The Origin of Gravitational Lensing: A Postscript to Einstein's
1936 Science Paper
Jürgen Renn,
Tilman Sauer,
John Stachel
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.
J. Renn and T. Sauer, Max Planck Institute for the History of
Science, Wilhelmstrasse 44, D-10117 Berlin, Germany.
J. Stachel, Department of Physics, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215, USA.
