The Einsteinian revolution : the historical roots of his breakthroughs / Hanoch Gutfreund & Jürgen Renn.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Renn, Jürgen.

Contributor:

Gutfreund, Hanoch.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Einstein, Albert, 1879-1955.

Einstein, Albert.

Relativity (Physics).

Genre:

History.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (273 pages)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Princeton : Princeton University Press, [2024]

Summary:

How the Einsteinian revolution can be understood as the result of a long-term evolution of science The revolution that emerged from Albert Einstein's work in the early twentieth century transformed our understanding of space, time, motion, gravity, matter, and radiation. Beginning with Einstein's miracle year of 1905 and continuing through his development of the theory of general relativity, Einstein spurred a revolution that continues to reverberate in modern-day physics. In The Einsteinian Revolution, Hanoch Gutfreund and Jürgen Renn trace the century-long transformation of classical physics and argue that the revolution begun by Einstein was in fact the result of a long-term evolution. Describing the origins and context of Einstein's innovative research, Gutfreund and Renn work to dispel the popular myth of Einstein as a lone genius who brought about a revolution in physics through the power of his own pure thought. We can only understand the birth of modern physics, they say, if we understand the long history of the evolution of knowledge.Gutfreund and Renn outline the essential structures of the knowledge system of classical physics on which Einstein drew. Examining Einstein's discoveries from 1905 onward, they describe the process by which new concepts arose and the basis of modern physics emerged. These transformations continued, eventually resulting in the establishment of quantum physics and general relativity as the two major conceptual frameworks of modern physics-and its two unreconciled theoretical approaches. Gutfreund and Renn note that Einstein was dissatisfied with this conceptual dichotomy and began a search for a unified understanding of physics-a quest that continued for the rest of his life.

Contents:

Cover

Contents

Introduction

I. The Einstein Phenomenon

Preview

a. Childhood and Youth

b. The Student Years

c. Einstein in Bern-The Miraculous Year and Beyond

d. A Tale of Three Cities-The General Theory of Relativity

e. The Emergence of a Quantum Worldview

f. The Einstein Myth and His Iconic Status

II. Ideas on Progress and Revolutions in Science

a. The History of the Philosophy of Progress

b. How Did Einstein Think?

c. The Role of Mental Models

d. Restructuring Systems of Knowledge-A Copernicus Process

e. An Example of a Copernicus Process-The Galilean Revolution

f. The Einsteinian Revolution and Changing Worldviews

g. Other Historiographic Perspectives on Progress in Science

III. The Continents of Classical Physics and the Problems at Their Borders

a. Classical Mechanics as a Comprehensive Worldview

b. Electrodynamics and the Ether Concept

c. Thermodynamics, the Kinetic Theory of Heat, and Atomism

d. Borderline Problems of Classical Physics

e. Between Thermodynamics and Electromagnetism-Black-body Radiation

f. Between Mechanics and Electromagnetism-The Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies

g. Between Mechanics and Thermodynamics-The Riddle of Brownian Motion

h. Borderline Problems in Historical and Cultural Context

IV. Classical Physics Put Back on Its Feet-The Miraculous Year

a. Statistical Mechanics-A Prelude to the Miraculous Year

b. Letter to a Colleague-A Blueprint for Einstein's Copernican Revolution

c. The "Invention" of Brownian Motion-The Reality of Atoms

d. Radiation and Matter-The Discovery of Light Quanta (Photons)

e. Einstein's Lifelong Contemplation of Light Quanta

f. An Encounter in May-A "Eureka" Moment

g. The Origins of Special Relativity-The Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies.

h. 1900 to 1905-A Panoramic Overview

i. A Copernican Transformation of Classical Physics

V. The Road to the General Theory of Relativity

a. The Challenge of a Relativistic Theory of Gravitation

b. Einstein's Heuristics-The Equivalence Principle

c. Geometry Enters Physics-First Steps Towards a Field Equation

d. Einstein's Heuristics-A Plan of Action

e. Between Mathematical and Physical Strategies

f. The Entwurf Theory and Its Consolidation

g. The Drama of November 1915-The End of the Beginning

h. The Role of David Hilbert

i. The Relativity Revolution Continues-The Formative Years

j. The Generalized Relativity Principle Revisited

k. Cosmological Considerations-The Demise of Mach's Principle

VI. The Einsteinian Revolution as a Transformation of a System of Knowledge

a. A Short History of Physics

b. The Epistemic Character of the Relativity Revolution

c. A Long Revolution-From the Mainstream of Physics to Its Periphery and Back

d. Einsteinian Revolution as a Transformation of Knowledge-Lessons for the Future

e. Supplementary Reading

Notes

References

Index.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

ISBN:

0-691-25649-7

OCLC:

1407283736