Overview
- Provides a new perspective on the history of general relativity
- Examines the attempt to build an institutional framework for international scientific cooperation during the Cold War
- Investigates the influence of political factors in the evolution of a scientific field
- Includes supplementary material: sn.pub/extras
Part of the book series: SpringerBriefs in History of Science and Technology (BRIEFSHIST)
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Table of contents (6 chapters)
Keywords
- Cold War Science
- André Mercier
- International Society on General Relativity and Gravitation
- International Committee on General Relativity and Gravitation
- Internationalization of Science
- Bern Conference
- General Relativity and Gravitation
- Peter Bergman
- John Wheeler
- André Lichnerowicz
- Renaissance of General Relativity
- GRG
- History of Science
- Six-Day War
- Israeli-Soviet Relations
About this book
This monograph presents a new perspective on the history of general relativity. It outlines the attempts to establish an institutional framework for the promotion of the field during the Cold War. Readers will learn the difficulties that key figures experienced and overcame during this period of global conflict.
The author analyzes the subtle interconnections between scientific and political factors. He shows how politics shaped the evolution of general relativity, even though it is a field with no military applications. He also details how different scientists held quite different views about what “political” meant in their efforts to pursue international cooperation.
The narrative examines the specific epistemic features of general relativity that helped create the first official, international scientific society. It answers: Why did relativity bring about this unique result? Was it simply the product of specific actions of particular actors having an illuminated view of international relations in the specific context of the Cold War? Or, was there something in the nature of the field that inspired the actors to pioneer new ways of international cooperation?
The book will be of interest to historians of modern science, historians of international relations, and historians of institutions. It will also appeal to physicists and interested general readers.
Reviews
“Lalli details the discussions and arguments in the highly charged political atmosphere clearly and fairly. … This book is not only interesting for its detailed history of the formation of an important international organization, but it is a useful history of the historical time. The interplay between the Western and Eastern scientists exhibits the political struggle to remain civil while accepting the needs and desires of each. This struggle and civility is clearly presented.” (J. N. Goldberg, General Relativity and Gravitation, November 13, 2018)
“By mobilizing a fascinating amount of archive materials, a detailed knowledge of the field, and providing many important and far-reaching insights, Lalli’s book is a helpful introduction to the complex field of the institutionalizing of science during that era of the Cold War.” (Adam Tamas Tuboly, International Philosophical Quarterly, Vol. 58 (04), 2018)
Authors and Affiliations
Bibliographic Information
Book Title: Building the General Relativity and Gravitation Community During the Cold War
Authors: Roberto Lalli
Series Title: SpringerBriefs in History of Science and Technology
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-54654-4
Publisher: Springer Cham
eBook Packages: History, History (R0)
Copyright Information: The Author(s) 2017
Softcover ISBN: 978-3-319-54653-7Published: 04 September 2017
eBook ISBN: 978-3-319-54654-4Published: 21 August 2017
Series ISSN: 2211-4564
Series E-ISSN: 2211-4572
Edition Number: 1
Number of Pages: XIV, 168
Number of Illustrations: 6 b/w illustrations
Topics: History of Science, History and Philosophical Foundations of Physics