Erich Kretschmann

Justus Erich Kretschmann (* July 14, 1887 in Berlin, † 1973) was a German physicist who made major contributions to the theory of relativity written.

He received his doctorate in 1914 at the University of Berlin under Max Planck and Heinrich Rubens. He then worked as a secondary school teacher. In 1920 he was a lecturer in theoretical physics at the University of Konigsberg, where he was an associate professor in 1926. From 1946 to 1952 he was professor of theoretical physics and director of the Institute for Theoretical Physics at the Martin -Luther- University Halle- Wittenberg.

Work

Kretschmann was primarily known for his contributions to the theory of relativity. He formulated the Kretschmann scalar and the dot - coincidence argument (point- coincidence argument).

Especially consequences for the further interpretation of the General Theory of Relativity was a work from the year 1917. Kretschmann asserted here that the general covariance ( the immutability of physical equations at all possible coordinate transformations ) is physically empty, because each theory could with appropriate mathematical effort " generally covariant "are written. This means that Einstein's original assumption that the general covariance automatically pulls the validity of a general principle of relativity and Mach 's principle by itself, could not be maintained. About the meaning of general covariance in general relativity theory is discussed in the context of philosophy of science today.