The Conceptual Foundations of Contemporary Relativity Theory PDF Download
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Author: John Cowperthwaite Graves
Publisher: Cambridge, Mass : M.I.T. Press
ISBN:
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 384
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Book Description
The central conceptual idea of the contemporary theory of general relativity--or geometrodynamics--is the identification of matter with the structure of space-time. No entities foreign to space-time, like masses, charges, or independent fields are needed, and physics thus becomes identical with the geometry of space-time. This idea implies a philosophical description of the universe that is monistic and organic, characterized by an all-encompassing interdependence of events. Moreover, it is an idea with deep roots in the history of philosophy. For these reasons, the author of this important study strives to clarify these philosophical and historical issues before proceeding to the details of the physical theory of geometrodynamics.
Author: John Cowperthwaite Graves
Publisher: Cambridge, Mass : M.I.T. Press
ISBN:
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 384
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Book Description
The central conceptual idea of the contemporary theory of general relativity--or geometrodynamics--is the identification of matter with the structure of space-time. No entities foreign to space-time, like masses, charges, or independent fields are needed, and physics thus becomes identical with the geometry of space-time. This idea implies a philosophical description of the universe that is monistic and organic, characterized by an all-encompassing interdependence of events. Moreover, it is an idea with deep roots in the history of philosophy. For these reasons, the author of this important study strives to clarify these philosophical and historical issues before proceeding to the details of the physical theory of geometrodynamics.
Author: Tim Maudlin
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 0691165718
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 199
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Book Description
Philosophical foundations of the physics of space-time This concise book introduces nonphysicists to the core philosophical issues surrounding the nature and structure of space and time, and is also an ideal resource for physicists interested in the conceptual foundations of space-time theory. Tim Maudlin's broad historical overview examines Aristotelian and Newtonian accounts of space and time, and traces how Galileo's conceptions of relativity and space-time led to Einstein's special and general theories of relativity. Maudlin explains special relativity with enough detail to solve concrete physical problems while presenting general relativity in more qualitative terms. Additional topics include the Twins Paradox, the physical aspects of the Lorentz-FitzGerald contraction, the constancy of the speed of light, time travel, the direction of time, and more. Introduces nonphysicists to the philosophical foundations of space-time theory Provides a broad historical overview, from Aristotle to Einstein Explains special relativity geometrically, emphasizing the intrinsic structure of space-time Covers the Twins Paradox, Galilean relativity, time travel, and more Requires only basic algebra and no formal knowledge of physics
Author: Michael Friedman
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 1400855128
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 403
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Book Description
This book, explores the conceptual foundations of Einstein's theory of relativity: the fascinating, yet tangled, web of philosophical, mathematical, and physical ideas that is the source of the theory's enduring philosophical interest. Originally published in 1983. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.
Author: David B. Malament
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 0226502473
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 363
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Book Description
In Topics in the Foundations of General Relativity and Newtonian Gravitation Theory, David B. Malament presents the basic logical-mathematical structure of general relativity and considers a number of special topics concerning the foundations of general relativity and its relation to Newtonian gravitation theory. These special topics include the geometrized formulation of Newtonian theory (also known as Newton-Cartan theory), the concept of rotation in general relativity, and Gödel spacetime. One of the highlights of the book is a no-go theorem that can be understood to show that there is no criterion of orbital rotation in general relativity that fully answers to our classical intuitions. Topics is intended for both students and researchers in mathematical physics and philosophy of science.
Author: Dean Rickles
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317044312
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 444
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Book Description
Introducing the reader to the very latest developments in the philosophical foundations of physics, this book covers advanced material at a level suitable for beginner and intermediate students. A detailed overview is provided of the central debates in the philosophy of quantum mechanics, statistical mechanics, quantum computation, and quantum gravity. Each chapter consists of a 'state of the art' review written by a specialist in the field and introduces the reader to the relevant formal aspects along with the philosophical implications. These, and the various interpretive options, are developed in a self-contained, clear, and concise manner. Special care is given to situating the reader within the contemporary debates by providing numerous references and readings. This book thus enables both philosophers and physicists to engage with the most pressing problems in contemporary philosophy of physics in a fruitful way.
