Einstein Hilbert And The Theory Of Gravitation

Some time ago I published a small piece * dealing with a charming little essay on 'the state of ether in magnetic fields', which the sixteen-year-old Einstein had written while he was awaiting admission to the E. T. H. in Zurich. This paper sought to trace the continuity between Einstein's early interest in electrodynamics and his later work on the special and general relativity theories. On reading this paper, Professor Eugene Wigner asked me whether David Hilbert had not independently discovered the field equations of gravitation. ** His impression from his stay in Gottingen (where Wigner had been Hilbert's assistant for one year in the late nineteen-twenties) was that Hilbert had indeed done so, and he asked me if it was true. I replied to Professor Wigner about Hilbert's contribution to the theory of gravitation. t He kindly encouraged me to expand my account to deal with the intricate and exciting details of the early years in the formulation of the general relativity theory of gravitation. This is what I have sought to do in this study. Albert Einstein created the general relativity theory of gravitation and dominated its development through the rest of his life. His early work on the theory of gravitation, from 1912 to 1916, had the drama of high adventure. It culminated in the establishment of its foundations which have remained unassailed by the theoretical and experimental work of succeeding decades.

The fundamental conceptions of twentieth-century physics have profoundly influenced almost every field of modern thought and activity. Quantum Theory, Relativity, and the modern ideas on the Structure of Matter have contributed to a deeper understand ing of Nature, and they will probably rank in history among the greatest intellectual achievements of all time. The purpose of our symposium was to review, in historical perspective, the current horizons of the major conceptual structures of the physics of this century. Professors Abdus Salam and Hendrik Casimir, in their remarks at the opening of the symposium, have referred to its origin and planning. Our original plan was to hold a two-week symposium on the different aspects of five principal themes: 1. Space, Time and Geometry (including the structure of the universe and the theory of gravita tion),2. Quantum Theory (including the development of quantum mechanics and quantum field theory), 3. Statistical Description of Nature (including the discussion of equilibrium and non-equilibrium phenomena, and the application of these ideas to the evolution of biological structure), 4. The Structure of Matter (including the discus sion, in a unified perspective, of atoms, molecules, nuclei, elementary particles, and the physics of condensed matter), and finally, 5. Physical Description and Epistemo logy (including the distinction between classical and quantum descriptions, and the epistemological and philosophical problems raised by them).

Outgrowth of 6th Int'l Conference on the History of General Relativity, held in Amsterdam on June 26-29, 2002 Contributions from notable experts offer both new and historical insights on gravitation, general relativity, cosmology, unified field theory, and the history of science Topics run gamet from detailed mathematical discussions to more personal recollections of relativity as seen through the eyes of the public and renowned relativists

This book is a printed edition of the Special Issue "100 Years of Chronogeometrodynamics: the Status of the Einstein's Theory of Gravitation in Its Centennial Year" that was published in Universe

Beyond Einstein: Perspectives on Geometry, Gravitation, and Cosmology explores the rich interplay between mathematical and physical ideas by studying the interactions of major actors and the roles of important research communities over the course of the last century.

Best-selling, accessible physics-first introduction to GR uses minimal new mathematics and begins with the essential physical applications.

Based upon the proceedings of the First International Conference on the History of General Relativity, held at Boston University's Osgood Hill Conference Center, North Andover, Massachusetts, 8-11 May 1986, this volume brings together essays by twelve prominent historians and philosophers of science and physicists. The topics range from the development of general relativity (John Norton, John Stachel) and its early reception (Carlo Cattani, Michelangelo De Maria, Anne Kox), through attempts to understand the physical implications of the theory (Jean Eisenstaedt, Peter Havas) and to quantize it (Peter G. Bergmann), to elaborations of the theory into a unified theory of electromagnetism and gravitation (Vladimir P. Vizgin, Michel Biezunski), and considerations of its cosmological extensions (Pierre Kerszberg, George F.R. Ellis). This is the first volume to survey many of the most important questions in the history of general relativity, with many of the contributions drawing upon such original resources as the Einstein Archive. It is hoped that it will stimulate much-needed further research in this hitherto neglected area.