Physical Relativity: Space-time Structure from a Dynamical Perspective

✍ Scribed by Harvey R. Brown

• Year: 2006
• Tongue: English
• Leaves: 240
• Category: Library

✦ Synopsis

It is not widely known that Einstein had doubts, increasing with time, about the way he formulated his special theory of relativity in 1905. Physical Relativity examines the grounds of these doubts and related misgivings on the part of a handful of physicists and philosophers in the course of the twentieth century. Harvey Brown defends an interpretation of relativity theory, and hence of the nature of space and time, that combines Einstein's insights with those of his immediate precursors, who today are widely regarded as having had the right ideas for the wrong reasons. Appearing in the centennial year of Einstein's celebrated paper on special relativity, Physical Relativity is an unusual, critical examination of Einstein's thinking that will be of great interest to philosophers of physics, physicists, and historians of science.

✦ Table of Contents

0199275831......Page 1
Contents......Page 12
Preface......Page 8
Acknowledgements......Page 11
1.1 When the Whole Rigmarole Began......Page 16
1.2 FitzGerald, Michelson, and Heaviside......Page 17
1.3 Einstein......Page 19
1.4 FitzGerald and Bell’s ‘Lorentzian Pedagogy’......Page 20
1.5 What Space-time Is not......Page 23
1.6 Final Remarks......Page 25
2.1 Space-time and Its Coordinatization......Page 26
2.2 Inertial Coordinate Systems......Page 29
2.2.1 Free particles......Page 30
2.2.2 Inertial coordinates......Page 31
2.2.3 Newtonian time......Page 33
2.2.4 Newtonian space......Page 37
2.2.5 The role of space-time geometry......Page 38
2.2.6 Quantum probes......Page 40
2.3 The Linearity of Inertial Coordinate Transformations......Page 41
2.4 The Rod and Clock Protocols......Page 43
3.1.1 Galileo......Page 48
3.1.2 Newton......Page 50
3.2 The Non-sequitur in Newton’s Corollary V......Page 52
3.3 Keinstein’s 1705 Derivation......Page 53
3.4 The Dynamics–Kinematics Connection......Page 55
4. The Trailblazers......Page 56
4.1 Michelson......Page 57
4.1.1 The Michelson–Morley experiment revisited......Page 58
4.2 Michelson–Morley Kinematics......Page 61
4.3 FitzGerald and Heaviside......Page 63
4.4 Lorentz......Page 67
4.5 Larmor......Page 73
4.6 Poincaré......Page 77
4.7 The Role of the Ether Prior to Einstein......Page 81
5.1 Einstein’s Template: Thermodynamics......Page 84
5.2 The Principle vs. Constructive Theory Distinction......Page 86
5.3.1 The relativity principle......Page 89
5.3.2 The light postulate......Page 90
5.4.1 Clock synchrony......Page 92
5.4.3 RP and isotropy......Page 93
5.5 Rods and Clocks......Page 95
5.6.1 The 1932 Kennedy–Thorndike experiment......Page 97
5.6.2 The situation so far......Page 99
5.6.3 The 1938 Ives–Stilwell experiment......Page 100
5.7 Are Einstein’s Inertial Frames the Same as Newton’s?......Page 102
5.8 Final Remarks......Page 104
6.1 Einstein’s Operationalism: Too Much and Too Little?......Page 106
6.2 What is a Clock?......Page 107
6.2.1 The clock hypothesis......Page 109
6.3 The Conventionality of Distant Simultaneity......Page 110
6.3.1 Malament’s 1977 result......Page 113
6.3.2 The Edwards–Winnie synchrony-general transformations......Page 117
6.4 Relaxing the Light Postulate: the Ignatowski Transformations......Page 120
6.4.1 Comments......Page 124
6.5 The Non-relativistic Limit......Page 125
7.1 Einstein himself......Page 128
7.2 1918: Hermann Weyl......Page 129
7.3 1920s: Pauli and Eddington......Page 133
7.4 1930s and 1940s: W. F. G. Swann......Page 134
7.5.1 L. Jánossy......Page 137
7.5.2 J. S. Bell. Conceptual issues......Page 139
7.5.3 Historical niceties......Page 141
8.1 Minkowski’s Geometrization of SR......Page 143
8.1.1 Kinematics......Page 144
8.1.2 Dynamics......Page 146
8.2 Minkowski Space-time: the Cart or the Horse?......Page 147
8.2.1 The cases of configuration and ‘kinematic’ space......Page 149
8.2.2 The projective Hilbert space......Page 150
8.2.3 Carathéodory: the Minkowski of thermodynamics......Page 151
8.3 What does Absolute Geometry Explain?......Page 154
8.3.1 The space-time ‘explanation’ of inertia......Page 155
8.3.2 Mystery of mysteries......Page 158
8.4 What is Special Relativity?......Page 159
8.4.1 The big principle......Page 160
8.4.2 Quantum theory......Page 162
9.1 Introduction......Page 165
9.2.1 The Lovelock–Grigore theorems......Page 166
9.2.2 The threat of underdetermination......Page 169
9.2.3 Matter......Page 171
9.3 Test Particles and the Geodesic Principle......Page 176
9.4 Light and the Null Cones......Page 178
9.4.1 Non-minimal coupling......Page 180
9.5.1 The local validity of special relativity......Page 184
9.5.2 A recent development......Page 187
9.6 Conclusions......Page 190
Appendix A: Einstein on General Covariance......Page 193
B.1 Introduction......Page 197
B.2 Entanglement, Non-Locality, and Bell Inequalities......Page 198
B.3 Einstein, Relativity, and Separability......Page 202
B.4 Non-locality, or Its Absence, in the Everett Intepretation......Page 205
Bibliography......Page 208
B......Page 226
C......Page 227
E......Page 228
G......Page 230
K......Page 232
L......Page 233
M......Page 234
P......Page 235
R......Page 236
S......Page 237
V......Page 239
Z......Page 240

✦ Subjects

Физика;Теория относительности и альтернативные теории гравитации;