About this product

Product Identifiers

PublisherOxford University Press, Incorporated

ISBN-100198500882

ISBN-139780198500889

eBay Product ID (ePID)725442

Product Key Features

Number of Pages302 Pages

Publication NameSymbolic Universe : Geometry and Physics 1890-1930

LanguageEnglish

SubjectGeometry / Non-Euclidean, History & Philosophy, Physics / General

Publication Year1999

TypeTextbook

AuthorJeremy J. Gray

Subject AreaMathematics, Science

FormatHardcover

Dimensions

Item Height0.8 in

Item Weight20 Oz

Item Length9.2 in

Item Width6.1 in

Additional Product Features

Intended AudienceCollege Audience

LCCN99-018288

Reviews"In nine papers from a March 1996 conference in London, historians of science from Europe, Israel, and the US examine relations between the two disciplines during the period, concentrating on attempts to apply geometrical ideas to physics and to understand and reformulate physics in geometric terms. The topics include geometrizing configurations by Heinrich Hertz and his mathematical precursors; Einstein, Poincar, and the testability of geometry; the non-Euclidean style of Minkowskian relativity; the Gttengen response to general relativity and Emmy Noether's theorems; Ricci and Levi-Civita from differential invariants to general relativity; and Weyl and the theory of connections."--SciTech Book News "This collection will be interesting for mathematicians working in differential geometry and for physicists interested in relativity. But there is a lot of interesting material for geometers in general, for people working in analysis (especially complex analysis), representation theory of groups, topology, and other areas."--EMS, "In nine papers from a March 1996 conference in London, historians of science from Europe, Israel, and the US examine relations between the two disciplines during the period, concentrating on attempts to apply geometrical ideas to physics and to understand and reformulate physics in geometric terms. The topics include geometrizing configurations by Heinrich Hertz and his mathematical precursors; Einstein, Poincar , and the testability of geometry; the non-Euclidean style of Minkowskian relativity; the G ttengen response to general relativity and Emmy Noether's theorems; Ricci and Levi-Civita from differential invariants to general relativity; and Weyl and the theory of connections."--SciTech Book News "This collection will be interesting for mathematicians working in differential geometry and for physicists interested in relativity. But there is a lot of interesting material for geometers in general, for people working in analysis (especially complex analysis), representation theory of groups, topology, and other areas."--EMS, "In nine papers from a March 1996 conference in London, historians of science from Europe, Israel, and the US examine relations between the two disciplines during the period, concentrating on attempts to apply geometrical ideas to physics and to understand and reformulate physics in geometric terms. The topics include geometrizing configurations by Heinrich Hertz and his mathematical precursors; Einstein, Poincaré, and the testability of geometry; the non-Euclidean style of Minkowskian relativity; the Göttengen response to general relativity and Emmy Noether's theorems; Ricci and Levi-Civita from differential invariants to general relativity; and Weyl and the theory of connections."-- SciTech Book News "This collection will be interesting for mathematicians working in differential geometry and for physicists interested in relativity. But there is a lot of interesting material for geometers in general, for people working in analysis (especially complex analysis), representation theory of groups, topology, and other areas."-- EMS, "In nine papers from a March 1996 conference in London, historians of science from Europe, Israel, and the US examine relations between the two disciplines during the period, concentrating on attempts to apply geometrical ideas to physics and to understand and reformulate physics in geometric terms. The topics include geometrizing configurations by Heinrich Hertz and his mathematical precursors; Einstein, Poincare, and the testability of geometry; the non-Euclidean style of Minkowskian relativity; the Gottengen response to general relativity and Emmy Noether's theorems; Ricci and Levi-Civita from differential invariants to general relativity; and Weyl and the theory of connections."--SciTech Book News "This collection will be interesting for mathematicians working in differential geometry and for physicists interested in relativity. But there is a lot of interesting material for geometers in general, for people working in analysis (especially complex analysis), representation theory of groups, topology, and other areas."--EMS, "In nine papers from a March 1996 conference in London, historians of science from Europe, Israel, and the US examine relations between the two disciplines during the period, concentrating on attempts to apply geometrical ideas to physics and to understand and reformulate physics in geometric terms. The topics include geometrizing configurations by Heinrich Hertz and his mathematical precursors; Einstein, Poincaré, and the testability of geometry; the non-Euclidean style of Minkowskian relativity; the Göttengen response to general relativity and Emmy Noether's theorems; Ricci and Levi-Civita from differential invariants to general relativity; and Weyl and the theory of connections."-- SciTech Book News"This collection will be interesting for mathematicians working in differential geometry and for physicists interested in relativity. But there is a lot of interesting material for geometers in general, for people working in analysis (especially complex analysis), representation theory of groups, topology, and other areas."-- EMS, 'It's expensive, The Symbolic Universe,and it is aimed at and will probably only be understood by theoretical physicists and mathematicians. But there's a gem - embedded in this collection of surveys by international authors on the relations between physics and mathematics since the development of Einstein's theory of relativity:the introducton, by editor Jeremy Gray, which offers a masterly and approachable review of theperiod.' New Scientist'This volume provides a wide-ranging and detailed survey of this exciting era..., "In nine papers from a March 1996 conference in London, historians of science from Europe, Israel, and the US examine relations between the two disciplines during the period, concentrating on attempts to apply geometrical ideas to physics and to understand and reformulate physics in geometric terms. The topics include geometrizing configurations by Heinrich Hertz and his mathematical precursors; Einstein, Poincaré, and the testability of geometry; the non-Euclidean style of Minkowskian relativity; the Göttengen response to general relativity and Emmy Noether's theorems; Ricci and Levi-Civita from differential invariants to general relativity; and Weyl and the theory of connections."--SciTech Book News "This collection will be interesting for mathematicians working in differential geometry and for physicists interested in relativity. But there is a lot of interesting material for geometers in general, for people working in analysis (especially complex analysis), representation theory of groups, topology, and other areas."--EMS, "In nine papers from a March 1996 conference in London, historians of science from Europe, Israel, and the US examine relations between the two disciplines during the period, concentrating on attempts to apply geometrical ideas to physics and to understand and reformulate physics in geometric terms. The topics include geometrizing configurations by Heinrich Hertz and his mathematical precursors; Einstein, Poincaré, and the testability of geometry; the non-Euclidean style of Minkowskian relativity; the Göttengen response to general relativity and Emmy Noether's theorems; Ricci and Levi-Civita from differential invariants to general relativity; and Weyl and the theory of connections."--SciTech Book News"This collection will be interesting for mathematicians working in differential geometry and for physicists interested in relativity. But there is a lot of interesting material for geometers in general, for people working in analysis (especially complex analysis), representation theory of groups, topology, and other areas."--EMS, 'It's expensive, The Symbolic Universe,and it is aimed at and willprobably only be understood by theoretical physicists and mathematicians. Butthere's a gem - embedded in this collection of surveys by international authorson the relations between physics and mathematics since the development ofEinstein's theory of relativity:the introducton, by editor Jeremy Gray, whichoffers a masterly and approachable review of the period.'New Scientist, 'It's expensive, The Symbolic Universe,and it is aimed at and will probably only be understood by theoretical physicists and mathematicians. But there's a gem - embedded in this collection of surveys by international authors on the relations between physics and mathematics since thedevelopment of Einstein's theory of relativity:the introducton, by editor Jeremy Gray, which offers a masterly and approachable review of the period.' New Scientist

