Lorentz on special relativity

From: Harry (harald.vanlintel_at_epfl.ch)
Date: 01/13/05 

Date: Thu, 13 Jan 2005 17:34:02 +0100

As Einstein admitted, SRT was a development of Lorentz and himself. But the
fable continues to be spread that Lorentz had an ether theory that was
replaced by SRT so that the stationary ether concept was abolished, and that
Lorentz accepted Einstein's philosophy on that point.

Therefore it may be instructive to be aware of the following text by
Lorentz.
After explaining kinematical transformations by use of the stationary ether
concept, Lorentz remarked:

"Of course, the description of natural phenomena and the testing of what the
theory of relativity has to say about them can be carried out independently
of what one thinks of the aether and the time. From a physical point of view
these questions can be left on one side, and especially the question of the
true time can be handed over to the theory of knowledge.
The modern physicists, as Einstein and Minkowski, speak no longer about
aether at all [footnote: See, however, Einstein's address "Aether und
Relativitaetstheorie", Univ. Leiden, 1920"]. This, however, is a question of
taste and words. For, whether there is an aether or not, electromagnetic
fields certainly exist, and so also does the energy of the electrical
oscillations. If we do not like the name of "aether", we must use another
word as a peg to hang all these things upon. It is not certain whether
"space" can be extended so as to take care not only of the geometrical
properties but also of the electric ones.
One cannot deny to the bearer of these properties a certain substantiality,
and if so, then one may, in all modesty, call true time the time measured by
clocks which are fixed in this medium, and consider simultaneity as a
primary concept."

 - The Principle of Relativity for uniform translations (1910-1912),
Lectures on Theoretical Physics Vol.III, 1931 (authorised translation of the
Dutch version of 1922).

Harald

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