"Weyl considered an aspect about general relativity... the nonpreservation of direction in a curved space. ...[He] decided to consider the possibility that length was also not preserved. ...To effect this change mathematically, Weyl had to make a slight modification in the structure of general relativity. He assumed that in addition to the usual metric (set of numbers or variables) that described the gravitational field, there was another one related to length. ...amazingly when the result was analyzed Maxwell's equations mysteriously appeared. It almost seemed as if a bit of magic had occurred and scientists quickly became interested in the miracle. ...but with detailed analysis the theory was shown to be flawed. Einstein was the first to put his finger on the flaw. ...Weyl soon acknowledged the flaw and laid his theory to rest. It may have been a failure (actually it was not an entire failure; a similar idea is used today in modern field theory), but it did accomplish something important: it got people interested in the possibility that the electromagnetic and gravitational field could be unified. Einstein soon began working on an alternative theory, as did others."
Quote Details
Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Unverified quote
0 likes
Academics from GermanyMathematicians from GermanyPhysicists from GermanyPhilosophers from GermanyNon-fiction authors from Germany
Original Language: English
Available Languages (1)
Sources
Barry Parker, Einstein's Dream: The Search for a Unified Theory of the Universe (1986)
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Hermann_Weyl
Revision History
No revisions have been submitted for this quote.
Categories
Related Quotes
"The introduction of numbers as coordinates by reference to the particular division scheme of the open one dimensional…"
"Cartan developed a general scheme of infinitesimal geometry in which Klein's notions were applied to the tangent plan…"
"Important though the general concepts and propositions may be with which the modern industrious passion for axiomatiz…"
"On a certain level of generality A which I call the ground level, you have certain theorems that have been proved and…"
"Symmetry is a vast subject, significant in art and nature. Mathematics lies at its root, and it would be hard to find…"
"This letter, if judged by the novelty and profundity of ideas it contains, is perhaps the most substantial piece of w…"
"In my work, I have always tried to unite the true with the beautiful; but when I had to choose one or the other, I us…"
"We cannot hope to give here a final clarification of the essence of fact, judgement, object, property; this task lead…"
"It seems clear that [set theory] violates against the essence of the continuum, which, by its very nature, cannot at …"
"In these days the angel of topology and the devil of abstract algebra fight for the soul of each individual mathemati…"