Poincaré and relativity in 1905 and active transformations (Q2501245)

When Einstein published his article on ``Elektrodynamik bewegter Körper'' [Ann. der Phys. (4) 17, 891--921 (1905; JFM 36.0920.02)] in 1905, the theory of relativity ``was in the air''. Lorentz and Poincaré were studying the same problems, namely the invariance of the Maxwell equations under Lorentz transformations, at about the same time. Evaluating their contributions and comparing them with Einstein's is not always easy, since the main difference lies not in the formulas (most of them also showed up in the work of Lorentz and Poincaré) but in how these were interpreted. In this article, the authors carefully examine Poincaré's interpretation of Lorentz transformations in his publication ``Sur la dynamique de l'électron'' [Palermo Rend. 21, 129--175 (1906; JFM 37.0886.01)].