In theoretical physics, Whitehead's theory of gravitation was an early competitor of Einstein's theory of general relativity. It was introduced by the distinguished mathematician and philosopher Alfred North Whitehead in 1922. It is now considered obsolete.

Principle features of the theory

Whitehead's theory is said to feature a prior geometry. It has the curious feature that electromagnetic waves propagate along null geodesics of the physical spacetime (as defined by the metric determined from geometrical measurements and timing experiments), while gravitational waves propagate along null geodesics of a flat background represented by the metric tensor of Minkowski spacetime.

Tests of Whitehead's theory

Whitehead's theory makes the same predictions as general relativity regarding the Tests of general relativity (gravitational red shift, light bending, perihelion shift, Shapiro time delay), and was regarded as a viable competitor of general relativity for several decades. Eventually, Clifford M. Will noticed that the theory makes predictions concerning ordinary ocean tides on Earth which are in violent disagreement with observation, which immediately killed this theory.

Its philosophical significance

For the several decades in which Whitehead's theory was in principle a viable competitor to Einstein's General Relativity, the question may be asked: why was the theory not considered a true alternative? For clearly, if it had been, it would have been tested (and refuted) far sooner. As such, it demonstrates the interesting dymanic of the adoption or rejection of scientific theories: that the scientific community chooses theories not only according to their predictive powers, but also according to vague and mostly intuitive considerations of "elegance" and "plausibility".

See also

• Alfred North Whitehead
• Classical theories of gravitation
• Obsolete physical theories

References

• discusses Whitehead's theory in various places.

Theories of gravitation | Obsolete scientific theories