基本説明
Shed light on the bumpy path of Einstein's life and the political and social revolutions which formed its background, closing with a description of how Einstein's work influences science and culture today. The catalogue is complemented by a bilingual volume of documents (Documents of a Life's Pathway/Dokumente eines Lebensweges), a collection of historical sources like letters, manuscripts and photographs of people and objects.
Full Description
In 1905, Albert Einstein published five scientific articles that fundamentally changed the world-view of physics: The Special Theory of Reativity revolutionized our concept of space and time, E=mc became the best-known equation in physics. On the occasion of the 100th anniversary of Einstein's 'annus mirabilis' 1905, the UNESCO declared the year 2005 the 'World Year of Physics', in order to draw attention to the impact of physics. The Max Planck Institute for the History of Science dedicates an exhibition to the easily most important scientist of the 20th century. The exhibition is accompanied by a two-volume catalogue. The elaborate, four-color first volume ("Albert Einstein - Chief Engineer of the Universe: Einstein's Life and Work in Context") mirrors the structure of the exhibition, containing detailed, easy-to-understand information on the three large exhibition areas - World-view and discovery - Einstein - his life - Einstein's world today.On the basis of Einstein's innovative theoretical work, the text explains changing historical world-views as well as the conditions under which science develops, shedding light on the bumpy path of Einstein's life and the political and social revolutions which formed its background.This bridge between scientific and cultural history opens up a perspective on Einstein's biography which goes far beyond the traditional picture of this exceptional science genius. The book concludes with a depiction of the effects of Einstein's work on today's science and culture. A DVD with animations and film sequences from the exhibition is enclosed. The second volume is a bilingual collection of source material ("Documents of a Life's Pathway"/Dokumente eines Lebensweges). Letters and manuscripts by Einstein as well as photographs of people and objects are reproduced in high quality and invite the reader to study the exhibition's sources more intensively.
Contents
Preface. Greetings. Editor's Introduction and Acknowledgments. WORLDVIEW AND KNOWLEDGE ACQUISITION. On the Shoulders of Giants and Dwarves. Invisible Forces. Gravity and Intertia. Chemical Changes. Light, Heat, Magnetism, Electricity. Labyrinth of Mikroworlds. Models of the Cosmos. Modelle of the Earth. Advancing Towards Infinity. Models of the Heavens. Curved Spaces. EINSTEIN- HIS LIFE'S PATH. Borderline Problems in Classical Physics. Irritating Experiments. Milieu of a Childhood. Milieu of a Revolution. Academic Career. War and Revolution. The Unfinished Quantum Revolution. The Riddle of Gravitation. The Second Revolution. The Triumph of the Theory of Relativity. The Anti-Relativists. Albert Einstein as Public Figure. Wave and Particle as a Persistent Contradiction. Towards a new Cosmology. The Paradoxes of Quantum Mechanics. The Search for the Unity of Nature. Einstein and Judaism. Emigration. Einstein in America. EINSTEIN'S WORLD TODAY. What is Science? Putting Relativity to the Test. Them Large Scale Structure of the World. Gravitation as a Challenge. The Small Scale Structure of the World. Strange Connections. Applications. The Theory of Relativity Under Suspicion. Einstein Under Suspicion. The Atomic Bomb. Science as ab Challenge. Science in the Media. Einstein, the Legend. Appendix.
