Einstein?s Special Relativity Theory and Mach?s Principle
Lars W?hlin
Many historical works on Einstein describe his approval of Mach?s philosophy and his effort to incorporate Mach?s Principle into his relativity theories. Einstein eventually abandoned Mach?s Principle but with some reservations. However, Mach?s Principle still persists and its presumed incompatibility with Einstein?s Relativity continues to be an obstacle for many in their attempts to understand Einstein?s theory. This essay intends to resolve the issue by showing that Einstein?s Special Relativity, in fact, is subject to Mach?s Principle and that the proof can be found in the relativistic velocities of atomic orbits.
