Einstein from "B" to "Z" / John Stachel.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Stachel, John J., 1928-

Series:

Einstein studies ; v. 9.

Einstein studies ; v. 9

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Einstein, Albert, 1879-1955.

Einstein, Albert.

Relativity (Physics)--History.

Relativity (Physics).

History.

Quantum theory--History.

Quantum theory.

Physical Description:

xi, 556 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm.

Place of Publication:

Boston : Birkhäuser, [2002]

Summary:

John Stachel, the author of this collection of 37 published and unpublished articles on Albert Einstein, has written about Einstein and his work for over 40 years. Trained as a theoretical physicist specializing in the theory of relativity, he was chosen as the founding editor of The Collected Papers of Albert Einstein 25 years ago, and is currently Director of the Boston University Center for Einstein Studies. Based on a detailed study of documentary evidence, much of which was newly discovered in the course of his work, Stachel debunks many of the old (and some new) myths about Einstein and offers novel insight into his life and work. Throughout the volume, a new, more human picture of Einstein is offered to replace the plaster saint of popular legend. In particular, a youthful Einstein emerges from the obscurity that previously shrouded his early years, and much new light is shed on the origins of the special and general theories of relativity. Also discussed in some detail are Einstein's troubled relationship with his first wife, his friendships with other physicists such as Eddington, Bose, and Pauli, and his Jewish identity. Because the essays are independent of one another, readers will be able to dip into this collection to satisfy varying interests. It will be of particular interest to historians of 20th century science, working physicists, and students, as well as to the many members of the general reading public who continue to be fascinated by various aspects of Einstein's life and work.

Contents:

I The Human Side 1

Albert Einstein: The Man Beyond the Myth 3

Albert Einstein: (1879-1955) 19

The Young Einstein: Poetry and Truth 21

Albert Einstein and Mileva Maric: A Collaboration that Failed to Develop 39

Einstein's Jewish Identity 57

Einstein on Civil Liberty 85

Einstein and the "Research Passion" 87

II Editing the Einstein Papers 95

"A Man of My Type"

Editing the Einstein Papers 97

Introduction to the Guide to the Duplicate Einstein Archive and Control Index 113

III Surveys of Einstein's Work 119

Introduction to Einstein: The Formative Years 121

The Other Einstein: Einstein Contra Field Theory 141

IV Special Relativity 155

"What Song the Syrens Sang": How Did Einstein Discover Special Relativity? 157

Einstein and Ether Drift Experiments 171

Einstein and Michelson: The Context of Discovery and the Context of Justification 177

Einstein on the Theory of Relativity 191

Einstein's First Derivation of Mass-Energy Equivalence / Roberto Toretti 215

V General Relativity 223

Einstein's Odyssey: His Journey from Special to General Relativity 225

The Genesis of General Relativity 233

The Rigidly Rotating Disk as the "Missing Link" in the History of General Relativity 245

The First Two Acts 261

How Einstein Discovered General Relativity: A Historical Tale with Some Contemporary Morals 293

Einstein's Search for General Covariance, 1912-1915 301

Belated Decision in the Hilbert-Einstein Priority Dispute / Leo Corry, Jurgen Renn 339

The Origin of Gravitational Lensing: A Postscript to Einstein's 1936 Science Paper / Jurgen Renn, Tilman Sauer 347

New Light on the Einstein-Hilbert Priority Question 353

VI Quantum Theory 365

Einstein and the Quantum: Fifty Years of Struggle 367

Einstein and Quantum Mechanics 403

Einstein's Light-Quantum Hypothesis, or Why Didn't Einstein Propose a Quantum Gas a Decade-and-a-Half Earlier 427

VII Einstein and Others 445

Einstein and Newton 447

Eddington and Einstein 453

Einstein and Infeld: Seen through their Correspondence 477

Lanczos's Early Contributions to Relativity and His Relationship with Einstein 499

Einstein and Bose 519

Einstein and 'Zweistein' 539

VIII Book Reviews 549

'Subtle is the Lord' ... The Science and Life of Albert Einstein / Abraham Pais 551

Albert Einstein: A Biography / Albert Folsing 555.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references.

ISBN:

0817641432

3764341432

OCLC:

48778146