The curious history of relativity : how Einstein's theory of gravity was lost and found again / Jean Eisenstaedt ; translated by Arturo Sangalli.

  • Eisenstaedt, Jean, 1940-
Date:
[2006]
  • Books

About this work

Also known as

Einstein et la relativité générale. English

Description

"Almost one hundred years after general relativity replaced Newton's theory of gravitation, The Curious History of Relativity tells the story of the 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."--Jacket.

Publication/Creation

Princeton, N.J. : Princeton University Press, [2006]

Physical description

ix, 363 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm

Notes

Translation of: Einstein et la relativité générale.

Bibliographic information

Includes bibliographical references (pages 349-360) and index.

Contents

Foreword -- Introduction : a difficult theory -- 1. The speed of light and classical physics -- 2. Light and the structure of space-time -- 3. Toward a new theory of gravitation -- 4. Einstein's principles -- 5. The birth of general relativity -- 6. General relativity : a physical geometry -- 7. Relativity verified : Mercury's anomaly -- 8. Relativity verified : the deflection of light rays -- 9. Relativity verified : the line shift -- 10. The crossing of the desert -- 11. An unpopular theory -- 12. The rejection of black holes -- 13. Paths in Schwarzschild's space-time -- 14. No ordinary stars -- 15. Gravitation, astrophysics, and cosmology -- Afterword : The paths of general relativity -- Bibliography -- Name index.

Languages

Where to find it

  • LocationStatus
    History of Medicine
    AF.AM
    Open shelves

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Identifiers

ISBN

  • 0691118655
  • 9780691118659