This volume from the Einstein Studies Series is based largely on papers presented at the Sixth International Conference on the History of General Relativity, held in Amsterdam on June 26-29, 2002. These contributions from notable experts offer both new and historical insights on gravitation, general relativity, cosmology, unified field theory, and the history of science.
Topics discussed include the prehistory of special relativity, early attempts at a relativistic theory of gravitation, the beginnings of general relativity, the problem of motion in the context of relativity, conservation laws, the axiomatization of relativity, classical and contemporary cosmology, gravitation and electromagnetism, quantum gravity, and relativity as seen through the eyes of the public and renowned relativists.
Contributors: K. Brading; G. Gale; H.F.M. Goenner; J. Goldberg; S. Katzir; D. Kennefick; H. Kragh; C. Lehner; U. Majer; J. Mattingly; E.T. Newman; J.D. Norton; J. Renn; R. Rynasiewicz; J.M. Sánchez-Ron; T. Sauer; C. Smeenk; J. Stachel; M. Wazeck; and D. Wünsch.
Author(s): John Stachel (auth.), A. J. Kox, Jean Eisenstaedt (eds.)
Series: Einstein Studies 11
Edition: 1
Publisher: Birkhäuser Basel
Year: 2005
Language: English
Pages: 383
Tags: History of Physics; Philosophy of Science; Relativity and Cosmology; Quantum Physics; Field Theory and Polynomials; History of Mathematics
Fresnel’s (Dragging) Coefficient as a Challenge to 19th Century Optics of Moving Bodies....Pages 1-13
Poincaré’s Relativistic Theory of Gravitation....Pages 15-37
Standing on the Shoulders of a Dwarf: General Relativity—A Triumph of Einstein and Grossmann’s Erroneous Entwurf Theory....Pages 39-51
Before the Riemann Tensor: The Emergence of Einstein’s Double Strategy....Pages 53-65
A Conjecture on Einstein, the Independent Reality of Spacetime Coordinate Systems and the Disaster of 1913....Pages 67-102
Einstein and the Principle of General Relativity, 1916–1921....Pages 103-108
Einstein and the Problem of Motion: A Small Clue....Pages 109-124
A Note on General Relativity, Energy Conservation, and Noether’s Theorems....Pages 125-135
Weyl vs. Reichenbach on Lichtgeometrie....Pages 137-156
Dingle and de Sitter Against the Metaphysicians, or Two Ways to Keep Modern Cosmology Physical....Pages 157-174
George Gamow and the ‘Factual Approach’ to Relativistic Cosmology....Pages 175-188
George McVittie, The Uncompromising Empiricist....Pages 189-221
False Vacuum: Early Universe Cosmology and the Development of Inflation....Pages 223-257
Hilbert’s “World Equations” and His Vision of a Unified Science....Pages 259-276
Einstein, Kaluza, and the Fifth Dimension....Pages 277-302
Unified Field Theory: Early History and Interplay Between Mathematics and Physics....Pages 303-325
Is Quantum Gravity Necessary?....Pages 327-338
Einstein in the Daily Press: A Glimpse into the Gehrcke Papers....Pages 339-356
Syracuse: 1949–1952....Pages 357-371
A Biased and Personal Description of GR at Syracuse University, 1951–1961....Pages 373-383