Author: Antonio Romano
Publisher: Springer Nature
ISBN: 3030272370
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 499
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Book Description
This unique textbook offers a mathematically rigorous presentation of the theory of relativity, emphasizing the need for a critical analysis of the foundations of general relativity in order to best study the theory and its implications. The transitions from classical mechanics to special relativity and then to general relativity are explored in detail as well, helping readers to gain a more profound and nuanced understanding of the theory as a whole. After reviewing the fundamentals of differential geometry and classical mechanics, the text introduces special relativity, first using the physical approach proposed by Einstein and then via Minkowski’s mathematical model. The authors then address the relativistic thermodynamics of continua and electromagnetic fields in matter – topics which are normally covered only very briefly in other treatments – in the next two chapters. The text then turns to a discussion of general relativity by means of the authors’ unique critical approach, underlining the difficulty of recognizing the physical meaning of some statements, such as the physical meaning of coordinates and the derivation of physical quantities from those of space-time. Chapters in this section cover the model of space-time proposed by Schwarzschild; black holes; the Friedman equations and the different cosmological models they describe; and the Fermi-Walker derivative. Well-suited for graduate students in physics and mathematics who have a strong foundation in real analysis, classical mechanics, and general physics, this textbook is appropriate for a variety of graduate-level courses that cover topics in relativity. Additionally, it will interest physicists and other researchers who wish to further study the subtleties of these theories and understand the contemporary scholarly discussions surrounding them.
Author: Graham Nerlich
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 0521452619
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 299
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Book Description
Eleven of Graham Nerlich's essays are here brought together dealing with ontology and methodology in relativity; variable curvature and general relativity; and time and causation.
Author: Philip Mirowski
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1107717183
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 468
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Book Description
More Heat Than Light is a history of how physics has drawn some inspiration from economics and also how economics has sought to emulate physics, especially with regard to the theory of value. It traces the development of the energy concept in Western physics and its subsequent effect upon the invention and promulgation of neoclassical economics. Any discussion of the standing of economics as a science must include the historical symbiosis between the two disciplines. Starting with the philosopher Emile Meyerson's discussion of the relationship between notions of invariance and causality in the history of science, the book surveys the history of conservation principles in the Western discussion of motion. Recourse to the metaphors of the economy are frequent in physics, and the concepts of value, motion, and body reinforced each other throughout the development of both disciplines, especially with regard to practices of mathematical formalisation. However, in economics subsequent misuse of conservation principles led to serious blunders in the mathematical formalisation of economic theory. The book attempts to provide the reader with sufficient background in the history of physics in order to appreciate its theses. The discussion is technically detailed and complex, and familiarity with calculus is required.
Author: Rémy Lestienne
Publisher: University of Illinois Press
ISBN: 9780252064272
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 244
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Book Description
"A work of scientific substance and critical wisdom, developed in the urbane idiom of a French scholar." -- J. T. Fraser, founder, International Society for the Study of Time "This is the book for those of us who couldn't wade completely through Hawking's A Brief History of Time and now have it collecting dust on our bookshelves. Well written, thought-provoking, and, most important, understandable." -- Michael Epstein, analytical spectroscopist/chemist, National Institute of Standards and Technology What is time? Does it really pass? These and other fascinating questions about the nature of time animate a continuing philosophical and scientific debate. In this popular French book, now available for the first time in English; my Lestienne moves to make the bewildering concepts of time accessible--and interesting. He uses Galileo, Newton, Einstein, and others to demonstrate how the concepts of causality and entropy became so pervasive that they eventually were substituted for time itself. He also shows how recent advances in astronomy, particle physics, developmental life sciences, and the neurosciences are helping to shape a new philosophical vision of time.
Author: K. Schaffner
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 9401021406
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 519
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Book Description
This book contains selected papers from symposia and contributed sessions presented at the third biennial meeting of the Philosophy of Science Association, held in Lansing, Michigan, on October 27-29, 1972. We are grateful to Michigan State University, and especially to Professor Peter Asquith and his students and colleagues, for their friendly and efficient hospitality in organizing the circumstances of the sessions and of the 'intersessions', the unscheduled free time which is so important to any scholarly gathering. Several of the symposium papers have unhappily not been made available: those of Alasdair MacIntyre and Sidney Morgenbesser in the session on the social sciences, that of Ian Hacking in the session on randomness and that of Imre Lakatos in the session on discovery and rationality in science. Department of History and KENNETH F. SCHAFFNER Philosophy of Science, University of Pittsburgh Center for the Philosophy and ROBERT S. COHEN History of Science, Boston University TABLE OF CONTENTS PREFACE v PART I/SYMPOSIUM: SPACE, TIME AND MATTER: THE FOUNDATIONS OF GEOMETRODYNAMICS ADOLF GRUNBAUM / Space, Time, and Matter: The Foundations of Geometrodynamics. Introductory Remarks 3 CHARLES W. MISNER / Some Topics for Philosophical Inquiry Concerning the Theories of Mathematical Geometrodynamics and of Physical Geometrodynamics 7 JOHN STACHEL / The Rise and Fall of Geometrodynamics 31 PART II / PHILOSOPHICAL PROBLEMS OF BIOLOGY AND PSYCHOLOGY STUART KAUFFMAN / Elsasser, Generalized Complementarity, and Finite Classes: A Critique of His Anti-Reductionism 57 WILLIAM C.
