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Famous Scientists, Doctors and Inventors / Re: Did Einstein steal HA Lorentz's idea?
« on: 24/04/2017 17:17:30 »
As an (experimental) physicist, may I make the following observations:
yes, Lorentz was one of the most important physicists;
anecdote: Einstein refused Lorentz' chair, as he felt he did not stand up to the great Lorentz . . .
no, I would not say Einstein stole Lorentz ideas: Einstein was brilliant in his understanding (but was not a brilliant mathematical physicist, as were Lorentz, Bose and others).
The important contribution Einstein made was combining his expertise with free thinking: while Lorentz and others had basically proofed the special relativity, they simply could not accept the results and the consequences, and therefore continued to assume the equations were not correct.
Einstein, however, gave the correct interpretation, and further developed the ideas . . .
A fundamental contribution, that only Einstein appeared to be able to make . . .
yes, Lorentz was one of the most important physicists;
anecdote: Einstein refused Lorentz' chair, as he felt he did not stand up to the great Lorentz . . .
no, I would not say Einstein stole Lorentz ideas: Einstein was brilliant in his understanding (but was not a brilliant mathematical physicist, as were Lorentz, Bose and others).
The important contribution Einstein made was combining his expertise with free thinking: while Lorentz and others had basically proofed the special relativity, they simply could not accept the results and the consequences, and therefore continued to assume the equations were not correct.
Einstein, however, gave the correct interpretation, and further developed the ideas . . .
A fundamental contribution, that only Einstein appeared to be able to make . . .