Albert Einstein's theory of relativity, published 1905-17, challenged well-established principles and concepts of physics, yet was widely accepted by 1930, although doubts about the validity of the general theory persisted for decades. What were the reasons for its mostly-favorable reception by physicists, astronomers, and mathematicians? Was it the sensational confirmation of Einstein's prediction of a new phenomenon, the bending of starlight by the Sun's gravitational field, or just an accumulation of experimental facts that could not be explained by any other theory? (Does predicting a new fact count more than explaining an old one?) Was it a case of "social construction of scientific knowledge"? Or was the theory so beautiful it "had to be true"?

Dr. Stephen Brush is Distinguished University Professor of the History of Science, with a joint appointment in the Department of History and the Institute for Physical Science & Technology. He was a co-founder and occasional Chairperson of CHPS His most recent book is A History of Modern Planetary Physics (1996). He is on leave this year and holds a Guggenheim Fellowship, doing research on the reasons why scientists accept or reject theories.

Fall 1999