Bending space-time: a commentary on Dyson, Eddington and Davidson (1920) 'A determination of the deflection of light by the Sun's gravitational field'

The famous eclipse expedition of 1919 to Sobral, Brazil, and the island of Principe, in the Gulf of Guinea, led by Dyson, Eddington and Davidson was a turning point in the history of relativity, not only because of its importance as a test of Einstein's General Theory of Relativity, but also be...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series A: Mathematical, physical, and engineering sciences physical, and engineering sciences, 2015-04, Vol.373 (2039), p.20140287
Main Author: Longair, Malcolm
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Eclipse Expedition 1919
Eddington
General Relativity
Gravitational Lensing
Light Bending By The Sun
Review
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Summary:The famous eclipse expedition of 1919 to Sobral, Brazil, and the island of Principe, in the Gulf of Guinea, led by Dyson, Eddington and Davidson was a turning point in the history of relativity, not only because of its importance as a test of Einstein's General Theory of Relativity, but also because of the intense public interest which was aroused by the success of the expedition. The dramatic sequence of events which occurred is reviewed, as well as the long-term impact of its success. The gravitational bending of electromagnetic waves by massive bodies is a subject of the greatest importance for contemporary and future astronomy, astrophysics and cosmology. Examples of the potential impact of this key tool of modern observational astronomy are presented. This commentary was written to celebrate the 350th anniversary of the journal Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society.
ISSN:1364-503X
1471-2962
DOI:10.1098/rsta.2014.0287