Einstein and the Changing Worldviews of Physics

Introduction.- Part I: At the Limits of the Classical Worldview.- Theories of Gravitation in the Twilight of Classical Physics / J. Renn and M. Schemmel.- The Newtonian Theory of Light Propagation / J. Eisenstaedt.- Mach and Einstein, or, Clearing Troubled Waters in the History of Science / G. Wolters.- Part II: Contexts of the Relativity Revolution.- Tilling the Seedbed of Einstein's Politics: A Pre-1905 Harbinger? / R. Schulmann.- The Early Reception of Einstein's Relativity among British Philosophers / J.M Sánchez-Ron.- Science and Ideology in Einstein's Visit to South America in 1925 / A.T. Tolmasquim.- The Reception of Einstein's Relativity Theories in Literature and the Arts (1920-1950) / H.F. Goenner.- Part III: The Emergence of the Relativistic Worldview.- Hilbert's Axiomatic Method and his "Foundations of Physics": Reconciling Causality with the Axiom of General Invariance / K.A. Brading and T.A. Ryckman.- Not Only Because of Theory: Dyson, Eddington and the Competing Myths of the 1919 Eclipse Expedition / D. Kennefick.- Peter Havas (1916-2004) / H.F. Goenner.- Peter Bergmann and the Invention of Constrained Hamiltonian Dynamics / D.C. Salisbury.- Thoughts About a Conceptual Framework for Relativistic Gravity / B.F. Schutz.- Part IV: A New Worldview in the Making.- Observational Tests of General Relativity: An Historical Look at Measurements Prior to the Advent of Modern Space-Borne Instruments / J.E. Beckman.- Primordial Magnetic Fields and Cosmic Microwave Background / E. Battaner and E. Florido.- Singularity Theorems in General Relativity: Achievements and Open Questions / J.M.M. Senovilla.- The History and Present Status of Quantum Field Theory in Curved Spacetime / R.M. Wald.- The Border Between Relativity and Quantum Theory / T. Dray.- The Issue of the Beginning in Quantum Gravity / A. Ashtekar.... Mehr