New Approach to Interpretation Problems of General Relativity by Means of the Splitting-Up-Formalism of Space-Time

Abstract

If one surveys the relativistic literature of the last decade with respect to the physical and philosophical interpretation of relativistic physics, one finds that only a few points of Special Relativity are still controversial. Without being complete I will list some points of controversy:

• (a) There still exists a small group of writers who believe in a mechanistic explanation of Lorentz-contraction and time-dilatation. But most physicists and philosophers are convinced that both phenomena are space-time effects according to the mathematical formalism of the Lorentz transformations, but not effects of the material (rods, clocks).

• (b) There is up to now no uniform use of language concerning the energy mass equivalence E=mc ². Although it is physically clear that every quantity of energy corresponds immanently to a certain quantity of mass and vice versa, nevertheless people speak of transmutation of energy into mass and mass into energy, thereby thinking of the process of creation and annihilation of elementary particles. Obviously this is more a question of terminology and not of true physical misunderstanding of the phenomenon.

• (c) Until now there take place many interesting discussions about the best approach to the axiomatization of Special Relativity. This field was productively treated by many authors [1]. Thus we shall leave it out here. Compared with the seriousness of the nonclarified problems (true problems, denomination problems and misunderstandings) in General Relativity all these more or less open questions of Special Relativity in my opinion are not so weighty. Therefore I prefer to go at once in medias res in the field of General Relativity.