Jammer Concepts of Simultaneity

From Antiquity to Einstein and Beyond
Erscheinungsjahr 2006
ISBN: 978-0-8018-8953-0
Verlag: Johns Hopkins University Press
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: Adobe DRM (»Systemvoraussetzungen)

E-Book, Englisch, 0 Seiten, Format (B × H): 152 mm x 229 mm

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.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Jammer, Max

Fachgebiete

• Interdisziplinäres Wissenschaften Wissenschaften Interdisziplinär Naturwissenschaften, Technik, Medizin
• Naturwissenschaften Physik Physik Allgemein
• Naturwissenschaften Chemie Physikalische Chemie

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Preface
Introduction
1. Terminological Preliminaries
2. The Concept of Simultaneity in Antiquity
3. Medieval Conceptions of Simultaneity
4. The Concept of Simultaneity in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries
5. The Concept of Simultaneity in Classical Physics
6. The Transition to the Relativistic Conception of Simultaneity
7. Simultaneity in the Special Theory of Relativity
8. The Reception of the Relativistic Conception of Simultaneity
9. The Conventionality Thesis
10. The Promulgation of the Conventionality Thesis
11. Symmetry and Transitivity of Simultaneity
12. Arguments against the Conventionality Thesis
13. Clock Transport Synchrony
14. Recent Debates on the Conventionality of Simultaneity
15. Simultaneity in General Relativity and in Quantum Mechanics
Epilogue
Index

Über Autor(innen)

Jammer, Max
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.