The Behaviour of rods and clocks in general relativity, and the meaning of the metric field

Nov, 2009
16 pages
Published in:
  • Einstein Stud. 14 (2018) 51-66
  • Published: 2018
e-Print:

Citations per year

201020132016201920221024
Abstract: (Springer)
The notion that the metric field in general relativity can be understood as a property of space-time rests on a feature of the theory sometimes called universal coupling—the claim that rods and clocks “measure” the metric in a way that is independent of their constitution. It is pointed out that this feature is not strictly a consequence of the central dynamical tenets of the theory, and argued that the metric field would better be regarded as a (possibly emergent) field in space-time, rather than as the very fabric of space-time itself.