Einstein from 'B' to 'Z'

2002
ISBN: 978-0-8176-4143-6
Verlag: Birkhäuser Boston

Buch, Englisch, Band 9, 556 Seiten, Format (B × H): 160 mm x 241 mm, Gewicht: 1016 g

Reihe: Einstein Studies

John Stachel, the author of this collection of 37 published and unpublished articles on Albert Einstein, has written about Einstein and his work for over 40 years.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.

The essays are grouped thematically into the following areas:

* The Human Side

* Editing the Einstein Papers

* Surveys of Einstein's Work

* Special Relativity

* General Relativity

* Quantum Theory

* Einstein and Other Scientists

* Book Reviews

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 aspects of Einstein's life and work.

Zielgruppe

Research

Autoren/Hrsg.

Stachel, John

Fachgebiete

• Naturwissenschaften Physik Physik Allgemein Geschichte der Physik
• Interdisziplinäres Wissenschaften Wissenschaften: Allgemeines Geschichte der Naturwissenschaften, Formalen Wissenschaften & Technik
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Geschichtliche Themen Wissenschafts- und Universitätsgeschichte
• Naturwissenschaften Physik Quantenphysik Relativität, Gravitation
• Naturwissenschaften Physik Physik Allgemein Theoretische Physik, Mathematische Physik, Computerphysik
• Interdisziplinäres Wissenschaften Wissenschaften: Allgemeines Geschichte der Human- und Sozialwissenschaften
• Naturwissenschaften Physik Physik Allgemein Experimentalphysik

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Introduction

Part I: The Human Side

Albert Einstein: The Man Beyond the Myth

Albert Einstein

Albert Einstein: (1879-1955)

The Young Einstein: Poetry and Truth

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

Einstein's Jewish Identity

Einstein on Civil Liberty

Einstein and the "Research Passion"

Part II: Editing the Einstein Papers

"A Man of My Type"---Editing the Einstein Papers

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

Part III: Surveys of Einstein's Work

Introduction to Einstein: The Formative Years

The Other Einstein: Einstein Contra Field Theory

Part IV: Special Relativity

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

Einstein and Ether Drift Experiments

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

Einstein on the Theory of Relativity

Einstein's First Derivation of Mass--Energy Equivalence

Part V: General Relativity

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

The Genesis of General Relativity

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

The First Two Acts

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

Einstein's Search for General Covariance, 1912-1915

Belated Decision in the Hilbert--Einstein Priority Dispute

The Origin of Gravitational Lensing: A Postcript to Einstein's 1936 Science Paper

New Light on the Einstein--Hilbert Priority Question

Part VI: Quantum Theory

Einstein and the Quantum: Fifty Years of Struggle

Einstein and Quantum Mechanics

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

Part VII: Einstein and Others

Einstein and Newton

Eddington and Einstein

Einstein and Infeld: Seen through their Correspondence

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

Einstein and Bose

Einstein and 'Zweistein'

Part VIII: Book Reviews

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

Albert Einstein: A Biography by Albert Fölsing