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8
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84982604907
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The Italian Mathematicians of Relativity
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(1983)
Centaurus
, vol.26
, pp. 241-261
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-
Goodstein1
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12
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0347136034
-
Einstein's Theory of Relativity and British Physics in the Early Twentieth Century
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(1987)
Ideas and Production
, vol.7
, pp. 82-95
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Warwick1
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14
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1842459492
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On the Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies
-
J. Stachel, Princeton University Press, Princeton, English translation by A. Beck and P. Havas. Einstein's unique authorship of the theory was first emphasized by Gerald Holton, see in his
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(1989)
The Collected Papers of Albert Einstein
, vol.2
, pp. 140-171
-
-
Einstein1
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19
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84918046085
-
On the Origins of the Special Theory of Relativity
-
I am assuming here (as have all other historians working on the British reception of relativity) that Einstein's 1905 text, Harvard University Press, Cambridge Mass, was the one known to British readers before 1911. It seems very likely, however, that some British readers (especially Campbell and Searle) actually used the survey article on relativity written by Einstein at the end of 1907
-
(1973)
Thematic Origins of Scientific Thought: Kepler to Einstein
, pp. 165
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-
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21
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84918205913
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-
Goldberg followed Holton in identifying the innovative features unique to Einstein's work, see
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23
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84968172020
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In Defense of Ether The British Response to Einstein's Special Theory of Relativity 1905–1911
-
I agree with Goldberg that there were innovative features in the sense that Einstein would probably have identified them himself as crucial in 1905.
-
(1970)
Historical Studies in the Physical Sciences
, vol.2
, pp. 91
-
-
Goldberg1
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24
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84918205912
-
-
Einstein himself neither presented, nor saw, his 1905 paper as embodying a revolutionary new theory. He adopted the term ‘relativitätstheorie’ rather reluctantly, only after it had been used by others, see
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-
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29
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84918205911
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Joseph Illy goes as far as to suggest that recent historical reconstructions have turned the history of physics into the history of relativity, see
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32
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84918205910
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Some notable attempts have been made to explain Planck's early interest in Einstein's work of relativity, see
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36
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84918205909
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-
This problem is evident, for example, in Sanchez-Ron's account of Cunningham's work. He claims that, in 1907, Cunningham had ‘knowledge of the existence of’ Einstein's ‘special theory of relativity’ but no ‘knowledge of the meaning of’ Einstein's theory, see
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-
-
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38
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84918205908
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-
The initial invisibility of Einstein's 1905 paper contrasts sharply with the wave of interest prompted by his publication of the general theory of relativity in 1915. Einstein's fame as the author of the (by 1915) well-known special theory of relativity, together with the novelty of a radically new theory of gravitation, led to its rapid recognition and unproblematic attribution to Einstein
-
-
-
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40
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0003515914
-
-
For an excellent discussion of how interpretive communities produce the meaning of texts (in the case of literary criticism) see, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Mass, especially pp. 338–355., Fish argues persuasively that there is no esential meaning in a text. It is, rather, the discipline of literary criticism that sanctions the range of interpretive strategies that are to be considered legitimate at any given time.
-
(1980)
Is There a Text in This Class?: The Authority of Interpretive Communities
-
-
Fish1
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41
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84918205907
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Goldberg, for example, argues that relativity theory could not be accepted in Britain ‘until it could be made consonant with the existing British ideas about the ether’, see
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-
-
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44
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84968172020
-
In Defense of Ether The British Response to Einstein's Special Theory of Relativity 1905–1911
-
Goldberg states that he is unable to understand how Campbell ‘was able to escape the prevailing ether orientation of British physics’.
