The Renaissance of General Relativity in Context
Editors: Blum, Alexander S., Lalli, Roberto, Renn, Jürgen (Eds.)
Free Preview- Illustrates how general relativity developed from a marginal theory into a cornerstone of modern physics
- Explores various historical episodes with a thorough analysis of the relevant scientific concepts, such as quantum theory, massive gravity, and dark matter
- Engages in a truly interdisciplinary exploration of this prolific era of research, including chapters written by an international group of experts
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- About this book
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This contributed volume explores the renaissance of general relativity after World War II, when it transformed from a marginal theory into a cornerstone of modern physics. Chapters explore key historical processes related to the theory of general relativity, in addition to presenting a thorough treatment of the relevant science behind these episodes. A broad historiographical framework is introduced first, thus providing the broad context in which the given computational approaches and case studies occurred. Written by an international and interdisciplinary group of expert authors, these chapters will bring readers to a more complete understanding of Einstein’s theory. Specific topics include:
- Social and citation networks
- The Fock-Infeld dispute
- Wheeler’s turn to gravitation theory
- The position of general relativity in theories of fundamental interactions
- The pursuit of a quantum theory of gravity
- The emergence of dark matter in relation to cosmological models
- Institutional frameworks for gravitational wave search in Europe
- Reviews
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“The renaissance of general relativity provides a rich case study for thinking about fundamental problems of scientific change. … The book is a great cross section of those different approaches, which will make it valuable to scholars in history and sociology of physics … . Nevertheless, The Renaissance of General Relativity in Context will quickly become a classic in the history of the field, and it will perhaps spur new research programs of its own.” (Matthew Stanley, Physics Today, July, 2021)
- Table of contents (10 chapters)
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The Renaissance of General Relativity in Context: A Historiographical Review
Pages 1-14
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The Socio-Epistemic Networks of General Relativity, 1925–1970
Pages 15-84
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Patronage of Gravitational Physics and the Relativity Community in the USA (1949–1959)
Pages 85-111
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The Fock-Infeld Dispute: An Illustration of the Renaissance of General Relativity in the Soviet Union
Pages 113-139
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Tokyo Wheeler
Pages 141-187
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Table of contents (10 chapters)
Bibliographic Information
- Bibliographic Information
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- Book Title
- The Renaissance of General Relativity in Context
- Editors
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- Alexander S. Blum
- Roberto Lalli
- Jürgen Renn
- Series Title
- Einstein Studies
- Series Volume
- 16
- Copyright
- 2020
- Publisher
- Birkhäuser Basel
- Copyright Holder
- Springer Nature Switzerland AG
- eBook ISBN
- 978-3-030-50754-1
- DOI
- 10.1007/978-3-030-50754-1
- Hardcover ISBN
- 978-3-030-50753-4
- Series ISSN
- 2381-5833
- Edition Number
- 1
- Number of Pages
- X, 406
- Number of Illustrations
- 2 b/w illustrations, 27 illustrations in colour
- Topics
