Handwritten scientific notes on relativity theory by Albert Einstein, one page both sides, 8.25 x 13, no date but circa 1912–1915, identified at upper left in pencil by his secretary Helen Dukas, "A.E.'s Handwriting, H.D." This exceedingly rare, early autograph scientific manuscript by Albert Einstein features mathematical formulas and diagrams from the period of Einstein’s work extending special relativity into general relativity. The calculations in this manuscript pertain to the problem of the equation of motion for a material particle in the context of the special theory of relativity. Details of the calculations concern the ponderomotive forces arising from pressure gradients and from stresses. The calculations employ compact four-dimensional tensor notation, which Einstein began using only in 1912. Einstein adopted tensor notation after the publication of Minkowski’s 'Die Grundgleichungen für die elektromatnetischen Vorgänge in bewegten Körpern' (1908), in which Minkowski reformulated Einstein’s special theory of relativity by introducing four-dimensional (space-time) non-Euclidean geometry; this 'began the enormous formal simplification of special relativity' (Pais, Subtle is the Lord, p. 152).
While Einstein was initially reluctant to use Minkowksi’s advancements, he later 'acknowledged his indebtedness to Minkowski for having greatly facilitated the transition from special to general relativity' (Pais, p. 152). Dating the manuscript to the years just after 1912, and most likely from 1914-1915, is confirmed by the existence of thematically similar notes in The Collected Papers of Albert Einstein, vol. 4, Doc. 1, sec. 4 (dated 1912–1914), and vol. 6, Doc. 7, p. 58 (dated Oct. 1914–March 1915).
From 1912 onward, when Einstein returned from Prague to Zurich, he was intensely and incessantly involved in trying to generalize his special relativity theory from inertial to accelerated frames of reference. The effort included two years of collaboration with his friend Marcel Grossmann in Zurich, and then continued work in Berlin from spring 1914 onward, where Einstein took up a specially designated research chair sponsored by the Prussian Academy of Sciences. He achieved a successful result by November 1915, when he presented four communications of his new General Theory to the Prussian Academy.
We can trace only two auction records for working scientific notes in which Einstein is working on relativity: the present example and the famed Einstein-Besso correspondence. While most Einstein autograph material on the market is in the form of letters to friends or colleagues, or drafts of papers to be published, the present manuscript gives us a glimpse of Einstein doing what he did best—original research. It clearly illustrates his highly visual way of thinking, for the manuscript contains several illustrative diagrams alongside mathematical formulas. In fine condition. Housed in a custom-made burgundy cloth presentation folder with quarter-morocco slipcase. In fine condition.
Provenance:
–Sotheby’s sale of June 26, 1998
–Acquired by historian of physics Jagdish Mehra (1931-2008). Mehra was a major figure in documenting the history of 20th-century science and the author of numerous books, including the highly regarded 6-volume The Historical Development of Quantum Theory.
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