E-Book
4,99 €

Science at the Crossroads E-Book

Herbert Dingle

0,0

4,99 €

oder

Leseprobe lesen

Sammeln Sie Punkte in unserem Gutscheinprogramm und kaufen Sie E-Books und Hörbücher mit bis zu 100% Rabatt.

Mehr erfahren.

Herausgeber: il glifo ebooks
Kategorie: Wissenschaft und neue Technologien
Sprache: Englisch

Beschreibung

Science at the Crossroads was published by Herbert Dingle in 1972 at the end of a gruelling controversy with the English scientific world about the clock paradox in Einstein’s special relativity. It is still a seminal text, which allows us to understand and evaluate, with Cartesian clarity, the problem of that paradox for all those readers who find themselves in a widespread condition of having studied Einstein’s special relativity or received a teaching of it, and yet of not feeling comfortable it because the attempt to understand the logical connection of the parts with the whole did not succeed. Many have experienced this state of mind, and can admit it. In this way Science at the Crossroads is an important source of knowledge about Einstein’s special relativity and its historical background.
Science at the Crossroads contains a great wealth of philosophical and epistemological ideas. The essay has a classic imprint, rich with sharp and clear distinctions, and very elegant in style. We meet countless research possibilities concerning the mathematical idealism of anti-classical physics after 1920 (assuming it is still correct to call it physics rather than metaphysics, as Dingle would suggest, as a partisan of modern science empirical method). Every page written by Dingle suggests research that could be carried out in depth, starting from what Dingle observes on the origins of mathematical idealism in Maxwell himself and his displacement current postulated to ensure the continuity of a given mathematical function, to end with the extreme tendencies of this kind of thought that were manifested towards the 1970s, as for example in the case of Professor Hoyle mentioned in the last chapter, who “has plainly stated his advocacy of the process of telling nature what to do instead of looking to see what she does”. Naturally, it is our task to continue Dingle’s research up to the present.
The present electronic edition provides a Foreword from the editor, which informs about the basic knowledge readers are expected to have in order to fully understand Science at the Crossroads.

Details

Das E-Book können Sie in Legimi-Apps oder einer beliebigen App lesen, die das folgende Format unterstützen:

EPUB

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2018

Bewertungen

0,0

Rezensionen(0 Rezensionen)

Leseprobe

Herbert Dingle

Science at the Crossroads

A Rational Scrutiny

of the Clock Paradox

in Einstein’s Relativity

il glifo ebooks

ISBN: 9788897527442

First Edition: April 2018 (A)

www.ilglifo.it

Science at the Crossroads was scanned on the basis of a 1972 paper copy and carefully controlled. This electronic publication has been authorized by the copyright holder, Mrs. Barbara Dingle-Strachan.

No part ofthis electronic publicationmaybe reproducedor distributedexcept asprovided by lawthatprotects thecopyright. In particular, the distribution of copiesthrough the Internetis the exclusive rightofil glifo: to protectthis right, every copyofebookspublished byil glifocontainsunique encryptedinformationallowingthe identificationofsingle copiesin the eventof redistributionto third parties.

The purchaser ofthis electronic publicationendorses thecommitment to keepcopiesfor personal use only, beingaware thatthe publicationof copiesonanywebsiteorthe transferor transmission ofelectronic copiesto third partiesarepunishableoffenses.

Forrights information, see: www.ilglifo.it/licenze.aspx

Nessuna parte di questa pubblicazione elettronica può essere riprodotta o diffusa se non nei termini previsti dalla legge che tutela il Diritto d’Autore. In particolare, la diffusione di copie attraverso internet è diritto esclusivo de il glifo: per tutelare questo diritto, ogni esemplare degli ebooks pubblicati da il glifo contiene informazioni uniche e criptate che consentono l’identificazione univoca della singola copia in caso di redistribuzione a terzi.

L’acquirente di questa pubblicazione elettronica sottoscrive l’impegno di detenerne copia unicamente per uso personale, consapevole che sia la pubblicazione di copie su qualsiasi sito internet sia la cessione o trasmissione di copie elettroniche a terzi costituiscono illeciti penalmente perseguibili.

