Sir Arthur Eddington (1882-1944) was quite a lucky man. He was a Quaker, which helped keep him out of World War I. He also had a talent for being at the right place at the right time. A mathematically inclined English astronomer, he happened to be working as a secretary at the Royal Astronomical Society when Dutch astronomer Willem de Sitter (1872-1934)’s letters and papers on Einstein’s new theory of general relativity began arriving in England. Quick to comprehend the implications of Einstein’s ideas, already in 1916 Eddington became a supporter of Einstein. This despite the fact that the theory had been formulated by a German at a time when anti-German sentiments were at an all-time high in England due to the war. Eddington, a pacifist, was among the first to teach the theory in the West (both at Cambridge University and at a meeting of the British Association). In 1918, he also produced a report on the theory for the Physical Society
Beautiful piece. It's intriguing to see how earlier scientists like Cavendish and Soldner had touched upon concepts that Einstein would later formalize in his general theory of relativity. This underscores the evolutionary nature of scientific ideas, where new theories build upon the groundwork laid by predecessors, sometimes unknowingly.
Beautiful piece. It's intriguing to see how earlier scientists like Cavendish and Soldner had touched upon concepts that Einstein would later formalize in his general theory of relativity. This underscores the evolutionary nature of scientific ideas, where new theories build upon the groundwork laid by predecessors, sometimes unknowingly.