On the relativity of rotation

Abstract

The question whether rotational motion is relative according to the general theory of relativity is discussed. Einstein’s ambivalence concerning this question is pointed out. In the present article I defend Einstein’s way of thinking on this when he presented the theory in 1916. The significance of the phenomenon of perfect inertial dragging in connection with the relativity of rotational motion is discussed. The necessity of introducing an extended model of the Minkowski spacetime, in which a globally empty space is supplied with a cosmic mass shell with radius equal to its own Schwarzschild radius, in order to extend the principle of relativity to accelerated and rotational motion, is made clear.