[EVE] PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS S 



As regard such phenomena, however, Maxwell's equations are 

 capable of verifying and predicting results. The load, so to speak, is 

 adjusted correctly between magnetic and electric, for all velocities. 



May I now present some further oddities which result from the 

 Principles of Relativity and Equivalence, principles which modify in so 

 profound a manner our outlook on the general scheme of the universe. 



Let us assume that there is a genuine bending of space in the neigh- 

 bourhood of the sun, or other matter, so that Euclidean space away 

 from matter becomes non-Euclidean in its neighbourhood ; so that the 

 ratio of circumference to diameter of a circle is no longer tt; so that 

 Mercury no longer returns on its previous orbit but advances its 

 perihelion; so that light is no longer bent Newtonian-wise, but to 

 double that extent. Supposing all that, what happens inside matter ? 



The answer is given concisely enough. The analogy is fairly 

 close to the difference between the nature of the gravitational potential 

 or electrostatic potential, in matter or an electrically charged space, 

 when V^F= —^np (Poisson) in place of V^F = o (Laplace), where the 

 density of matter or charge is p or o respectively. Inside water the 

 radius of curvature of space is 570,000,000 kilometres. Eddington 

 adds "Presumably, if a globe of water of this radius existed, there 

 would not be room in space for anything else." 



On which Lindemann comments "I regret the tendency to 

 emphasize the metaphysical rather than the physical interpretation 

 of Einstein's equations. Thus the statement that a sphere of 5.7x10^' 

 cm. would occupy all space appears to me wrong. That an observer 

 on such a sphere would believe it to occupy all space I agree, but we 

 are not bound to accept his conclusion." 



Undaunted, however, Eddington declares in the Second Edition 

 of his excellent report "Matter does not cause the curvature of space- 

 time; it is the curvature." 



The mass of our Stellar system is estimated at a thousand millions 

 of our suns ; each spiral Nebula may be such a system, and the number 

 of such nebulae may be a million. 



Hence all matter is guessed at a thousand billion (English) suns. 

 Such a mass would apparently give us but a small space, 10^^ kilo- 

 metres, with a radius less than that of the distance of several naked-eye 

 stars. Too small, in fact! Eddington concludes that "Einstein's 

 hypothesis demands the existence of vast quantities of undetected 

 matter which we may call world-matter." 



He adds "If all matter were abolished, the radius of space-time 

 would become zero and the world would vanish to a point. There is 



