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  • © 2010

Space, Time, and Spacetime

Physical and Philosophical Implications of Minkowski's Unification of Space and Time

Editors:

  • Addresses some of the deepest questions in all of physics
  • Describes how other areas of physics are influenced by our choice of spacetime description
  • Substantial contributions provide overviews for newcomers to the area
  • Includes supplementary material: sn.pub/extras

Part of the book series: Fundamental Theories of Physics (FTPH, volume 167)

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Table of contents (14 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xii
  2. Minkowski’s Representation of Special Relativity – Examples of Its Impact on the Twentieth Century Physics

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 1-1
    2. Rigidity and the Ruler Hypothesis

      • Stephen N. Lyle
      Pages 61-106
    3. Minkowski Space and Quantum Mechanics

      • Paul O’Hara
      Pages 107-127
    4. Relativity and Quantum Field Theory

      • Jonathan Bain
      Pages 129-146
    5. Ether, the Theory of Relativity and Quantum Physics

      • Eduardo V. Flores
      Pages 147-155
  3. Implications of Minkowski’s Ideas for the Philosophy of Space and Time

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 157-157
    2. Relativity of Simultaneity and Eternalism: In Defense of the Block Universe

      • Daniel Peterson, Michael Silberstein
      Pages 209-237
    3. Minkowski Space-Time and Thermodynamics

      • Friedel Weinert
      Pages 239-256
    4. No Presentism in Quantum Gravity

      • Christian Wüthrich
      Pages 257-278
  4. The Impact of Minkowski’s Ideas Beyond the Philosophy of Space and Time

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 279-279
  5. Back Matter

    Pages 313-314

About this book

This volume is dedicated to the centennial anniversary of Minkowski's discovery of spacetime. It contains selected papers by physicists and philosophers on the Nature and Ontology of Spacetime. The first six papers, comprising Part I of the book, provide examples of the impact of Minkowski's spacetime representation of special relativity on the twentieth century physics. Part II also contains six papers which deal with implications of Minkowski's ideas for the philosophy of space and time. The last part is represented by two papers which explore the influence of Minkowski's ideas beyond the philosophy of space and time.

Reviews

From the reviews:

“This book has a valuable resource for anyone looking to learn about the philosophical issues surrounding space and time. In fact, this is the book that is usually read for classes on the topic. … The writing is lucid, and he weaves the various topics together very nicely.” (Philosophy, Religion and Science Book Reviews, bookinspections.wordpress.com, May, 2014)

Editors and Affiliations

  • Liberal Arts College, Concordia University, Montreal, Canada

    Vesselin Petkov

About the editor


Vesselin Petkov received a graduate degree in physics from Sofia University, a doctorate in philosophy from the Institute for Philosophical Research of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, and a doctorate in physics from Concordia University. He taught at Sofia University and is currently teaching at Concordia University. He wrote the book "Relativity and the Nature of Spacetime" (Springer 2005) and edited the books "Relativity and the Dimensionality of the World" (Springer 2007), and "Minkowski Spacetime: A Hundred Years Later" (Springer, forthcoming). He is a member of the Governing Board of the International Society for the Advanced Study of Spacetime

Bibliographic Information

Buy it now

Buying options

eBook USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Other ways to access