-
(1970)
Historical Studies in the Physical Sciences
, vol.2
, pp. 124
-
-
Goldberg1
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45
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84918205906
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-
For an interesting critique of the notion of ‘abstract theory’, see
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-
-
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52
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84959584061
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“The Mind Is Its Own Place”: Science and Solitude in Seventeenth-Century England
-
For an excellent discussion on the pervasive notion in western culture that the most authentic intellectual agents are the most solitary, see
-
(1990)
Science in Context
, vol.4
, pp. 191-218
-
-
Shapin1
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55
-
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84936824364
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-
On the ‘tacit’ nature of experimental work see, Sage, London, Fish also notes the tacit nature of the rules governing what is to count as an acceptable interpretive framework in the discipline of literary theory. ‘Nowhere is this set of acceptable ways written down’, he writes, ‘but it is a part of everyone's knowledge of what it means to be operating within the literary institution as it is now constituted’, see
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(1985)
Changing Order: Replication and Induction in Scientific Practice
, pp. 56
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-
Collins1
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58
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84918205905
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The terms ‘skill-ladenness’ and ‘practice-ladenness’ of observation were introduced (by analogy with the philosophers’ theory-ladenness) by Gooding and Pinch respectively to capture the human agency in the production of natural phenomena, see
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-
-
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59
-
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0010155566
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Empiricism in Practice Teleology Economy and Observation in Faraday's Physics
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and
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(1982)
Isis
, vol.73
, pp. 46-67
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Gooding1
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60
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84972730307
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Towards an Analysis of Scientific Observation The Externality and Evidential Significance of Observational Reports in Physics
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(1985)
Social Studies of Science
, vol.15
, pp. 3-36
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Pinch1
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61
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84972730307
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Towards an Analysis of Scientific Observation The Externality and Evidential Significance of Observational Reports in Physics
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(1985)
Social Studies of Science
, vol.15
, pp. 14
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Pinch1
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62
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84918205904
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-
For an excellent account of a dispute over the legitimacy of novel mathematical techniques in physics, see
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64
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84918205903
-
-
My use of the term technology to describe the taken-for-granted assumptions and calculational procedures employed by theoretical physicists has much in common with the material, literary, and social technologies discussed by
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66
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84918205902
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Latour has given an account of how experimental work carried out in the ‘intensive-care’ environment of the laboratory can be made to count in the harsh environment of the outside world, see
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-
-
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70
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84918205901
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Goldberg, for example, portrays Cunningham as an eclectic who tried to bring about a reconciliation between the ‘ether-denying’ theory of relativity and ‘pure-ether’ mechanics, see
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-
-
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71
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84918185780
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In Defense of Ether: The British Response to Einstein's Special Theory of Relativity, 1905–1911
-
McCrea, on the other hand, argues that Cunningham's early work shows that the ‘body’ of physicists (including the British), had ‘already arrived at all the essentials of the theory of special relativity without reliance upon Einstein’, see
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(1970)
Historical Studies in the Physical Sciences
, vol.2
, pp. 113-117
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-
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74
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84918205900
-
-
For the biographical details of Cunningham's life see E. Cunningham, Ebenezer (unpublished autobiographical typescript dictated by Cunningham in 1969, copy available in the library of St. John's College, Cambridge). See also
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-
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77
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84918205899
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-
The name ‘Mathematical Tripos’ refers to the Senate House Examination in mathematics at Cambridge University, the title being officially adopted in the early nineteenth century. For a brief history of the Tripos, see
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-
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80
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84918205898
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On the importance of the Mathematical Tripos in nineteenth-century British mathematical physics, see
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83
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84918205897
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There were many critics of this system of training, especially amongst those who believed that experimental physics should be taught, see
-
-
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85
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84918205896
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-
Goldberg also draws attention to the importance of the Mathematical Tripos in the training of wranglers, see
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86
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84918196129
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In Defense of Ether: The British Response to Einstein's Special Theory of Relativity, 1905–1911
-
He claims, however, that this explains why they ‘acted with such uniformity when confronted with the theory of relativity’. Since Cunningham is the only wrangler whose ‘response’ to relativity Goldberg actually discusses, I assume that the above remark is intended to explain why no other wranglers responded at all. This is an excellent example of relativity-centred historiography where the local tradition is evoked simply to explain why the ‘theory of relativity’ was ignored or misunderstood.
-
(1970)
Historical Studies in the Physical Sciences
, vol.2
, pp. 124
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-
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87
-
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84918200499
-
-
R.R. Webb (1850–1936) dominated the training of wranglers (following Routh's retirement in 1888) from 1889 until the turn of the century: see, St John's College, Cambridge
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(1936)
The Eagle
, vol.49
, pp. 272-273
-
-
-
88
-
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84918205895
-
-
The ‘Smith's Prize’ was offered each year for the two best essays in mathematics or natural philosophy by students in their first year of research. For the history of the prize and a list of the winners, see
-
-
-
-
90
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0011909949
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-
Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, Cunningham's professional research interests in mathematics during this period mainly concerned the classification and solution of differential equations.
