Einstein's first cosmological work, published in 1917, marked the beginning of relativistic cosmology, but it was well founded on earlier questions concerning the world as a whole. The paper presents three such topics: the Olbers paradox, the Seeliger paradox, and speculations concerning cosmological consequences of thermodynamics together with some of their repercussions in relativistic cosmology.
JavaScript is turned off in your web browser. Turn it on to take full advantage of this site, then refresh the page.