Über den Einfluß der Schwerkraft auf die Ausbreitung des lichtes. In Annalen der Physik 35

Leipzig: Johann Ambrosius Barth, 1911. The Genesis of General RelativityEinstein, Albert (1879-1955). (1) Elementare betrachtungen über die thermische molekularbewengung in festen Körpern. In Annalen der Physik 35 (9): 679-94 pp. [Weil 42]. (2) Über den Einfluß der Schwerkraft auf die Ausbreitung des lichtes. In Annalen der Physik 35 (10): 898-908 pp. [Weil *43]. Red cloth, gilt spine lettering. Figs. Text-illust. (214 x 140 mm). [Whole volume: viii, 1040 pp. + 6 plates (3 b/w silver photos, 1 colorized, 2 folding)]. Very good. Approximate English translations of titles: (1) "Elementary considerations about thermal molecular motion in solid bodies" and (truncated) (2) "On the influence of gravity on the propagation of light."

"Einstein returns to his thoughts on gravitation and discusses his ideas on the static gravitational field [no. 1, above], advancing the "half-shift" prediction of the deflection of light by a massive body such as the Sun. In his early papers on the subject . . . he used two important features: the principle of equivalence, and the role of the speed of light. In this paper he takes a broader perspective, saying that if a light beam is bent in an accelerating frame of reference, then (if the theory is correct) it must also be besnt by gravity by exactly the equivalent amount." (Calaprice, An Einstein Encyclopedia). "An important conclusion of this paper is that the velocity of light in a gravitational field is a function of the place. The equation: c = c0[(1 + ) / c2] signifies that there exists a relationship between the velocity of light and the gravitational potential; the latter influences the first." (Weinstein, Einstein's 1912-1913 struggles with Gravitation Theory: Importance of Static Gravitational Fields Theory).

"Here [no. 2, above] Einstein continues the work he had begun in 1907 on the specific heat of solids, where the heat agitation of solids was reduced to a monochromatic oscillation of the atom, and the specific heat was determined based on the quantum treatment of an oscillator in a radiation field. He explains the discrepencies between his formula and the measurements at low temperatures" (Calaprice, An Einstein Encyclopedia).

Weil's Einstein Bibliography, nos. 42 and *43. Boni's Einstein Checklist, nos. 38, 39. . (Inventory #: 50424)