“...to the question whether or not the motion of the Earth in space can be made perceptible in terrestrial experiments. We have already remarked... that all attempts of this nature led to a negative result. Before the theory of relativity was put forward, it was difficult to become reconciled to this negative result.”
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Probable attribution
A source trail connects this quotation to Albert Einstein and Relativity – The Special and General Theory (1916), Part I: The Special Theory of Relativity, Experience and the Special Theory of Relativity, but the exact English wording has not been confirmed in a primary text. The attribution is therefore probable rather than definitive.
Likely origin: Relativity – The Special and General Theory (1916), Part I: The Special Theory of Relativity, Experience and the Special Theory of Relativity
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This page records the wording "...to the question whether or not the motion of the…," which centers on question, whether, motion. A concrete trail points toward Einstein, but the exact English form remains unconfirmed; the page therefore labels it as attributed to him while preserving its science and creativity context.
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