Ebook: Understanding Relativity: Origin and Impact of a Scientific Revolution
Author: Stanley Goldberg (auth.)
- Tags: Classical and Quantum Gravitation Relativity Theory, History and Philosophical Foundations of Physics
- Year: 1984
- Publisher: Birkhäuser Basel
- Edition: 1
- Language: English
- pdf
The central subject matter of this book is Einstein's special theory of relativiry. While it is a book that is written primarily for a lay audience this does not necessarily mean an audience not versed in the ways of doing science. Rather, this book is written for anyone wishing to consider the nature of the scientific enterprise: where ideas come from, how they become established and accepted, what the relationships are among theories, predictions, and measurements, or the relationship between ideas in a scientific theory and the values held to be important within the larger culture. Some readers will find it strange that I raise any of these issues. It is a common view in our culture that the status of knowledge within science is totally different from the status of knowledge in other areas of human endeavor. The word "science" stems from the Latin word meaning "to know" and indeed, knowledge which scientists acquire in their work is commonly held to be certain, unyielding, and absolute. Consider how we use the adjective "scientific. " There are investors and there are scientific investors. There are socialists and there are scientific socialists. There are exterminators and there are scientific exterminators. We all know how the modifier "scientific" inttudes in our daily life. It is the purpose of this book to challenge the belief that scientific knowledge is different from other kinds of knowledge.
Content:
Front Matter....Pages i-xvii
Front Matter....Pages 1-3
Science, Logic, and Objectivity....Pages 5-39
The Rise and Fall of the Mechanical World View....Pages 41-102
Einstein’s Special Theory of Relativity and Its Consequences....Pages 103-149
Further Consequences of the Heuristic Nature of the Special Theory of Relativity....Pages 151-168
The General Theory of Relativity....Pages 169-177
Front Matter....Pages 179-184
When a Hundred Flowers Bloom: The German Response....Pages 185-203
As If It Never Happened: The French Response....Pages 205-220
Defending the Ether: The British Response....Pages 221-240
Defending the Practical: The American Response....Pages 241-263
Front Matter....Pages 265-266
Relativity in America, 1912–1980....Pages 267-319
Relativity and Revolutions in Science....Pages 321-325
Back Matter....Pages 327-494
Content:
Front Matter....Pages i-xvii
Front Matter....Pages 1-3
Science, Logic, and Objectivity....Pages 5-39
The Rise and Fall of the Mechanical World View....Pages 41-102
Einstein’s Special Theory of Relativity and Its Consequences....Pages 103-149
Further Consequences of the Heuristic Nature of the Special Theory of Relativity....Pages 151-168
The General Theory of Relativity....Pages 169-177
Front Matter....Pages 179-184
When a Hundred Flowers Bloom: The German Response....Pages 185-203
As If It Never Happened: The French Response....Pages 205-220
Defending the Ether: The British Response....Pages 221-240
Defending the Practical: The American Response....Pages 241-263
Front Matter....Pages 265-266
Relativity in America, 1912–1980....Pages 267-319
Relativity and Revolutions in Science....Pages 321-325
Back Matter....Pages 327-494
....