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It is not widely known that Einstein had doubts, increasing with time, about the way he formulated his special theory of relativity in 1905. Physical Relativity examines the grounds of these doubts and related misgivings on the part of a handful of physicists and philosophers in the course of the twentieth century. Harvey Brown defends an interpretation of relativity theory, and hence of the nature of space and time, that combines Einstein's insights with those of his immediate precursors, who today are widely regarded as having had the right ideas for the wrong reasons. Appearing in the centennial year of Einstein's celebrated paper on special relativity, Physical Relativity is an unusual, critical examination of Einstein's thinking that will be of great interest to philosophers of physics, physicists, and historians of science.
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PHY SIC AL RE L ATIV IT Y
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Physical Relativity Space-time Structure from a Dynamical Perspective HARV EY R. BROW N
CL A RE N DO N P RE S S ˙ OX F ORD
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Great Clarendon Street, Oxford OX2 6DP Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers the University’s objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide in Oxford New York Auckland Cape Town Dar es Salaam Hong Kong Karachi Kuala Lumpur Madrid Melbourne Mexico City Nairobi New Delhi Shanghai Taipei Toronto With offices in Argentina Austria Brazil Chile Czech Republic France Greece Guatemala Hungary Italy Japan Poland Portugal Singapore South Korea Switzerland Thailand Turkey Ukraine Vietnam Oxford is a registered trade mark of Oxford University Press in the UK and in certain other countries Published in the United States by Oxford University Press Inc., New York © Harvey R. Brown 2005 The moral rights of the author have been asserted Database right Oxford University Press (maker) First published 2005 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of Oxford University Press, or as expressly permitted by law, or under terms agreed with the appropriate reprographics rights organization. Enquiries concerning reproduction outside the scope of the above should be sent to the Rights Department, Oxford University Press, at the address above You must not circulate this book in any other binding or cover and you must impose this same condition on any acquirer British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data Data available Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Brown, Harvey R. Physical relativity : space-time structure from a dynamical perspective / Harvey R. Brown. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. 1. Special relativity (Physics) 2. Kinematic relativity. 3. Space and time. 4. Einstein, Albert, 1879–1955. 5. Lorentz, H. A. (Hendrik Antoon), 1853–1928. I. Title. QC173.65.B76 2005 530.11—dc22 2005023506 Typeset by Newgen Imaging Systems (P) Ltd., Chennai, India Printed in Great Britain on acid-free paper by Biddles Ltd., King’s Lynn, Norfolk ISBN 0–19–927583–1
978–0–19–927583–0
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To Maita, Frances, and Lucas
When we have unified enough certain knowledge, we will understand who we are and why we are here. If those committed to the quest fail, they will be forgiven. When lost, they will find another way. The moral imperative of humanism is the endeavour alone, whether successful or not, provided the effort is honorable and failure memorable. Edward O. Wilson, Consilience Believe those who seek the truth. Doubt those who find it. Saying on refrigerator magnet
Preface As I write, the centennial of Einstein’s annus mirabilis, and in particular of his great 1905 paper on the electrodynamic