dorsal/arxiv
View SchemaThe Challenge of Editing Einstein's Scientific Manuscripts
| Authors | Tilman Sauer |
|---|---|
| Categories | |
| ArXiv ID | physics/0412142 |
| URL | https://arxiv.org/abs/physics/0412142 |
| Journal | Documentary Editing 26 (2004), 145-165 |
Abstract
Einstein's research manuscripts provide important insights into his exceptional creativity. At the same time, they can present difficulties for a publication in the documentary edition of the Collected Papers of Albert Einstein (CPAE). The problems are illustrated by discussing how some important examples of Einstein's research manuscripts have been included in previous volumes of the CPAE series: his Scratch Notebook from the years 1910-1914, his so-called Zurich Notebook from 1912, documenting his early search for a generally covariant theory of gravitation, and the Einstein-Besso manuscript from 1913, containing calculations of Mercury's perihelion advance on the basis of the Einstein-Grossmann equations. Another category of research notes are "back-of-an-envelope" calculations. A major challenge for future volumes of the CPAE series are Einstein's Berlin and Princeton research manuscripts on a unified field theory. This batch of some 1700 undated manuscript pages presents a formidable challenge also for historians of science. Although the web provides new possibilities for the editorial task, such as the publication of facsimiles on the Einstein Archives Online website, it is argued that a satisfactory solution of the editorial problems posed by these manuscripts depends on scholarly efforts to reconstruct and understand the content of Einstein's manuscripts.
{
"annotation_id": "380dd97c-1dec-4da0-be8f-7ca4e887b835",
"date_created": "2026-03-02T18:00:53.725000Z",
"date_modified": "2026-03-02T18:00:53.725000Z",
"file_hash": "9134459bc674e3e39a5693e67e3c1e42e78faa00411d1a641c5b95b61fcc4551",
"private": false,
"record": {
"abstract": "Einstein\u0027s research manuscripts provide important insights into his\nexceptional creativity. At the same time, they can present difficulties for a\npublication in the documentary edition of the Collected Papers of Albert\nEinstein (CPAE). The problems are illustrated by discussing how some important\nexamples of Einstein\u0027s research manuscripts have been included in previous\nvolumes of the CPAE series: his Scratch Notebook from the years 1910-1914, his\nso-called Zurich Notebook from 1912, documenting his early search for a\ngenerally covariant theory of gravitation, and the Einstein-Besso manuscript\nfrom 1913, containing calculations of Mercury\u0027s perihelion advance on the basis\nof the Einstein-Grossmann equations. Another category of research notes are\n\"back-of-an-envelope\" calculations. A major challenge for future volumes of the\nCPAE series are Einstein\u0027s Berlin and Princeton research manuscripts on a\nunified field theory. This batch of some 1700 undated manuscript pages presents\na formidable challenge also for historians of science. Although the web\nprovides new possibilities for the editorial task, such as the publication of\nfacsimiles on the Einstein Archives Online website, it is argued that a\nsatisfactory solution of the editorial problems posed by these manuscripts\ndepends on scholarly efforts to reconstruct and understand the content of\nEinstein\u0027s manuscripts.",
"arxiv_id": "physics/0412142",
"authors": [
"Tilman Sauer"
],
"categories": [
"physics.hist-ph"
],
"journal_ref": "Documentary Editing 26 (2004), 145-165",
"title": "The Challenge of Editing Einstein\u0027s Scientific Manuscripts",
"url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/physics/0412142"
},
"schema_id": "dorsal/arxiv",
"source": {
"execution_id": "f560478a-0d1a-42d1-9f5b-26636a31ee7b",
"id": "arXiv Dataset IDs",
"type": "Model",
"variant": "snapshot-2026-03-01",
"version": "0.1.0"
},
"user_id": 1000002
}