Annus MirabilisEinstein in 1905
Reading preferences

Reading preferences

Keep every explanation and worked example on the page. Nothing moves or plays by itself, and the larger instruments load only when you ask.

Line length
Type size
Contrast
Paragraph spacing

Sources

Special relativity

Zur Elektrodynamik bewegter Körper

The receipt for this paper’s scan: which page of the journal each scan page is, what the transcription was compared against, and how far it has got. All the scans · Read the paper

Pages

Scan pageJournal pageSections on it
1891Opening
2892Opening, §1
3893§1
4894§1
5895§1, §2
6896§2
7897§2, §3
8898§3
9899§3
10900§3
11901§3
12902§3
13903§4
14904§4
15905§4, §5
16906§5
17907§5, §6
18908§6
19909§6
20910§6, §7
21911§7
22912§7
23913§8
24914§8
25915§8
26916§9
27917§9, §10
28918§10
29919§10
30920§10
31921§10

What the transcription is compared against

The scan is the primary source. Each record below is a comparison witness: another edition, transcription or translation that a reading is checked against, and never the source itself.

  • Collected Papers, a comparison witness. The Collected Papers of Albert Einstein, Vol. 2: The Swiss Years: Writings, 1900-1909, ed. John Stachel et al., Princeton University Press, 1989, Doc. 23, pp. 275-306. Consulted on 17 September 2026.
  • Augsburg facsimile, a comparison witness. Augsburg University Facsimile (bibliothek.uni-augsburg.de). Consulted on 17 September 2026.
  • Wikisource transcription, a comparison witness. de.wikisource transcription for Zur Elektrodynamik bewegter Körper. Consulted on 17 September 2026.
  • Published translation, a comparison witness. W. Perrett and G. B. Jeffery, trans., in The Principle of Relativity, Methuen & Co., London, 1923 (reprinted Dover Publications, New York, 1952, pp. 35-65). Consulted on 17 September 2026.
  • Published translation, a comparison witness. Anna Beck, trans., in The Collected Papers of Albert Einstein, Vol. 2 (English translation supplement), Doc. 23, Princeton University Press, 1989, pp. 140-171. Consulted on 17 September 2026.

How far the transcription has got

Transcribed in draft: read by machine and corrected by hand against the page images, not yet reviewed by a second reader.

Eight printing errors have been recorded against these pages, on pages 899, 902, 907, 908, 910, 912, 920; three of them were later withdrawn, and are kept with the reason. The source keeps what was printed; a correction is only ever offered beside it. The correction log lists each one.