Per informazioni relative ai diritti, si veda: www.ilglifo.it/licenze.aspx

Contents

Foreword from the Editor

What we need to know to read Science at the Crossroad

The first interpretation of relativity by Dingle

Note to the 2018 electronic edition

Science at the Crossroads - Original title page

Acknowledgements

Preface

Introduction

PART ONE - The Moral Issue

1 - The Basic Principles of Science

2 - The Origin of the Controversy

3 - Reactions to Criticism

4 - Attitude of the Press

5 - Attitude of the ‘Elder Statesmen’

PART TWO - The Intellectual Issue

6 - Four Outstanding Errors

7 - Einstein’s Theory in its Original Context

8 - Non-Einsteinian Relativity

9 - The ‘Clock (or Twin) Paradox’

10 - The Present Position

Conclusion

Appendix

I - Don’t Bring back the Ether

II - The Case Against Special Relativity

III - Why the Special Theory of Relativity is Correct

IV - The Case Against the Special Theory of Relativity

Editor’s Afterword

What we do not find in Dingle’s testimony

The implications of mathematization: an open problem

Back Cover

Herbert Dingle

Foreword from the Editor

Science at the Crossroads was published by Herbert Dingle, an Astrophysicist, Philosopher of Science, President of the Royal Astronomical Society, and Professor at University College London, in 1972 at the end of a gruelling controversy with the English scientific world about the clock paradox in Einstein’s special relativity, and is still a seminal text, which allows us to understand and evaluate, with Cartesian clarity, the problem of that paradox for all those readers, who find themselves in a widespread mental condition of having studied Einstein’s special relativity or received a teaching of it, and yet of not feeling comfortable with it because the attempt to understand the logical connection of the parts with the whole did not succeed. It is a state of mind that many have experienced, and that is usually admitted without difficulty.

What we need to know to read Science at the Crossroad

Dingle’s text, as everyone will ascertain reading it, is a masterpiece of clarity, where the expression flows easily and the subject is treated with completeness and consistency, making its reading a very pleasant experience. However, the readers must already know the terms of the open problem that is discussed in Science at the Crossroads. Readers do not need to know the solution, because the book was written for those who know the content and the mathematical part of special relativity (which, as is known, does not present any particular difficulty, unlike general relativity), but find themselves uncomfortable with the overall logical connection. Dingle’s book is not for beginners, although the notions necessary to understand it are only those of elementary high-school physics. Indeed, the first part, in which we read an astonishing account of the polemics that opposed Dingle to the British physicists (his colleagues), does not require any prerequisite to be understood, but it would not say anything to those who have not personally experienced the problem of understanding special relativity. The second part of the book discusses in detail many aspects of special relativity, but was written for those who already know the elements of the theory.

So, let us recap the basics needed for reading Science at the Crossroads. A book of mine is available (Relativity from Lorentz to Einstein[1]), that I recommend as a preliminary reading to all those who do not possess the prerequisites mentioned below. After reading it, Dingle’s book will become fully intelligible. Here the summary of the prerequisites will be contained in a few pages.

We all know, if we know the basics of relativity, that in the early nineteenth century light and electromagnetic phenomena were interpreted as wave-like phenomena, and that a hypothesis was made, that everywhere in space light signals or electromagnetic waves propagate, there must exist a propagation medium of this wave, which was called ether, a classical term, belonging to the pre-scientific culture. But the nineteenth-century electromagnetic ether was neither a coarse concept, nor out of date; at first, the hypothesis arose only from the need to reduce the phenomenon of light to a familiar interpretation scheme, but then the concept of ether was hypothetically determined in very precise ways, according to various models, in order to attribute to it the physical characteristics that would be consistent with the properties of electromagnetic waves tested experimentally.

Over the course of just a century, the theory of electrical and magnetic phenomena had immensely evolved, passing from Galvani’s experiments with his frogs, which he mistakenly believed to be generators of electricity, to Voltaic piles and from there to electrical technology that in the first years of the twentieth century allowed the operation of electric trams and locomotives, electrical distribution networks in cities, telegraphs, telephones, Marconi’s radio stations, and so on.

Although the ether was never observed, it was thought that the ether was an inevitable hypothesis for describing electromagnetic phenomena. Now, if the ether existed everywhere and if the electromagnetic waves were moving there, then everything else had to be in motion with respect to the ether, including the Earth. At what speed? Since the Earth describes its annual revolution around the Sun at an average speed of 30 kilometres per second, its speed with respect to the ether was to be expected to be something in this order of magnitude: 30 km per second then should be added to the speed of the Sun and of the whole solar system with respect to the ether, which cannot be too high a speed, because if it were, we would observe from one year to another that we approach quickly some stars and move away quickly from others. In any case, whatever would be the overall speed, and even if the Sun were standing at rest with respect to the ether, we should expect to detect a difference of at least 30+30=60 kilometres per second in measurements separated by a six month interval, because in the second measurement the Earth would invert the sense of its movement around the Sun with respect to the sense of six months earlier.

Lesen Sie weiter in der vollst?ndigen Ausgabe!

Tausende von E-Books und Hörbücher

Ihre Zahl wächst ständig und Sie haben eine Fixpreisgarantie.

Sie haben über uns geschrieben: