Overview
- Features translations by an award-winning translator of Henri Poincaré
- Recounts the discovery of radioactivity and the characterization of its components
- An insightful reanalysis of data from 1902 concerning high-speed electrons
- Offers a clear comparison of contributions by M. Abraham, H. A. Lorentz and H. Poincaré to a theory of electrons
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Table of contents (14 chapters)
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Front Matter
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Discussion
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Front Matter
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Supplement, H. A. Lorentz
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Front Matter
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Back Matter
Keywords
- classical theory of electrons
- Abraham-Lorentz-Poincaré model of electrons
- Poincaré stress
- origins of special relativity
- adoption of vector notation for electrodynamics
- Poincaré papers
- Poincaré translations
- 20th century electrodynamics
- pre-quantum theory of electrons
- Poincaré ether
- vector notation classical electrodynamics
About this book
In the 1950s, a dispute ignited about the origin of the theory of special relativity and thrust considerable notoriety on a paper written by Henri Poincaré in 1905. Accordingly, Part I presents the relevant translations of Poincaré’s work showing that radiation carries momentum and the covariance of the equations of electrodynamics, the continuity equation for charge, and the spacetime interval. Part II then discusses investigations by Thomson, Becquerel, and Kaufmann of electrons in diverse contexts; contributions of Abraham, Lorentz and Poincaré to a theory of electrons that includes Lorentz transformations and explains the dependence of mass on velocity; and finally, Poincaré’s exploration of the relativity principle, electron stability, and gravitation while rejecting absolute motion (ether) and an electromagnetic origin of mass. Part III contains the 1904 article by H. A. Lorentz presenting his transformations.
This book will be a fascinating read to graduate-level students, physicists, and science historians who are interested in the development of electrodynamics and the classical, relativistic theory of electrons at the beginning of the 20th century.
Authors and Affiliations
About the author
Bibliographic Information
Book Title: Henri Poincaré: Electrons to Special Relativity
Book Subtitle: Translation of Selected Papers and Discussion
Authors: Bruce D Popp
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-48039-4
Publisher: Springer Cham
eBook Packages: Physics and Astronomy, Physics and Astronomy (R0)
Copyright Information: Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-030-48038-7Published: 05 August 2020
Softcover ISBN: 978-3-030-48041-7Published: 06 August 2021
eBook ISBN: 978-3-030-48039-4Published: 04 August 2020
Edition Number: 1
Number of Pages: XVIII, 285
Number of Illustrations: 3 b/w illustrations, 4 illustrations in colour
Topics: Classical Electrodynamics, History and Philosophical Foundations of Physics, Mathematical Applications in the Physical Sciences