EINSTEIN, Albert (1879-1955) - photo 1
EINSTEIN, Albert (1879-1955) - photo 2
EINSTEIN, Albert (1879-1955) - photo 3

EINSTEIN, Albert (1879-1955)

Lot 159
11.12.2024 00:00UTC +00:00
Classic
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CHRISTIE'S
AuctioneerCHRISTIE'S
Event locationUnited Kingdom, London
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ID 1349711
Lot 159 | EINSTEIN, Albert (1879-1955)
Estimate value
£ 10 000 – 15 000
EINSTEIN, Albert (1879-1955)
‘Die Feldgleichungen der Gravitation.’ Offprint from: Offprint from: Sitzungsberichte der Königlich Preussischen Akademie der Wissenschaften. Sitzung der physikach-mathematischen Klasse vom 25. November. XLVIII. Berlin: 1915
Extremely rare first edition, author’s offprint issue, of the first consistent formulation of Einstein's general theory of relativity, containing the final form of Einstein's gravitational field equations; from the library of the pioneering theoretical physicist Arnold Sommerfeld (1868-1951). This paper presented a revolutionary new understanding of gravity, replacing Newton's ‘action-at-a-distance’ law of gravity with a view of gravity as a curvature of space-time. This new perspective laid the foundation for a modern understanding of the universe on the largest of scales, from black holes to the Big Bang model. This paper itself demonstrates a remarkable synthesis of mathematical and physical insights, with Einstein’s use of the Riemann and Ricci tensors presenting equations that are truly covariant, incorporating all forms of motion (inertial, accelerated, rotational, and arbitrary).

The work had immediate and long-lasting scientific implications, for instance explaining the anomalous perihelion advance of Mercury, predicting the deflection of starlight by the Sun (confirmed by observation in 1919), and laid the groundwork for understanding gravitational collapse and black holes.

Arnold Sommerfeld was a German theoretical physicist who made significant contributions to atomic and quantum physics. He extended Niels Bohr's atomic model by introducing elliptical orbits for electrons and proposed additional quantum numbers, including the azimuthal and magnetic quantum numbers. Sommerfeld also introduced the fine-structure constant, contributed to X-ray wave theory, and co-discovered the Sommerfeld-Wilson quantization rules. His seminal work ‘Atombau und Spektrallinien’ became a foundational text for the new generation of physicists developing atomic and quantum physics. Sommerfeld was an exceptional educator, mentoring 7 Nobel Prize winners and numerous other prominent physicists. Despite being nominated for the Nobel Prize a record 84 times, he never received the award. Nevertheless, he was honoured with several prestigious accolades, including the Lorentz Medal, the Max-Planck Medal, and the Oersted Medal, and was elected to numerous scientific academies worldwide. In 1918, Sommerfeld succeeded Einstein as chair of the Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft, and in 1922 Einstein wrote to his successor: ‘What I especially admire about you is that you have, as it were, pounded out of the soil such a large number of young talents’ (A. Pais, ‘Subtle is the Lord...’: The Science and Life of Albert Einstein, 1982).

This author's offprint can be distinguished from the normal 'trade' edition by the statement 'Überreicht vom Verfasser' on the wrapper. Extremely rare; we have not been able to trace any copy appearing at auction (RBH/ABSAA). BRL 76; Weil 77.

Octavo (253 x 178mm). Publisher's printed wrappers (faint vertical creasefold). Provenance: Arnold Sommerfeld (red chinagraph numbering and underlining on upper wrapper).
Address of auction CHRISTIE'S
8 King Street, St. James's
SW1Y 6QT London
United Kingdom
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11.12.2024 – 11.12.2024
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