Henri Poincaré, theoretical physics, and relativity theory in Paris

In studies of the emergence of relativity theory, historians have sought to characterize the reception of relativist ideas with respect to national communities of physicists and mathematicians, in an effort to reveal underlying features of these communities, such as their openness to new ideas, and their capacity for change. Stimulating this activity are the basic publication counts, that tell us that the reception of relativity theory in academic journals varied markedly from one country to another. Periodicals based in Germany accounted for roughly half of all relativist publications before 1916, while Germany-based authors published two of every five articles on relativity during the same period, and made up two-fifths of the total number of scientists (one hundred) contributing to relativity theory. France, the fifth most active country from a quantitative point of view, accounted for seven percent of relativist articles, and counted eight relativist scientists, or about a twelfth of the total.1 Examination of the content of these publications and their context of production allows for a finer-grained understanding of the differences revealed by quantitative analyses, and gives rise to theories of reception. For example, scholars of the reception of relativity theory in Germany and England have proposed explanatory models in which the details of post-secondary training in physics are seen as decisive.2 Historians of French physics consider the muted reception of relativity ∗University of Lorraine & Henri-Poincaré Archives (CNRS, UMR 7117) 1Of 662 publications on relativity theory in periodicals between 1905 and 1916, 323 were published in Germany; see Walter (1996, Tables 4.3–4). 2Pyenson 1987; Warwick 2003.