25 September 1930

Name: Seeking 'the whole basis for physics'
Brand: 25 September 1930
Price: 8000.00 USD
Availability: SoldOut

Price Realised USD 10,000

Estimate

USD 8,000 - USD 12,000

Closed: 6 Dec 2017

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Seeking 'the whole basis for physics'

25 September 1930

Price Realised USD 10,000

Closed: 6 Dec 2017

Price Realised USD 10,000

Closed: 6 Dec 2017

Details Lot Essay Related Articles More from

Albert Einstein (1879-1955). Autograph letter signed (‘Albert’) to Michele Besso, n.p., 25 September 1930.

In German, one page, 279 x 215mm, on graph paper.

Please note this lot is the property of a private consignor.

Apparently unpublished: not in Pierre Speziali (ed.) Albert Einstein. Michele Besso. Correspondance 1903-1955. Paris: Hermann, 1972

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Lot Essay

Einstein has not made as much progress [with his Unified Field Theory] as his sister Maja has led Besso to believe: 'The recent advances are of a purely mathematical nature. I have succeeded with my collaborator Dr Mayer in systematicallly going through all field laws which identically fulfil two divergence relations. This is less straightforward than the Riemann case. But the mathematical system is rather more natural than Riemann's ...'. He will explain in more detail when they see each other. 'The path to a physical testing is in no way simple; but the whole conception is natural and must in any case be completely thought through ... It is uncommonly appealing to try to derive the whole basis of physics in a similarly deductive way, as general relativity succeeded in doing for gravitation'. Einstein hopes to stop and see Besso in Berne on his way to Zurich; he apologises for such a short letter, as he is 'terribly overburdened with writing'.