English

On the Multiple Deaths of Whitehead's Theory of Gravity

General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology 2008-11-26 v1 High Energy Physics - Theory History and Philosophy of Physics

Abstract

Whitehead's 1922 theory of gravitation continues to attract the attention of philosophers, despite evidence presented in 1971 that it violates experiment. We demonstrate that the theory strongly fails five quite different experimental tests, and conclude that, notwithstanding its meritorious philosophical underpinnings, Whitehead's theory is truly dead.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.gr-qc/0611006,
  title  = {On the Multiple Deaths of Whitehead's Theory of Gravity},
  author = {Gary Gibbons and Clifford M. Will},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:gr-qc/0611006},
  year   = {2008}
}

Comments

22 pages; to be submitted to Studies In History And Philosophy Of Modern Physics