Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 1997 Jan 10;275(5297):184-6.
doi: 10.1126/science.275.5297.184.

The Origin of Gravitational Lensing: A Postscript to Einstein's 1936 Science Paper

J Renn  1 , T Sauer, J Stachel
Affiliations

The Origin of Gravitational Lensing: A Postscript to Einstein's 1936 Science Paper

J Renn et al. Science. .

Abstract

Gravitational lensing, now taken as an important astrophysical consequence of the general theory of relativity, was found even before this theory was formulated but was discarded as a speculative idea without any chance of empirical confirmation. Reconstruction of some of Einstein's research notes dating back to 1912 reveals that he explored the possibility of gravitational lensing 3 years before completing his general theory of relativity. On the basis of preliminary insights into this theory, Einstein had already derived the basic features of the lensing effect. When he finally published the very same results 24 years later, it was only in response to prodding by an amateur scientist.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

  • Gravitational Lensing in Astronomy.
    Wambsganss J. Wambsganss J. Living Rev Relativ. 1998;1(1):12. doi: 10.12942/lrr-1998-12. Epub 1998 Nov 2. Living Rev Relativ. 1998. PMID: 28937183 Free PMC article. Review.

LinkOut - more resources