although—as implied by mechanics—this should not lead to contradictions with experience. Note in passing that the logical weakness of this exposition from the point of view of the stipulation of meaning is the lack of an experimental criterion for whether a material point is force-free or not; therefore the concept of the inertial frame remains rather problematical. This deficiency leads to the general theory of relativity. We shall not consider it for the moment.
The concept of the rigid body (and that of the clock) has a key bearing on the foregoing consideration of the fundamentals of mechanics, a bearing which there is some justification for challenging. The rigid body is only approximately achieved in Nature, not even with desired approximation; this concept does not therefore strictly satisfy the "stipulation of meaning". It is also logically unjustifiable to base all physical consideration on the rigid or solid body and then finally reconstruct that body atomically by means of elementary physical laws which in turn have been determined by means of the rigid measuring body. I am mentioning these deficiencies of method because in the same sense they are also a feature of the relativity theory in the schematic exposition which I am advocating here. Certainly it would be logically more correct to begin with the whole of the laws and to apply the "stipulation of meaning" to this whole first, i.e. to put the unambiguous relation to the world of experience last instead of already fulfilling it in an imperfect form for an artificially isolated part, namely the space-time metric. We are not, however, sufficiently advanced in our knowledge of Nature's elementary laws to adopt this more perfect method without going out of our depth. At the close of our considerations we shall see that in the most recent studies there is an attempt, based on ideas by Levi-Civita, Weyl, and Eddington, to implement that logically purer method.
It more clearly follows from the above what is implied by "preferred states of motion". They are preferred as regards the laws of Nature. States of motion are preferred when, relative to the formulation of the laws of Nature, coordinate systems within them are distinguished in that with respect to them those laws assume a form preferred by simplicity. According to classical mechanics the states of motion of the inertial frames in this sense are physically preferred. Classical mechanics permits a distinction to be made between (absolutely) unaccelerated and accelerated motions; it also claims that velocities have only a relative existence (dependent on the selection of the inertial frame), while accelerations and rotations have an absolute existence (independent of the selection of the inertial frame). This state of affairs can be expressed thus: According to classical mechanics "velocity relativity" exists, but not "acceleration relativity". After these preliminary considerations we can pass to the actual topic of our contemplations, the relativity theory, by characterizing its development so far in terms of principles.