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ALS in German, signed “A. Einstein,” one page both sides, 8.5 x 11, c. December 1928–January 1929. Handwritten letter to German mathematician Chaim Herman Muntz, writing from "Gatow." In full (translated): "There was no doubt a kernel of truth in my note. But the solution cannot be quite like what I had imagined. First of all, the following identity remains fundamental: [mathematical equation, labeled (1)].
But the field equations for gravitation cannot be given simply by [more mathematical equations, labeled (2) and (3)].
While (2) indeed fulfills two vector identities in first approximation, this is not exactly the case. Those identities do, however, exist, if instead of (2), we set [mathematical equation, marked (2a)].
whereby (3) remains as it is. This follows from certain commutation relations for taking the divergence. That (2a) and (3) are still not sufficient, but that one instead requires 4 more equations for the or the , appears to be certain. In spite of all my efforts, I have not yet been able to find any sort of compelling path to their derivation. But I suspect that another identity, of scalar character, must be important for that however, I have not yet been able to find it. There is no point in your carrying out any more calculations until you have visited me again, it would be too troublesome to write everything out. I am quite firmly convinced that the solution of our problem is quite close, but it will require a few more happy inspirations." In fine condition.
Published as part of The Collected Papers of Albert Einstein, Volume 16: The Berlin Years: Writings & Correspondence, June 1927-May 1929 (English Translation Supplement), Document 352, p. 334.
Einstein began his correspondence with Muntz in 1927, and in 1928 was writing to him on 'distant parallelism,' an extension of Riemannian geometry in which new mathematical objects, called 'tetrads' are introduced, which allow for the comparison of the direction of vectors at distant points of the spacetime. This letter relates to those investigations, which Einstein felt to be important as a mathematical attempt at a unified field theory—the incorporation of electromagnetism and gravitation in a single field theory. Although he published a number of papers on the subject from 1928 to 1931, the work is considered inaccurate and not recognized by physicists of today.
During this period Einstein was working closely with colleagues Herman Muntz and Cornelius Lantz on formalizing the 'Unified Field Theory of Gravitational Force and Electromagnetism.' Einstein’s article 'On Unified Field Theory' was presented on January 10, 1929, and published on January 30, 1929, by the Prussian Academy of Sciences. In the article he discloses the final stages of the development of this theory, and it reveals critical stages in the solution that he presents. The theory tried to achieve one unified formula that would unite the electromagnetic and gravitational fields and present them as different manifestations of a single universal force. At the article's close, Einstein expresses appreciation for Muntz's assistance: 'It is my pleasant duty to thank Dr. H. Müntz for his laboriously precise calculation of the centrally symmetric problem on the basis of Hamilton’s principle the results of his calculation suggested to me the method used here.'
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