The curious history of relativity : how Einstein's theory of gravity was lost and found again / Jean Eisenstaedt ; translated by Arturo Sangalli.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Eisenstaedt, Jean, 1940-

Standardized Title:

Einstein et la relativitâe gâenâerale. English

Language:

English

French

Subjects (All):

General relativity (Physics).

Space and time.

Physics.

History.

Relativity.

Light.

Gravity.

Gravity--Seasonal variations.

Physics--History.

Einstein, Albert, 1879-1955.

Einstein, Albert.

Physical Description:

ix, 363 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Princeton, New Jersey : Princeton University Press, [2006]

Language Note:

In English, translated from French.

Summary:

Jean Eisenstaedt's book is highly significant for the history of science because it is really the first serious look at the evolution of concepts in the history of general relativity after Einstein's death. It was the development of the concept of the black hole between the late 1950s and late 1960s that constituted the real birth of general relativity, and this story and the lead up to it is the story that Eisenstaedt tells here with unmatched authority. This book is, then, a founding text that sets out the historical context of this fascinating issue. The story of the discovery of black holes is a remarkable intellectual parable in itself, and Eisenstaedt tells it brilliantly."--Daniel J. Kennefick, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, and coeditor of the "Einstein Papers Project

Contents:

Introduction: A Difficult Theory 1

1 The Speed of Light and Classical Physics 4

2 Light and the Structure of Space-Time 24

3 Toward a New Theory of Gravitation 58

4 Einstein's Principles 76

5 The Birth of General Relativity 103

6 General Relativity: A Physical Geometry 138

7 Relativity Verified: Mercury's Anomaly 149

8 Relativity Verified: The Deflection of Light Rays 167

9 Relativity Verified: The Line Shift 196

10 The Crossing of the Desert 213

11 An Unpopular Theory 244

12 The Rejection of Black Holes 255

13 Paths in Schwarzschild's Space-Time 284

14 No Ordinary Stars 310

15 Gravitation, Astrophysics, and Cosmology 325

Afterword: The Paths of General Relativity 346.

Notes:

Translated edition of: Einstein et la relativite generale. Les chemins de l'espace-temps, by Jean Eisenstaedt ; foreword by Thibault Damour. Copyright 2003. Paris, France.

Includes bibliographical references (pages [321]-333) and index.

ISBN:

0691118655

9780691118659

OCLC:

71973224

Publisher Number:

9780691118659