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(1900)
Aether and Matter
-
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Larmor1
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91
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84918193838
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An Extension of Borel's Exponential Method of Summation of Divergent Series Applied to Linear Differential Equations
-
Typical examples of his early publications are:
-
(1905)
Proceedings of the London Mathematical Society
, vol.3
, pp. 157-169
-
-
-
95
-
-
0001897570
-
On the Role of the Fitzgerald-Lorentz Contraction Hypothesis in the Development of Joseph Larmor's Electronic Theory of Matter
-
Larmor's claim is discussed in detail in
-
(1991)
Archive for History of Exact Sciences
, vol.43
, pp. 29-91
-
-
Warwick1
-
100
-
-
84918186280
-
On the Role of the Lorentz-FitzGerald Contraction Hypothesis in the Development of Joseph Larmor's Electronic Theory of Matter
-
Larmor's method of synchronization is discussed in Warwick
-
(1991)
Archive for History of Exact Sciences
, vol.43
, pp. 65
-
-
-
101
-
-
84918186280
-
On the Role of the Lorentz-FitzGerald Contraction Hypothesis in the Development of Joseph Larmor's Electronic Theory of Matter
-
Larmor's method of synchornization is discussed in Warwick, Appendix D, In this Appendix Larmor's reasons for reaching this erroneous conclusion are discussed in detail.
-
(1991)
Archive for History of Exact Sciences
, vol.43
, pp. 65
-
-
-
108
-
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84918205893
-
-
The relationship between the fields measured in systems in states of relative motion was first given by Larmor, see
-
-
-
-
112
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0001897570
-
On the Role of the Fitzgerald-Lorentz Contraction Hypothesis in the Development of Joseph Larmor's Electronic Theory of Matter
-
On Larmor's reasons for retaining this restriction see, On the differences in attitude towards electrodynamics between wranglers trained in the 1870s (such as Larmor) and those trained around the turn of the century (such as Cunningham), see
-
(1991)
Archive for History of Exact Sciences
, vol.43
, pp. 68-69
-
-
Warwick1
-
113
-
-
84918232388
-
The Sturdy Protestants of Science: Larmor, Trouton and the Earth's Motion through the Ether
-
J.Z. Buchwald, University of Chicago Press, Chicago, forthcoming
-
(1993)
Table-Top Experiments
-
-
Warwick1
-
114
-
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84918240791
-
On a New Principle of Relativity in Electromagnetism
-
Bucherer attributes the principle of relativity to Lorentz and does not mention Einstein. This paper appears to have been submitted first to the Annalen der Physik, but was rejected by the editor Max Planck.
-
(1907)
Philosophical Magazine Series 6
, vol.13
, pp. 413-420
-
-
Bucherer1
-
120
-
-
1842459492
-
On the Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies
-
J. Stachel, Princeton University Press, Princeton, Cunningham was not the only Cambridge electromagnetic theoretician to read Einstein's paper in this way. G.A. Schott appended a note to his paper ‘On the Radiation from Moving Systems of Electrons, and on the Spectrum of Canal Rays’, in which he pointed out that Einstein had given the ‘correct’ expression for velocities measured in moving systems if the Lorentz transformations were adopted, see
-
(1989)
The Collected Papers of Albert Einstein
, vol.2
, pp. 153-156
-
-
Einstein1
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121
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85045543652
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LIX.On the radiation from moving systems of electrons, and on the spectrum of canal rays
-
(1907)
Philosophical Magazine Series 6
, vol.13
, pp. 657-687
-
-
-
127
-
-
84918205890
-
-
Sanchez-Ron notes, correctly, that Bateman's approach to electrodynamics was geometrical, but claims, wrongly, that Cunningham and Bateman worked independently on the covariance of Maxwell's equations, see
-
-
-
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129
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84918205889
-
-
For biographical details of Bateman and a complete list of publications, see
-
-
-
-
130
-
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84918251087
-
Harry Bateman
-
(Obituary Notice), Bateman was coached to the Senior Wranglership by the last of the great Cambridge mathematics coaches, R.A. Herman.
