On the Gravitational Effects of Rotating Masses: The Thirring–Lense Papers

The purpose of this work is to provide a critical analysis of the classical papers of H. Thirring [Phys. Z., 19, 33 (1918); Phys. Z., 22, 29 (1921)] and J. Lense and H. Thirring [Phys. Z., 19, 156 (1918)] on rotating masses in the relativistic theory of gravitation and to render them accessible to a wider circle of scholars. An English translation of these papers is presented which follows the original German text as closely as possible. This is followed by a concise account of the significance of the results of these papers as well as the possibility of measuring the gravitational effects of rotating masses.