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In theoretical physics, Whitehead's theory of gravitation was introduced by the distinguished mathematician and philosopher Alfred North Whitehead in 1922.
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Principal features of the theory
Whitehead's theory is said to feature a prior geometry. It has the curious feature that electromagnetic waves propagate along null geodesics of the physical spacetime (as defined by the metric determined from geometrical measurements and timing experiments), while gravitational waves propagate along null geodesics of a flat background represented by the metric tensor of Minkowski spacetime.
Tests of Whitehead's theory
Whitehead's theory makes the same predictions as general relativity regarding the four classical solar system tests (gravitational red shift, light bending, perihelion shift, Shapiro time delay), and was regarded as a viable competitor of general relativity for several decades. Clifford M. Will claims that the theory makes predictions concerning ordinary ocean tides on Earth which are in violent disagreement with observation, which immediately nullified this theory.[1]
In 1989, a new interpretation of Whitehead's theory was proposed that accorded with those observed tidal effects.[2] However, the new interpretation did not satisfy another observed effect, called the "Nordtvedt Effect."
Footnotes
- ^ Will, Clifford & Gibbons, Gary. "On the Multiple Deaths of Whitehead's Theory of Gravity", to be submitted to Studies In History And Philosophy Of Modern Physics (2006).
- ^ Hyman, Andrew. "A New Interpretation of Whitehead's Theory", 104B Il Nuovo Cimento 387 (1989).
See also
References
- Will, Clifford M. (1993). Was Einstein Right?: Putting General Relativity to the Test, 2nd ed.. Basic Books. ISBN 0-465-09086-9.
- Misner, Charles; Thorne, Kip S. & Wheeler, John Archibald (1973). Gravitation. San Francisco: W. H. Freeman. ISBN 0-7167-0344-0. discusses Whitehead's theory in various places.
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