The Curious History of Relativity

How Einstein's Theory of Gravity Was Lost and Found Again

Jean Eisenstadt

384 pages, parution le 21/11/2006

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Résumé

Black holes may obliterate most things that come near them, but they saved the theory of general relativity. Einstein's theory was quickly accepted as the true theory of gravity after its publication in 1915, but soon took a back seat in physics to quantum mechanics and languished for decades on the blackboards of mathematicians. Not until the existence of black holes by Stephen Hawking and Roger Penrose in the 1960s, after Einstein's death, was the theory revived.

Almost one hundred years after general relativity replaced Newton's theory of gravitation, The Curious History of Relativity tells the story of both events surrounding general relativity and the techniques employed by Einstein and the relativists to construct, develop, and understand his almost impenetrable theory. Jean Eisenstaedt, one of the world's leading experts on the subject, also discusses the theory's place in the evolution of twentieth-century physics. He describes the main stages in the development of general relativity: its beginnings, its strange crossing of the desert during Einstein's lifetime while under heated criticism, and its new life from the 1960s on, when it became vital to the understanding of black holes and the observation of exotic objects, and, eventually, to the discovery of the accelerating universe. We witness Einstein's construction of his theory, as well as the work of his fascinated, discouraged, and enthusiastic colleagues--physicists, mathematicians, and astronomers.

Written with flair, The Curious History of Relativity poses--and answers--the difficult questions raised by Einstein's magnificent intellectual feat.

L'auteur - Jean Eisenstadt

Jean Eisenstaedt is Senior Researcher at France's National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) attached to the Paris Observatory. The widely praised French edition of The Curious History of Relativity was published as Einstein et la relativité générale. Eisenstaedt's most recent book is Avant Einstein. Relativité, lumière, gravitation (Before Einstein: Relativity, Light, Gravitation).

Sommaire

Introduction: A Difficult Theory
The Speed of Light and Classical Physics
Light and the Structure of Space-Time
Toward a New Theory of Gravitation
Einstein's Principles
The Birth of General Relativity
General Relativity: A Physical Geometry
Relativity Verified: Mercury's Anomaly
Relativity Verified: The Deflection of Light Rays
Relativity Verified: The Line Shift
The Crossing of the Desert
An Unpopular Theory
The Rejection of Black Holes
Paths in Schwarzschild's Space-Time
No Ordinary Stars
Gravitation, Astrophysics, and Cosmology
Afterword: The Paths of General Relativity

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Caractéristiques techniques

	PAPIER
Éditeur(s)	Princeton University Press
Auteur(s)	Jean Eisenstadt
Parution	21/11/2006
Nb. de pages	384
Format	16,5 x 24,5
Couverture	Relié
Poids	790g
Intérieur	Noir et Blanc
EAN13	9780691118659
ISBN13	978-0-691-11865-9