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Zusatztext 'This volume provides a wide-ranging and detailed survey of this exciting era... Informationen zum Autor Dr Jeremy J. Gray, Senior Lecturer in Mathematics, Faculty of Mathematics and Computing, Open University, Milton Keynes, MK7 6AA. j.j.gray@open.ac.uk Klappentext 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, thephilosophical 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 reformulationof 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 thefirst 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 ofscience. Zusammenfassung The Symbolic Universe considers the ways in which many leading mathematicians between 1890 and 1930 attempted to apply geometry to physics. It concentrates on responses to Einstein's theories of special and general relativity, but also considers the philosophical implications of these ideas. Inhaltsverzeichnis PART I Introduction Geometrizing configurations. Heinrich Hertz and his mathematical precursors Einstein, Poincaré, and the testability of geometry Geometry-formalisms and intuitions PART II Introduction The non-Euclidean style of Minkowskian relativity Geometries in collision: Einstein, Klein and Riemann Hilbert and physics (1900-1915) The Göttingen response to general relativity and Emmy Noether's theorems PART III Introduction Ricci and Levi-Civita: from differential invariants to general relativity Weyl and the theory of connections ...
