a Einstein - Böcker

BY W. H. MCCREA, F. R. S. 'THE only justification for our concepts and system of concepts is that they serve to represent the complex of our experiences; beyond this they have no legitimacy. ' So Einstein writes on page 2 of this book. Most present-day physicists would agree, and many before Einstein must have held the same opinion. Einstein, however, put the opinion into practice to better purpose than any physicist before him. And for Einstein it evidently meant what it means for most of us today: a theory is the construction of a theoretical model of the world of physics; all the mathematical discussion applies to the model; the model embodies the 'system of concepts', and it serves 'to represent the complex of our experiences' if the experience of the theoretical observer in the theoretical model can be put into satisfactory correspondence with the experi- ence of the actual observer in the actual physical world. Classical mechanics and classical electromagnetism pro- vide models that are good representations of two sets of actual experiences. As Einstein was the first fully to appreciate, however, it is not possible to combine these into a single self-consistent model.The construction of the simplest possible self-consistent model is the achieve- ment of Einstein's theory of special relativity. The theory is found, in particular, to give a satisfactory representation of the electromagnetic interaction between charged particles through its use of the concept of the electromagnetic field.

A classic collection of correspondence between two Nobel Prize winners, The Born-Einstein Letters , is also highly topical: scientists continue to struggle with quantum physics, their role in wartime and the public's misunderstanding.

Albert Einstein and Max Born were great friends. Their letters span 40 years and two world wars. In them they argue about quantum theory, agree about Beethoven's heavenly violin and piano duets (that they played together when they met) and chat about their families. Equally important, the men commiserate over the tragic plight of Europe's Jewry and discuss what part they should play in the tumultuous politics of the time. Fascinating historically, The Born-Einstein Letters, 1916-1955 is also highly topical: scientists continue to struggle with quantum physics, their role in wartime and the public's misunderstanding. First published by Macmillan in 1971, this book is re-issued with a new preface as part of 2005's Relativity Centenary celebrations.

Dieser Buchtitel ist Teil des Digitalisierungsprojekts Springer Book Archives mit Publikationen, die seit den Anfängen des Verlags von 1842 erschienen sind. Der Verlag stellt mit diesem Archiv Quellen für die historische wie auch die disziplingeschichtliche Forschung zur Verfügung, die jeweils im historischen Kontext betrachtet werden müssen. Dieser Titel erschien in der Zeit vor 1945 und wird daher in seiner zeittypischen politisch-ideologischen Ausrichtung vom Verlag nicht beworben.