Mach's Principle and a Relativistic Theory of Gravitation

1961/11/01 by C. Brans, Carl H. Brans, R. H. Dicke · 1 voice · 61 citations
Physics and Astronomy · #Cosmology and Gravitation Theories #Quantum Mechanics and Applications #Relativity and Gravitational Theory

paper · doi:10.1103/physrev.124.925

openalex publication_date 1961/11/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/30

Abstract

The role of Mach's principle in physics is discussed in relation to the equivalence principle. The difficulties encountered in attempting to incorporate Mach's principle into general relativity are discussed. A modified relativistic theory of gravitation, apparently compatible with Mach's principle, is developed.

Citations

• Upper Limit for the Anisotropy of Inertial Mass from Nuclear Resonance Experiments
• On the Origin of Inertia

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Discussions

• Sciama's 1953 paper was not a fringe work and is still reasonably well-known - Google Scholar reports ~300 citations in the last ten years – but its importance was not as an experimentally testable th [stackexchange, 4 points]

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