- ISBN: 9780486600819 | 0486600815
- Cover: Paperback
- Copyright: 6/1/1952
Here are the 11 papers that forged the general and special theories of relativity: seven papers by Einstein, plus two papers by Lorentz and one each by Minkowski and Weyl. "A thrill to read again the original papers by these giants." School Science and Mathematics.1923 edition.
In addition to conducting the research that culminated in his acclaimed theories of relativity, Albert Einstein (1879-1955) taught and lectured at universities around the world. Einstein received numerous awards and honorary doctorate degrees in science, medicine, and philosophy, and he remains a towering symbol of intellectual and imaginative achievement.
It's All Relative
Around 1950, Hayward Cirker, Founder and President of Dover Publications, wrote to Einstein and asked his approval to proceed with a Dover paperback reprint of the 1923 collection of original papers on relativity by Einstein himself and others (H. A. Lorentz, H. Weyl, and H. Minkowski), which had originally been published in England. Einstein was reluctant, wondering how much interest there could possibly be in this relic of his work from 30 or more years earlier. Cirker persisted, and Einstein finally agreed — the Dover edition of The Theory of Relativity has been in print ever since and has been followed by many other Dover books on relativity.
The papers reprinted in this original collection will always be for the serious student the cornerstone of their Einstein library: Michelson's Interference Experiment (H. A. Lorentz); Electromagnetic Phenomena in a System Moving with any Velocity Less Than That of Light (H.A. Lorentz); On the Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies (A. Einstein); Does the Inertia of a Body Depend Upon its Energy Content? (A. Einstein); Space and Time (H. Minkowksi with notes by A. Sommerfeld); On the Influence of Gravitation on the Propagation of Light (A. Einstein); and The Foundation of the General Theory of Relativity (A. Einstein) found on pages 109–164 of this text; Hamilton's Principle and The General Theory of Relativity (A. Einstein); Cosmological Considerations on the General Theory of Relativity (A. Einstein); Do Gravitational Fields Play an Essential Part in the Structure of the Elementary Particles of Matter? (A. Einstein); and Gravitation and Electricity (H. Weyl).
In the Author's Own Words:
"How can it be that mathematics, being after all a product of human thought independent of experience, is so admirably adapted to the objects of reality?"
"What nature demands from us is not a quantum theory or a wave theory; rather, nature demands from us a synthesis of these two views which thus far has exceeded the mental powers of physicists."
"Do not be troubled by your difficulties with Mathematics, I can assure you mine are much greater." — Albert Einstein
Critical Acclaim for The Theory of Relativity:
"This book constitutes an indispensable part of a library on relativity." — Nature
| Michelson's Interference Experiment | p. 1 |
| The experiment | |
| The contraction hypothesis | |
| The contraction in relation to molecular forces | |
| Electromagnetic Phenomena in a System Moving with any Velocity less than that of Light | p. 9 |
| Experimental evidence | |
| Poincare's criticism of the contraction hypothesis | |
| Maxwell's equations for moving axes | |
| The modified vectors | |
| Retarded potentials | |
| Electrostatic fields | |
| A polarized particle | |
| Corresponding states | |
| Momentum of an electron | |
| The influence of the earth's motion on optical phenomena | |
| Applications | |
| Molecular motions | |
| Kaufmann's experiments | |
| On the Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies | p. 35 |
| Kinematical Part | |
| Definition of simultaneity | |
| On the relativity of lengths and times | |
| The transformation of co-ordinates and times | |
| Physical meaning of the equations | |
| The composition of velocities | |
| Electrodynamical Part | |
| Transformation of the Maxwell-Hertz equations | |
| Doppler's principle and aberration | |
| The energy of light rays and the pressure of radiation | |
| Transformation of the equations with convection currents | |
| Dynamics of the slowly accelerated electron | |
| Does the Inertia of a body depend upon its energy-content? | p. 67 |
| Space and Time | p. 73 |
| The invariance of the Newtonian equations and its representation in four dimensional space | |
| The world-postulate | |
| The representation of motion in the continuum | |
| The new mechanics | |
| The motion of one and two electrons | |
| Notes on this paper | p. 92 |
| On the Influence of Gravitation on the Propagation of Light | p. 97 |
| The physical nature of gravitation | |
| The gravitation of energy | |
| The velocity of light | |
| Bending of light-rays | |
| The Foundation of the General Theory of Relativity | p. 109 |
| Fundamental Considerations on the Postulate of Relativity | |
| Observations on the special theory | |
| The need for an extension of the postulate of relativity | |
| The space-time continuum; general co-variance | |
| Measurement in Space and Time | |
| Mathematical Aids to the Formulation of generally Covariant Equations | |
| Contravariant and covariant four-vectors | |
| Tensors of the second and higher ranks | |
| Multiplication of tensors | |
| The fundamental tensor g[subscript mu nu] | |
| The equation of the geodetic line | |
| The formation of tensors by differentiation | |
| Some cases of special importance | |
| The Riemann-Christoffel tensor | |
| Theory of the Gravitational Field | |
| Equations of motion of a material point | |
| The field equations of gravitation in the absence of matter | |
| The Hamiltonian function for the gravitational field. Laws of momentum and energy | |
| The general form of the field equations | |
| The laws of conservation | |
| The laws of momentum and energy | |
| Material Phenomena | |
| Euler's equations for a fluid | |
| Maxwell's equations for free space | |
| Applications of the Theory | |
| Newton's theory as a first approximation | |
| Behaviour of rods and clocks in a static gravitational field. Bending of light rays. Motion of the perihelion of a planetary orbit | |
| Hamilton's Principle and the General Theory of Relativity | p. 165 |
| The principle of variation and the field-equations | |
| Separate existence of the gravitational field | |
| Properties of the field equations conditioned by the theory of invariants | |
| Cosmological Considerations on the General Theory of Relativity | p. 175 |
| The Newtonian theory | |
| The boundary conditions according to the general theory of relativity | |
| The spatially finite universe | |
| On an additional term for the field equations of gravitation | |
| Calculation and result | |
| Do Gravitational Fields Play an Essential Part in the Structure of the Elementary Particles of Matter? | p. 189 |
| Defects of the present view | |
| The field equations freed of scalars | |
| On the cosmological question | |
| Concluding remarks | |
| Gravitation and Electricity | p. 200 |
| Table of Contents provided by Syndetics. All Rights Reserved. |
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