PLANCK, Max (1858-1947) - photo 1
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PLANCK, Max (1858-1947)

Lot 153
11.12.2024 14:00UTC +00:00
Classic
Starting price
£ 20 000
AuctioneerCHRISTIE'S
Event locationUnited Kingdom, London
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ID 1349696
Lot 153 | PLANCK, Max (1858-1947)
Estimate value
£ 20 000 – 30 000
PLANCK, Max (1858-1947)
‘Das Prinzip der Relativität und die Grundgleichungen der Mechanik’. Offprint from: Verhandlungen der Deutschen Physikalischen Gesellschaft, No. 8. Braunschweig: Friedrich Vieweg und Sohn, 1906.
Rare first edition, author's offprint issue, of the first public defence of Einstein’s theory of special relativity, from the library of pioneering theoretical physicist Arnold Sommerfeld (1868-1951). We are unable to trace any copy in auction records (RBH/ABSAA).

Published shortly after Einstein's groundbreaking work in 1905, Planck's paper defended the principle of relativity and examined its implications for mechanics. He corrects the values for the longitudinal and transverse mass by amending a slight mistake of the expression given by Einstein in 1905 and, ultimately, concludes that objections against the relativity principle are ‘insufficient to impede further investigation. The relativity principle appears to embody a physical idea of such “simplicity and generality” that it deserves thorough examination: “and there is no better way to do this than by examining the consequences it leads to”’ (Giovanelli). His enthusiasm was matched by his student Max von Laue, who would go on to write the first definitive monograph on relativity in 1911, and helped bring about contributions from a group of physicists including Arnold Sommerfeld, Max Born and Paul Ehrenfest, who helped lay the groundwork for Einstein's later development of general relativity.

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’ Giovanelli, M. ‘The practice of principles: Planck’s vision of a relativistic general dynamics’ Arch. Hist. Exact Sci. 78, 305–360 (2024).

Octavo (231 x 156mm). Paginated 136-141. Original printed wrappers. Provenance: Arnold Sommerfeld (1868-1951).
Address of auction CHRISTIE'S
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SW1Y 6QT London
United Kingdom
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11.12.2024 – 11.12.2024
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