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The great triumph of the theory of relativity lies in its absorbing the universal force of gravitation into one geometric structure... Einstein's achievements would be substantially as great even though it were not for... observational tests.

— Howard P. Robertson Geometry as a Branch of Physics (1949)

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Source: "Geometry as a Branch of Physics," (1949) from Albert Einstein: Philosopher-Scientist, ed. Paul Arthur Schlipp.
Work: Geometry as a Branch of Physics, 1949
Source quality: Source identified Names the work or year, but without an exact location.

More by Howard P. Robertson

An "empty world," i.e., a homogeneous manifold at all points at which equations (1) are satisfied, has, according to the theory, a constant Riemann curvature, and any deviation from this fundamental solution is to be directly attributed to the influence of matter or energy.

On Relativistic Cosmology (1928)

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This... is an outrageously over-simplified account of the assumptions and procedures...

Geometry as a Branch of Physics (1949)

We have merely (!) to measure the volume V of a sphere of radius r or the sum \sigma of the angles of a triangle of measured are \delta, and from the results to compute the value of K.

Geometry as a Branch of Physics (1949)

In all these congruence geometries, except the Euclidean, there is at hand a natural unit of length R = \frac{1}{K^\frac{1}{2; this length we shall, without prejudice, call the "radius of curvature" of the space.

Geometry as a Branch of Physics (1949)

We should, of course, expect that any universe which expands without limit will approach the empty de Sitter case, and that its ultimate fate is a state in which each physical unit—perhaps each nebula or intimate group of nebulae—is the only thing which exists within its own observable universe.

[O]nly in a homogeneous and isotropic space can the traditional concept of a rigid body be maintained.

Geometry as a Branch of Physics (1949)

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