The 1916 PhD Thesis of Johannes Droste and the Discovery of Gravitational Repulsion

TL;DR

This paper explores the historical concept of gravitational repulsion introduced by Johannes Droste in 1916, discussing its potential relevance to astrophysical phenomena like cosmic ray acceleration.

Contribution

It provides the first translation of Droste's 1916 thesis and examines the concept of gravitational repulsion in the context of modern astrophysics.

Findings

Historical analysis of Droste's thesis on gravitational repulsion

Discussion of gravitational repulsion as a possible mechanism in astrophysics

Connection between early 20th-century ideas and current astrophysical theories

Abstract

One of the biggest mysteries of astrophysics is the question of how highly energetic particles in relativistic jets and cosmic rays are accelerated. Recently, it has been suggested that gravitational repulsion is the mechanism responsible for these phenomena. The little known concept of gravitational repulsion was first introduced by Johannes Droste in his Ph.D. thesis submitted to H.A. Lorentz in 1916. It was written in Dutch. We provide a translation.