t was discovered by the
astronomers was precisely what had been predicted theoretically by
Einstein many years since. This striking confirmation has led certain
German scientists to assert that no scientific discovery of such
importance has been made since Newton's theory of gravitation was
promulgated. This suggestion, however, was put aside by Dr. Einstein
himself when he was interviewed by a correspondent of the New York
Times at his home in Berlin. To this correspondent he expressed the
difference between his conception and the law of gravitation in the
following terms:

"Please imagine the earth removed, and in its place suspended a box as
big as a room or a whole house, and inside a man naturally floating
in the center, there being no force whatever pulling him. Imagine,
further, this box being, by a rope or other contrivance, suddenly
jerked to one side, which is scientifically termed 'difform motion',
as opposed to 'uniform motion.' The person would then naturally reach
bottom on the opposite side. The result would consequently be the
same as if he obeyed Newton's law of gravitation, while, in fact,
there is no gravitation exerted whatever, which proves that difform
motion will in every case produce the same effects as gravitation.

"I have applied this new idea to every kind of difform motion and
have thus developed mathematical formulas which I am convinced give
more precise results than those based on Newton's theory. Newton's
formulas, however, are such close approximations that it was difficult
to find by observation any obvious disagreement with experience."

Dr. Einstein, it must be remembered, is a physicist and not an
astronomer. He developed his theory as a mathematical formula. The
confirmation of it came from the astronomers. As he himself says, the
crucial test was supplied by the last total solar eclipse. Observations
then proved that the rays of fixed stars, having to pass close to
the sun to reach the earth, were deflected the exact amount demanded
by Einstein's formulas. The deflection was also in the direction
predicted by him.

The question must have occurred to many, what has all this to do with
relativity? When this query was propounded by the Times correspondent
to Dr. Einstein he replied as follows:

"The term relativity refers to time and space. According to Galileo and
Newton, time and space were absolute entities, and the moving systems
of the universe were dependent on this absol