The Genesis of General Relativity

1. A New Law of Gravitation Enforced by Special Relativity

   1. Mechanics and the Relativity Postulate

      • Hermann Minkowski

      Pages 1199-1212

   2. Old and New Questions in Physics (Excerpt)

      • Hendrik A. Lorentz

      Pages 1213-1228

2. The Problem of Gravitation as a Challenge for the Minkowski Formalism

   1. The Summit Almost Scaled: Max Abraham as a Pioneer of a Relativistic Theory of Gravitation

      • Jürgen Renn

      Pages 1229-1255

   2. On the Theory of Gravitation

      • Max Abraham

      Pages 1256-1265

   3. The Free Fall

      • Max Abraham

      Pages 1266-1271

   4. A New Theory of Gravitation

      • Max Abraham

      Pages 1272-1287

   5. Recent Theories of Gravitation

      • Max Abraham

      Pages 1288-1336

3. A Field Theory of Gravitation in the Framework of Special Relativity

   1. Einstein, Nordström, and the Early Demise of Scalar, Lorentz Covariant Theories of Gravitation

      • John D. Norton

      Pages 1337-1411

   2. The Principle of Relativity and Gravitation

      • Gunnar Nordström

      Pages 1412-1421

   3. Inertial and Gravitational Mass In Relativistic Mechanics

      • Gunnar Nordström

      Pages 1422-1445

   4. On the Theory of Gravitation from the Standpoint of the Principle of Relativity

      • Gunnar Nordström

      Pages 1446-1466

   5. On the Present State of the Problem of Gravitation

      • Albert Einstein

      Pages 1467-1491

4. From Heretical Mechanics to a New Theory of Relativity

   1. Einstein and Mach's Principle

      • Julian B. Barbour

      Pages 1492-1527

   2. On the Relativity Problem

      • Albert Einstein

      Pages 1528-1536

   3. Ether and the Theory of Relativity

      • Albert Einstein

      Pages 1537-1542

5. From an Electromagnetic Theory of Matter to a New Theory of Gravitation

   1. Mie's Theories of Matter and Gravitation

      • Christopher Smeenk, Christopher Martin

      Pages 1543-1553

   2. Foundations of a Theory of Matter (Excerpts)

      • Gustav Mie

      Pages 1554-1619

   3. Remarks Concerning Einstein's Theory of Gravitation

      • Gustav Mie

      Pages 1620-1650

   4. The Principle of the Relativity of the Gravitational Potential

      • Gustav Mie

      Pages 1651-1666

   5. The Momentum-Energy Law in the Electrodynamics of Gustav Mie

      • Max Born

      Pages 1667-1679

The transition from classical to modern physics in the ?rst half of the twentieth c- tury by quantum and relativity theories affected some of the most fundamental notions of physical thinking, such as matter, radiation, space, and time. This tran- tion thus represents a challenge for any attempt to understand the structures of a s- enti?c revolution. The present four-volume work aims at a comprehensive account of the way in which the work of Albert Einstein and his contemporaries changed our understanding of space, time, and gravitation. The conceptual framework of classical nineteenth-century physics had to be fundamentally restructured and reinterpreted in order to arrive at a theory of gravitation compatible with the new notions of space and time established in 1905 by Einstein’s special theory of relativity. Whereas the classical theory of gravitation postulated an instantaneous action at a distance, Einstein’s new relativistic kinematics rather suggested an analogy between the gravitational ?eld and the electromagnetic ?eld, propagating with a ?nite speed. It is therefore not surprising that Einstein was not alone in addressing the problem of formulating a theory of gravitation that complies with the kinematics of relativity t- ory. The analysis of these alternative approaches, as well as of earlier alternative approaches to gravitation within classical physics, turns out to be crucial for identi- ing the necessities and contingencies in the actual historical development.

• 4-vector
• Evolution
• Gravity
• RMS
• Relativity
• Scientific Revolution
• Special relativity
• general relativity
• idea
• interpret
• science
• theory of relativity

From the reviews:

These volumes prove that to Wittgenstein’s saying that "Genius is what makes us forget skill" ought to be added the statement "when viewing the finished product." Genius is also the ability to master the available resources and techniques and to synthesize them in a manner that overwhelms. The volumes are the product of a remarkable cooperative effort on the part of five of the most distinguished Einstein scholars. They deciphered and analyzed the extended research notes that Einstein made from 1912 to 1915 in his struggle to arrive at the final formulation of his theory of general relativity. In doing so they have given us deep new insights on Einstein’s creativity and on creativity in general, on context, on the role of past resources and expertise, and on the function of analogies. Their researches, observations and commentary have also made us think anew of the concept of a scientific revolution. Their splendid work is surely one of the most important and seminal scholarly accomplishments of recent times.

S.S. Schweber, Brandeis University, USA

"The publication of The Genesis of General Relativity marks the outcome of 10 years of research into the origins of Einstein’s General Relativity Theory … . It provides a comprehensive study and in-depth analysis of how the work of Albert Einstein and his contemporaries changes our understanding of space, time and gravitation. … At the center of this reconstruction, is a commentary of Einstein’s unpublished research notes, so-called ‘Zurich Notebook’, presented in their entirety for the first time." (Renn Jürgen, www.physorg.com, February, 2007)

These volumes are the result of over two decades of effort, by most of the
leading scholars in the field, to understand the process that culminated in
1915 and 1916 in Einstein’s publication of the general theory of relativity.
In addition to relativity physicists theproject involved, both individually
and more frequently collaboratively, historians and philosophers of science.
The central objective was, through this richly documented case study, to
identify universal features of the epistemological transformation that the
authors have called a “Copernican process”: How is it that heuristic guides
can render conceptual changes that invalidate their use? This dynamical
transmutation is firmly rooted in received societal and disciplinary scientific
knowledge. In the particular case under study here, most relativists will
probably have little trouble rejecting the mistaken popular notion that Einstein
was an isolated genius, creating his new world through shear inspired
imagination... Donald Salisbury, July 2008

To read more of this review  - paste this link into your browser.

http://arxiv1.library.cornell.edu/abs/0807.3706v1

 

• University of Minnesota, USA

  Michel Janssen

• University of Pittsburgh, USA

  John D. Norton

• Max Planck Institute for the History of Science, Germany

  Jürgen Renn

• Einstein Papers Project, Caltech, USA

  Tilman Sauer

• Boston University, USA

  John Stachel

Policies and ethics