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(1948)
Royal Society Obituary Notices
, vol.5
, pp. 591-618
-
-
Erdélyi1
-
131
-
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18344374835
-
The Solution of Partial Differential Equations by Means of Definite Integrals
-
Bateman's early research in mathematics was also concerned with the solution of differential and integral equations; for example
-
(1904)
Proceedings of the London Mathematical Society
, vol.1
, pp. 451-458
-
-
-
133
-
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84918205887
-
-
H.R. Hassé (Seventh Wrangler 1905) later recalled that ‘to the average student pure geometry at that time [1900–1907] can have meant little more than the use of one or other of the processes of inversion, reciprocation or projection for the solution of problems…, see
-
-
-
-
134
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84918248562
-
My Fifty Years of Mathematics
-
On the fundamental status of geometry as the study of space in Cambridge mathematics during the nineteenth century, see
-
(1951)
Mathematical Gazette
, vol.35
, pp. 154
-
-
-
136
-
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84918205886
-
-
These particular techniques were first developed systematically in electrostatics by Maxwell in his, Dover, New York, reprint of the 3rd edition
-
(1954)
Treatise on Electricity and Magnetism
, pp. 244-316
-
-
-
139
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84918205884
-
On the Transformations of Coordinates which Lead to New Solutions of Laplace's Equation
-
Cunningham may not have been aware that a paper on this topic had already been published by the London Mathematical Society, which perhaps explains why the paper was never published
-
(1898)
Proceedings of the London Mathematical Society
, vol.29
, pp. 165-206
-
-
Forsyth1
-
142
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-
84918205883
-
-
See Cambridge Tripos Papers, Mathematics, Part I (1903), Paper 1, Questions 3 and 4
-
-
-
-
145
-
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0001897570
-
On the Role of the Fitzgerald-Lorentz Contraction Hypothesis in the Development of Joseph Larmor's Electronic Theory of Matter
-
For a technical discussion of why, according to Cambridge electrodynamics, the transformations were valid only for uniformly moving systems, see
-
(1991)
Archive for History of Exact Sciences
, vol.43
, pp. 84-88
-
-
Warwick1
-
146
-
-
84918253448
-
-
Cunningham accredited Minkowski with the observation that in a four-dimensional space (x, y, z, ict) the Lorentz transformations represented a finite rotation of the space around the y = 0, z = 0 axes, but it must not be thought that Cunningham and Bateman were following Minkowski. Minkowski's ‘Das Relativitätsprinzip’ lecture of 1907 was not published until 1915
-
(1915)
Annalen der Physik
, vol.47
, pp. 927-938
-
-
-
148
-
-
0347596405
-
-
Only his ‘Die Grundleichungen für die elektromagnetischen Vorgänge in bewegten Körpern’ had reached Cambridge (May 1908) when Cunningham and Bateman submitted their papers, Cunningham and Bateman had, in any case, begun their collaboration two years earlier. Bateman's four-dimensional, integral, representation of the electromagnetic equations had been taken from the work of another Cambridge wrangler (Richard Hargreaves, Fifth Wrangler 1876) also working in Liverpool; see
-
(1908)
Göttinger Nachrichten
, pp. 53-111
-
-
-
151
-
-
0003042305
-
The Principle of Relativity in Electrodynamics and an Extension Thereof
-
In discussing the physical interpretation of the four-dimensional representation of electromagnetic processes, J.W. Nicholson remarked, quite explicitly, that it was a ‘fiction’ which ‘in the mathematical sense, was effective after the manner that ordinarily electrical images in electrostatics are effective’; see
-
(1910)
Proceedings of the London Mathematical Society
, vol.8
, pp. 87-89
-
-
Cunningham1
-
154
-
-
0003042305
-
The Principle of Relativity in Electrodynamics and an Extension Thereof
-
In Figure 2, for example, it is not immediately obvious how the inverted field should be interpreted physically. For an example of how Cunningham and Bateman's work was used in electromagnetic theory, see
-
(1910)
Proceedings of the London Mathematical Society
, vol.8
, pp. 39
-
-
Cunningham1
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157
-
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84968217793
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Experimenting on the Ether Oliver J Lodge and the Great Whirling Machine
-
Larmor suggested in the early 1890s that a magnetic field probably represented some kind of real flow of the ether in the stationary ether frame, but this was not to be confused with motion relative to the ether which would not generate such an effect. For Lodge's attempt to measure this effect see
-
(1986)
Historical Studies in the Physical and Biological Sciences
, vol.16
, pp. 111-134
-
-
Hunt1
-
159
-
-
51149135025
-
The Structure of the Ether
-
(my italics)
-
(1907)
Nature
, vol.76
, pp. 222
-
-
Cunningham1
-
160
-
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84918205881
-
-
Larmor himself immediately rejected Cunningham's claim by asserting that arguments based upon relativity must ‘lapse’ because absolute motion could be measured in relation to the distant ‘quiescent’ ether. See
-
-
-
-
161
-
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85046385963
-
A Plea for Absolute Motion
-
(1907)
Nature
, vol.76
, pp. 269-270
-
-
Larmor1
-
165
-
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84918205880
-
-
Einstein did not explicitly deny the existence of the ether in his 1905 paper. He stated merely that it was superfluous ‘inasmuch as in accordance with the concept to be developed here, no “space at absolute rest” endowed with special properties will be introduced’, see
-
-
-
-
167
-
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84918205879
-
-
On the role of the ether in British electromagnetic theory from Maxwell to Larmor, see
-
-
-
-
169
-
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84918205878
-
-
Only later did these British mathematicians begin to appreciate that the principle of relativity was part of a more comprehensive theory of relativity which some (mainly German) physicists held to deny the existence of the ether. This is discussed in detail in
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