Furthermore, it was soon found impossible to link up the science of gravitation with the special theory of relativity in a natural manner. In this connection I was struck by the fact that the force of gravitation possesses a fundamental property, which distinguishes it from electro-magnetic forces. All bodies fall in a gravitational field with the same acceleration, or — what is only another formulation of the same fact — the gravitational and inertial masses of a body are numerically equal to each other. This numerical equality suggests identity in character. Can gravitation and inertia be identical? This question leads directly to the General Theory of Relativity. Is it not possible for me to regard the earth as free from rotation, if I conceive of the centrifugal force, which acts on all bodies at rest relatively to the earth, as being a "real" field of gravitation, or part of such a field?