Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in
Birkhäuser
Book cover

Thinking About Space and Time

100 Years of Applying and Interpreting General Relativity

  • Book
  • © 2020

Overview

Editors:
  1. Claus Beisbart

    1. Institute of Philosophy, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland

    View editor publications

    You can also search for this editor in PubMed   Google Scholar

  2. Tilman Sauer

    1. Institute of Mathematics, Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz, Mainz, Germany

    View editor publications

    You can also search for this editor in PubMed   Google Scholar

  3. Christian Wüthrich

    1. Department of Philosophy, University of Geneva, Genève, Switzerland

    View editor publications

    You can also search for this editor in PubMed   Google Scholar

  • Examines the 100 years of work surrounding Einstein’s general relativity from a historical and philosophical perspective
  • Collects original research from leading authors in various fields, presenting a truly multidisciplinary approach
  • Analyzes past theories of spacetime and gravitation, while also looking toward the future

Part of the book series: Einstein Studies (EINSTEIN, volume 15)

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this book

Log in via an institution
eBook USD 99.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book USD 129.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book USD 129.99
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

Licence this eBook for your library

Institutional subscriptions

Table of contents (12 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xviii
    Download chapter PDF

  2. Space and Time 62 Years After the Berne Conference

    • Claus Kiefer
    Pages 1-15

  3. Einstein’s Conflicting Heuristics: The Discovery of General Relativity

    • John D. Norton
    Pages 17-48

  4. Historical and Philosophical Aspects of the Einstein World

    • Cormac O’Raifeartaigh
    Pages 49-69

  5. Stability in Cosmology, from Einstein to Inflation

    • C. D. McCoy
    Pages 71-89

  6. The Einstein–Rosen Bridge and the Einstein–Podolsky–Rosen Argument: Singularities and Separability

    • Galina Weinstein
    Pages 91-109

  7. A Raum with a View: Hermann Weyl and the Problem of Space

    • Neil Dewar, Joshua Eisenthal
    Pages 111-132

  8. Friedman and Some of His Critics on the Foundations of General Relativity

    • Ryan Samaroo
    Pages 133-151

  9. Interpretations of GR as Guidelines for Theory Change

    • Niels Linnemann
    Pages 153-171

  10. Explanation, Geometry, and Conspiracy in Relativity Theory

    • James Read
    Pages 173-205

  11. Geometry and Motion in General Relativity

    • James Owen Weatherall
    Pages 207-226

  12. The Metaphysics of Machian Frame-Dragging

    • Antonio Vassallo, Carl Hoefer
    Pages 227-246

  13. Approximate Local Poincaré Spacetime Symmetry in General Relativity

    • Samuel C. Fletcher
    Pages 247-267
Back to top

Keywords

About this book

This volume offers an integrated understanding of how the theory of general relativity gained momentum after Einstein had formulated it in 1915. Chapters focus on the early reception of the theory in physics and philosophy and on the systematic questions that emerged shortly after Einstein's momentous discovery. They are written by physicists, historians of science, and philosophers, and were originally presented at the conference titled Thinking About Space and Time: 100 Years of Applying and Interpreting General Relativity, held at the University of Bern from September 12-14, 2017. By establishing the historical context first, and then moving into more philosophical chapters, this volume will provide readers with a more complete understanding of early applications of general relativity (e.g., to cosmology) and of related philosophical issues. Because the chapters are often cross-disciplinary, they cover a wide variety of topics related to the general theory of relativity. These include:
  • Heuristics used in the discovery of general relativity
  • Mach's Principle
  • The structure of Einstein's theory
  • Cosmology and the Einstein world
  • Stability of cosmological models
  • The metaphysical nature of spacetime
  • The relationship between spacetime and dynamics
  • The Geodesic Principle
  • Symmetries

Thinking About Space and Time will be a valuable resource for historians of science and philosophers who seek a deeper knowledge of the (early and later) uses of general relativity, as well as for physicists and mathematicians interested in exploring the wider historical and philosophical context of Einstein's theory.

Reviews

“This book should prove interesting for those looking for a survey of current work on a theory which is over a century old but still a topic of current research, not just on its applications but, as emphasized here, on its foundations as well.” (Phillip Helbig, The Observatory, Vol. 141 (1281), April, 2021)

Editors and Affiliations

  • Institute of Philosophy, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland

    Claus Beisbart

  • Institute of Mathematics, Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz, Mainz, Germany

    Tilman Sauer

  • Department of Philosophy, University of Geneva, Genève, Switzerland

    Christian Wüthrich

Bibliographic Information

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Back to top

Search

Navigation