Quote:
Originally Posted by Farsight
jedaisoul: there's a great deal of confusion about aether. Do note Einstein's Leyden address in 1920:
..according to the general theory of relativity, space is endowed with physical qualities; in this sense, therefore, there exists an ether. According to the general theory of relativity space without ether is unthinkable; for in such space there not only would be no propagation of light, but also no possibility of existence for standards of space and time (measuring-rods and clocks), nor therefore any space-time intervals in the physical sense. But this ether may not be thought of as endowed with the quality characteristic of ponderable inedia, as consisting of parts which may be tracked through time. The idea of motion may not be applied to it.
Personally I think the flaws are interpretational, with people saying "Einstein meant this" instead of actually reading what he said. For example, in the original GR translation there's not one mention of curved spacetime.
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Thank you Farsight for this comment. Re the original GR paper, I assume you are referring to a translation of Annalen der Physik, 49, 1916. I've just briefly re-read it (the translation), and agree that there is no mention of curved space time. I agree that it is vital to refer back to the original works.
However, I'm not sure that the quotation from the Leyden address does answer the problem. I deliberately tried to avoid the question of whether space is a material entity in GR by pointing out the apparent flaw in both alternatives. In what way does Leyden resolve this?
Thank again for your time, and interest in the issue.