TitleLeadingThe

Dewey Edition21

IllustratedYes

Dewey Decimal530.15/6

Table Of ContentPART IIntroductionGeometrizing configurations. Heinrich Hertz and his mathematical precursorsEinstein, Poincaré, and the testability of geometryGeometry-formalisms and intuitionsPART IIIntroductionThe non-Euclidean style of Minkowskian relativityGeometries in collision: Einstein, Klein and RiemannHilbert and physics (1900-1915)The Göttingen response to general relativity and Emmy Noether's theoremsPART IIIIntroductionRicci and Levi-Civita: from differential invariants to general relativityWeyl and the theory of connections

SynopsisPhysics was transformed between 1890 and 1930, and this volume provides a detailed history of the era and emphasizes the key role of geometrical ideas. Topics include the application of n-dimensional differential geometry to mechanics and theoretical physics, the philosophical questions on the reality of geometry, and the nature of geometry and its connections with psychology, special relativity, Hilbert's efforts to axiomatize relativity, and Emmy Noether's work on physics., Physics was transformed between 1890 and 1930, and this volume provides a detailed history of the era and emphasizes the key role of geometrical ideas. The first part of the book discusses the application of n -dimensional differential geometry to mechanics and theoretical physics, the philosophical questions on the reality of geometry, and reviews the broad international debate about the nature of geometry and its connections with psychology. The second part then examines the reception of Einstein's theory of special relativity following 1905. It covers Minkowski's reformulation of the theory, providing the first complete picture of his work, and it describes Einstein's path to formulating general relativity. The chapter on Hilbert's efforts to axiomatize relativity argues against the traditional view of Hilbert as arch-formalist, and the following chapter provides the first detailed account of Emmy Noether's work on physics. The final section examines the work by Ricci, Levi-Civita, and Weyl to give a new formulation of general relativity in terms of the Riemann differential. This collection will be an invaluable resource for historians and philosophers of science., With the development of the theory of relativity by Albert Einstein, physics underwent a revolution at the end of the 19th century. The boundaries of research were extended still further when in 1907-8 Minkowski applied geometrical ideas to this area of physics. This in turn opened the door to other researchers seeking to use non-Euclidean geometrical methods in relativity, and many notable mathematicians did so, Weyl in particular linking these ideas with broader philosophical issues in mathematics. The Symbolic Universe gives an overview of this exciting era, giving a full account for the first time of Minkowski's geometric reformulation of the theory of special relativity.

LC Classification NumberQC20.7.G44S95 1999