The Curious History of Relativity (eBook)

How Einstein's Theory of Gravity Was Lost and Found Again

Jean Eisenstaedt (Autor)

eBook Download: PDF

2018
384 Seiten
Princeton University Press (Verlag)
978-0-691-18675-7 (ISBN)

Infos

Black holes may obliterate most things that come near them, but they saved the theory of general relativity. Einstein's theory was quickly accepted as the true theory of gravity after its publication in 1915, but soon took a back seat in physics to quantum mechanics and languished for decades on the blackboards of mathematicians. Not until the existence of black holes by Stephen Hawking and Roger Penrose in the 1960s, after Einstein's death, was the theory revived. Almost one hundred years after general relativity replaced Newton's theory of gravitation, The Curious History of Relativity tells the story of both events surrounding general relativity and the techniques employed by Einstein and the relativists to construct, develop, and understand his almost impenetrable theory. Jean Eisenstaedt, one of the world's leading experts on the subject, also discusses the theory's place in the evolution of twentieth-century physics. He describes the main stages in the development of general relativity: its beginnings, its strange crossing of the desert during Einstein's lifetime while under heated criticism, and its new life from the 1960s on, when it became vital to the understanding of black holes and the observation of exotic objects, and, eventually, to the discovery of the accelerating universe. We witness Einstein's construction of his theory, as well as the work of his fascinated, discouraged, and enthusiastic colleagues--physicists, mathematicians, and astronomers. Written with flair, The Curious History of Relativity poses--and answers--the difficult questions raised by Einstein's magnificent intellectual feat.

Autor

Jean Eisenstaedt is Senior Researcher at France's National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) attached to the Paris Observatory. The widely praised French edition of The Curious History of Relativity was published as Einstein et la relativité générale. Eisenstaedt's most recent book is Avant Einstein. Relativité, lumière, gravitation (Before Einstein: Relativity, Light, Gravitation).

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 5.6.2018
• Verlagsort: Princeton
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Naturwissenschaften
• Schlagworte: Absolute time and space • acceleration • Andrzej Trautman • Angle of rotation • Annus Mirabilis papers • Astronomer • Astronomy • astrophysics • asymmetry • Atomic physics • Beyond Einstein (book) • C0 • Calculation • centrifugal force • classical electromagnetism • classical mechanics • Classical physics • coordinate system • Copenhagen Interpretation • cosmogony • cosmological constant • David Hilbert • Dynamism (metaphysics) • Einstein Field Equations • Einstein tensor • elementary particle • Emission theory • Equivalence Principle • Euclidean Geometry • Euclidean space • Exotic star • Experimental Physics • Frozen star (hypothetical star) • Galileo Galilei • Gaussian curvature • general covariance • General relativity • Geometry • Gravitational collapse • Gravitational constant • Gravitational Field • gravitational lens • Gravitational mirage • gravitational potential • Gravitational Wave • Gravity • Hendrik Lorentz • Hermann Weyl • Hertzsprung–Russell diagram • Hubble's law • hypothesis • Infinitesimal • Inflation (cosmology) • Interferometry • Introduction to General relativity • Lambda-CDM model • Lorentz Group • Lorentz transformation • mach's principle • Mathematical problem • Matrix Mechanics • Max Planck • Minkowski space • Modern Physics • Newton's law of universal gravitation • Orbit • Perihelion and aphelion • Philosophy of Physics • Photon • physical cosmology • physicist • Poisson's Equation • positron • Principle of covariance • quantum electrodynamics • quantum field theory • quantum mechanics • Quark star • Ray (optics) • Relativistic particle • Richard Feynman • Riemannian Geometry • Schwarzschild metric • schwarzschild radius • Science and Hypothesis • Simultaneity • Special relativity • strangeness • String Theory • Test particle • Tests of general relativity • Thales' theorem • theoretical physics • theory • Theory of relativity • Thought experiment • twin paradox • Uraniborg • Wave–particle duality • wormhole
• ISBN-10: 0-691-18675-8 / 0691186758
• ISBN-13: 978-0-691-18675-7 / 9780691186757