Concepts of Simultaneity: From Antiquity to Einstein and Beyond

Max Jammer

ISBN 10: 0801884225 / ISBN 13: 9780801884221

Editore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2006

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The study concludes with an analysis of simultaneity's importance in general relativity and quantum mechanics. Num Pages: 320 pages, 16, 16 black & white line drawings. BIC Classification: HP; PGZ. Category: (P) Professional & Vocational; (UP) Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly; (UU) Undergraduate. Dimension: 220 x 238 x 25. Weight in Grams: 586. . 2006. Hardcover. . . . . Books ship from the US and Ireland.

Codice articolo V9780801884221

Dati bibliografici

• Titolo: Concepts of Simultaneity: From Antiquity to Einstein and Beyond
• Editore: Johns Hopkins University Press
• Data di pubblicazione: 2006
• Lingua: Inglese
• ISBN 10: 0801884225
• ISBN 13: 9780801884221
• Rilegatura: Rilegato
• Condizione: New

Descrizione articolo

Riassunto

Max Jammer's Concepts of Simultaneity presents a comprehensive, accessible account of the historical development of an important and controversial concept—which played a critical role in initiating modern theoretical physics—from the days of Egyptian hieroglyphs through to Einstein's work in 1905, and beyond.

Beginning with the use of the concept of simultaneity in ancient Egypt and in the Bible, the study discusses its role in Greek and medieval philosophy as well as its significance in Newtonian physics and in the ideas of Leibniz, Kant, and other classical philosophers. The central theme of Jammer's presentation is a critical analysis of the use of this concept by philosophers of science, like Poincaré, and its significant role in inaugurating modern theoretical physics in Einstein's special theory of relativity. Particular attention is paid to the philosophical problem of whether the notion of distant simultaneity presents a factual reality or only a hypothetical convention. The study concludes with an analysis of simultaneity's importance in general relativity and quantum mechanics.

Informazioni sull?autore

Max Jammer, who was personally acquainted with Albert Einstein while at Princeton, is former president and professor emeritus of Bar-Ilan University and author of a number of important books, mainly in the philosophy of physics. Among his numerous awards are the Prize of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the much coveted Israel Prize.