The general static spherically symmetric solution in Einstein’s unified field theory

Abstract

The static spherically symmetric solutions of Einstein’s unified field equations previously given refer to an electric field alone or to a magnetic field alone. The general solutions in the case where both types of field exist together are now derived. After appropriate boundary conditions have been applied, the solutions may be interpreted to represent a magnetic field arising from a point pole, and an electric field arising from a dispersed charge distribution, but tending asymptotically to that of a point charge. The solutions have an infinity of singular surfaces, contain no arbitrary constant corresponding to the mass of the system, and in them the charge distributions contain both positive and negative electricity at different places. It appears that the only static spherically symmetric solutions likely to have any physical significance are certain of those referring to an electric field alone.