Format:
Online-Ressource (XII, 363p. 21 illus., 5 illus. in color, digital)
ISBN:
9780817649401
,
1283444410
,
9781283444415
Series Statement:
Einstein Studies 12
Content:
Introduction -- Part I: At the Limits of the Classical Worldview -- Theories of Gravitation in the Twilight of Classical Physics -- The Newtonian Theory of Light Propagation -- Mach and Einstein, or, Clearing Troubled Waters in the History of Science -- Part II: Contexts of the Relativity Revolution -- Tilling the Seedbed of Einstein's Politics: A Pre-1905 Harbinger? -- The Early Reception of Einstein’s Relativity among British Philosophers -- Science and Ideology in Einstein's Visit to South America in 1925 -- The Reception of Einstein's Relativity Theories in Literature and the Arts (1920–1950) -- Part III: The Emergence of the Relativistic Worldview -- Hilbert’s Axiomatic Method and his "Foundations of Physics": Reconciling Causality with the Axiom of General Invariance -- Not Only Because of Theory: Dyson, Eddington and the Competing Myths of the 1919 Eclipse Expedition -- Peter Havas (1916–2004) -- Peter Bergmann and the Invention of Constrained Hamiltonian Dynamics -- Thoughts About a Conceptual Framework for Relativistic Gravity -- Part IV: A New Worldview in the Making -- Observational Tests of General Relativity: An Historical Look at Measurements Prior to the Advent of Modern Space-Borne Instruments -- Primordial Magnetic Fields and Cosmic Microwave Background -- Singularity Theorems in General Relativity: Achievements and Open Questions -- The History and Present Status of Quantum Field Theory in Curved Spacetime -- The Border Between Relativity and Quantum Theory -- The Issue of the Beginning in Quantum Gravity.
Content:
This volume reviews conceptual conflicts at the foundations of physics now and in the past century. The focus is on the conditions and consequences of Einstein’s pathbreaking achievements that sealed the decline of the classical notions of space, time, radiation, and matter, and resulted in the theory of relativity. Particular attention is paid to the implications of conceptual conflicts for scientific views of the world at large, thus providing the basis for a comparison of the demise of the mechanical worldview at the turn of the 20th century with the challenges presented by cosmology at the turn of the 21st century. Throughout the work, Einstein’s contributions are not seen in isolation but instead set into the wider intellectual context of dealing with the problem of gravitation in the twilight of classical physics; the investigation of the historical development is carried out with a number of epistemological questions in mind, concerning, in particular, the transformation process of knowledge associated with the changing worldviews of physics. Einstein and the Changing Worldviews of Physics is divided into four main parts: * Part I: At the Limits of the Classical Worldview; * Part II: Contexts of the Relativity Revolution; * Part III: The Emergence of the Relativistic Worldview; * Part IV: A New Worldview in the Making. The contributions explore various aspects of the emerging relativistic views in modern physics by giving an historical, philosophical, and mathematical account of Einstein’s work, as well as the work of other distinguished physicists in the field. Taken as a whole, the book is focused on the interplay between mathematical concepts and physical ideas throughout history by studying today’s scientific world and how it continues to redefine physics in the 21st century. Contributors: A. Ashtekar, E. Battaner, J.E. Beckman, K.A. Brading, T. Dray, J. Eisenstaedt, E. Florido, H.F. Goenner, D. Kennefick, J. Renn, T.A. Ryckman, D.C. Salisbury, J.M. Sánchez-Ron, M. Schemmel, R. Schulmann, B.F. Schutz, J.M.M. Senovilla, A.T. Tolmasquim, R.M. Wald, G. Wolters.
Note:
Includes bibliographical references
,
Einstein and the Changing Worldviews of Physics; Contents; Introduction; Part I At the Limits of the Classical Worldview; 1 Theories of Gravitation in the Twilight of Classical Physics; 1.1 The Unfolding of Alternative Theories of Gravitation; 1.2 The Potential of Classical Physics; 1.2.1 The Mechanization of Gravitation; 1.2.2 HereticalMechanics; 1.2.3 From Peripheral Mathematics to a New Theory of Gravitation; 1.2.4 The Potential of Astronomy; 1.2.5 A Thermodynamic Analogy; 1.2.6 Electromagnetism as a Paradigm for Gravitation; 1.3 The Challenge of Special Relativity for Gravitation
,
1.3.1 A New Law of Gravitation Enforced by Special Relativity1.3.2 Toward a Field Theory of Gravitation; 1.3.3 The Problem of Gravitation as a Challenge for theMinkowski Formalism; 1.3.4 A Field Theory of Gravitation in the Framework of Special Relativity?; Appendix: Is Special Relativistic Gravitation a Theoretically Viable Option?; Acknowledgements; References; 2 The Newtonian Theory of Light Propagation; 2.1 From Newton to Einstein; 2.1.1 Newton's Corpuscular Theory of Light; 2.1.2 The Velocity of Light as the Parameter of Color; 2.1.3 Michell on the Velocity of Light
,
2.1.4 Blair on the Velocity of Light2.1.5 The Constancy of the Velocity of Light; 2.1.6 The Newtonian Theory of Light Propagation; Acknowledgements; References; 3 Mach and Einstein, or, Clearing Troubled Waters in the History of Science*; 3.1 Introduction: A Chilling Health Bulletin; 3.2 Mach's Influence on Einstein and How Einstein Himself Saw It; 3.3 How Mach Reacted towards Relativity Theory; 3.4 Mach's Alleged Refusal of Relativity Theory; 3.5 The Forgery Hypothesis; References; 1. Archives; 2. Publications; Part II Contexts of the Relativity Revolution
,
4 Tilling the Seedbed of Einstein's Politics: A Pre-1905 Harbinger?References; 5 The Early Reception of Einstein's Relativity among British Philosophers; 5.1 Introduction; 5.1.1 General Aspects of the Reception of Einstein's Relativity in Great Britain; 5.1.2 Einstein's Relativity and British Philosophy; 5.1.3 A Stranger in a Strange Country: Arthur Eddington; 5.1.4 In Defense of Idealism: Wildon Carr and Viscount Haldane; 5.1.5 Relativity Debated at the Aristotelian Society; 5.1.6 J. E. Turner versus Carr and Haldane; 5.1.7 Bertrand Russell and Relativity
,
5.1.8 Alfred Arthur Robb, a Physicist "in a Wrong Milieu"5.1.9 The Case of Alfred North Whitehead; 5.2 Conclusions; References; 6 Science and Ideology in Einstein's Visit to South America in 1925; References; 7 The Reception of Einstein's Relativity Theories in Literature and the Arts (1920-1950); 7.1 Introduction; 7.2 Understanding and Misunderstanding; 7.2.1 The Fourth Dimension; 7.2.2 E = mc2 and the Atom Bomb; 7.3 On the Reception of the Theories of Relativity in Literature (ca. 1915-1955); 7.3.1 German-Speaking Countries Thomas Mann (1875-1955); Robert Musil (1880-1942)
,
Alfred D¨oblin (1878-1957)
Additional Edition:
ISBN 9780817649395
Additional Edition:
Buchausg. u.d.T. Einstein and the changing worldviews of physics New York : Birkhäuser, 2012 ISBN 9780817649395
Language:
English
Keywords:
Einstein, Albert 1879-1955
;
Allgemeine Relativitätstheorie
;
Geschichte
;
Aufsatzsammlung
;
Konferenzschrift
DOI:
10.1007/978-0-8176-4940-1
URL:
Volltext
(lizenzpflichtig)
URL:
Volltext
(lizenzpflichtig)
Author information:
Renn, Jürgen 1956-
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