On Mach's Principle and the "Special" Theory of Relativity

Abstract

First, we present a history of the school of thought that the Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation acts as an ether in contemporary popular English. Then we illustrate the properties of this ether and of a hypothetical "test mass" using a brand new thought experiment. Finally, we recount some post-Einstein efforts at a mathematical formulation of Mach's principle and raise some questions about what implications it has for the locality of rotation and for quantum gravity. This paper does not prove Einstein wrong.