Concepts of Mass in Contemporary Physics and Philosophy
By Max Jammer
3/5
()
About this ebook
The concept of mass is one of the most fundamental notions in physics, comparable in importance only to those of space and time. But in contrast to the latter, which are the subject of innumerable physical and philosophical studies, the concept of mass has been but rarely investigated. Here Max Jammer, a leading philosopher and historian of physics, provides a concise but comprehensive, coherent, and self-contained study of the concept of mass as it is defined, interpreted, and applied in contemporary physics and as it is critically examined in the modern philosophy of science. With its focus on theories proposed after the mid-1950s, the book is the first of its kind, covering the most recent experimental and theoretical investigations into the nature of mass and its role in modern physics, from the realm of elementary particles to the cosmology of galaxies.
The book begins with an analysis of the persistent difficulties of defining inertial mass in a noncircular manner and discusses the related question of whether mass is an observational or a theoretical concept. It then studies the notion of mass in special relativity and the delicate problem of whether the relativistic rest mass is the only legitimate notion of mass and whether it is identical with the classical (Newtonian) mass. This is followed by a critical analysis of the different derivations of the famous mass-energy relationship E = mc2 and its conflicting interpretations. Jammer then devotes a chapter to the distinction between inertial and gravitational mass and to the various versions of the so-called equivalence principle with which Newton initiated his Principia but which also became the starting point of Einstein's general relativity, which supersedes Newtonian physics. The book concludes with a presentation of recently proposed global and local dynamical theories of the origin and nature of mass.
Destined to become a much-consulted reference for philosophers and physicists, this book is also written for the nonprofessional general reader interested in the foundations of physics.
Max Jammer
Max Jammer is Professor of Physics Emeritus and former Rector at Bar-Ilan University in Israel. He is the author of a number of treatises on the foundations of physics, including Concepts of Space, which contains a preface by Albert Einstein, and The Philosophy of Quantum Mechanics, which was read in draft by Paul Dirac and Werner Heisenberg. For his publications, most of which have been translated into several languages, Jammer has received numerous awards, among them the prestigious Monograph Prize of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. In writing Einstein and Religion, Jammer used as his sources the Einstein Archive at the National and University Library in Jerusalem and the library of the Union Theological Seminary in New York.
Read more from Max Jammer
Einstein and Religion: Physics and Theology Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Concepts of Space: The History of Theories of Space in Physics: Third, Enlarged Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Related to Concepts of Mass in Contemporary Physics and Philosophy
Related ebooks
Concepts of Force Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Relativity: The Theory and Its Philosophy Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLectures on Special Relativity Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsGreat Experiments in Physics: Firsthand Accounts from Galileo to Einstein Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Philosophy of Physics: Space and Time Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5History of Quantum Physics Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsEinstein's Theory of Relativity Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Understanding Relativity: A Simplified Approach to Einstein's Theories Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Theory of Heat Radiation Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5General Theory of Relativity: The Commonwealth and International Library: Selected Readings in Physics Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Matter and Light - The New Physics Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Atomic Physics and Human Knowledge Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsScience and Hypothesis Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Einstein's Miraculous Year: Five Papers That Changed the Face of Physics Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Solutions to the Unsolved Physics Problems: Beyond Einstein, #2 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFrom X-rays to Quarks: Modern Physicists and Their Discoveries Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Principles of Physical Cosmology Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Gravitation Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Cosmology’s Century: An Inside History of Our Modern Understanding of the Universe Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsOn Gravity: A Brief Tour of a Weighty Subject Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5QED and the Men Who Made It: Dyson, Feynman, Schwinger, and Tomonaga Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Elementary Principles in Statistical Mechanics Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Large-Scale Structure of the Universe Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Standard Model in a Nutshell Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFearful Symmetry: The Search for Beauty in Modern Physics Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Elementary Particle Physics in a Nutshell Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Mathematician's Mind: The Psychology of Invention in the Mathematical Field Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Gauge Theories of the Strong, Weak, and Electromagnetic Interactions: Second Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Moment of Creation: Big Bang Physics from Before the First Millisecond to the Present Universe Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Electrodynamics Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Physics For You
Quantum Physics: A Beginners Guide to How Quantum Physics Affects Everything around Us Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Unlocking Spanish with Paul Noble Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Welcome to the Universe: An Astrophysical Tour Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Reality Revolution: The Mind-Blowing Movement to Hack Your Reality Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Quantum Physics for Beginners Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Physics Essentials For Dummies Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Vibration and Frequency: How to Get What You Want in Life Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Physics I For Dummies Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5What If?: Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Step By Step Mixing: How to Create Great Mixes Using Only 5 Plug-ins Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5How to Diagnose and Fix Everything Electronic, Second Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Nature of Space and Time Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5String Theory For Dummies Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The God Effect: Quantum Entanglement, Science's Strangest Phenomenon Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Feynman Lectures Simplified 1A: Basics of Physics & Newton's Laws Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Theory of Relativity: And Other Essays Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Introducing Quantum Theory: A Graphic Guide Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Moving Through Parallel Worlds To Achieve Your Dreams Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Little Book of String Theory Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Dancing Wu Li Masters: An Overview of the New Physics Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5How to Teach Quantum Physics to Your Dog Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The First War of Physics Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Layman's Guide To Quantum Reality Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Universe from Nothing: Why There Is Something Rather than Nothing Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Principia: The Authoritative Translation: Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Midnight in Chernobyl: The Untold Story of the World's Greatest Nuclear Disaster Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Invisible Rainbow: A History of Electricity and Life Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for Concepts of Mass in Contemporary Physics and Philosophy
1 rating0 reviews