| HPS 2814 | Einstein | Spring 2023 |
Back to course documents.
Schedule
| Week | Date | Subject and Readings | Presenter |
| 1 | Jan 11 | Introduction. Review of menu of topics. Selection of topics to be covered. | Norton |
| Special Relativity | |||
| 2 | Jan 18 | Introduction to Einstein's special relativity paper of 1905. Preparation for all: Read 1. Einstein's "On the Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies." English translation. Common version. Common version reset. Original Journal printing in German. 2. John D. Norton, "Einstein's Special Theory of Relativity and the Problems in the Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies that Led him to it." pp. 72-102 in Cambridge Companion to Einstein, M. Janssen and C. Lehner, eds., Cambridge University Press. Background reading: John D. Norton, "Einstein's Investigations of Galilean Covariant Electrodynamics prior to 1905," Archive for History of Exact Sciences, 59 (2004), pp. 45-105. |
Norton Powerpoints: Three Possible Ways Einstein’s Operational Analysis Einstein's Electrodynamical Pathway "The Step" |
| 3 | Jan 25 | Section by section reading of Einstein's "On the Electrodynamics
of Moving Bodies." English translation. Common version. Common version reset. Each set of sections is assigned 15 minutes presentation time. That is not enough time to reconstruct all the details. Just use the 15 minutes to report the main content. Resources: Norton's notes on Einstein's paper. (higher contrast version) New notes of Section 8. Norton's notes: Electrodynamics 001 Robert E Kennedy, A Student's Guide to Einstein's Major Papers Oxford University Press, 2012. Richard Becker, Electromagnetic Fields and Interactions. Dover. This is the latest incarnation of the original August Foeppl, Introduction to Maxwell's Theory, which was a standard text in Einstein's time and has great historical depth. |
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| Introduction § 1. Definition of Simultaneity. Note error in standard translation. § 2. On the Relativity of Lengths and Times |
Seth Davis (15 min max) |
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| § 3. Theory of the Transformation of Co-ordinates and Times from a Stationary System to another System in Uniform Motion of Translation Relatively to the Former | Alex Eira (15 min max) |
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| § 4. Physical Meaning of the Equations Obtained in Respect to
Moving Rigid Bodies and Moving Clocks § 5. The Composition of Velocities |
Zhonghao Lu (15 min max) Powerpoint |
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| § 6. Transformation of the Maxwell-Hertz Equations for Empty
Space. On the Nature of the Electromotive Forces Occurring in a
Magnetic Field During Motion § 9. Transformation of the Maxwell-Hertz Equations when Convection-Currents are Taken into Account |
Kiki Timmermans (15 min max) |
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| § 7. Theory of Doppler’s Principle and of Aberration | Kabir Bakshi (15 min max) |
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| § 8. Transformation of the Energy of Light Rays. Theory of the Pressure of Radiation Exerted on Perfect Reflectors notes | Adam Koberinski (15 min max) |
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| § 10. Dynamics of the Slowly Accelerated Electron | Harrison Payne (15 min max) |
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| "Does the Inertia of a Body Depend on its Energy Content" Annalen der Physik, 1905. | Norton (15 min max) Powerpoint |
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| 4 |
Feb 1 |
James Clerk Maxwell, "Ether"
Encyclopedia Britannica, 1876. |
Seth Davis (30 min) |
| First and second order ether drift experiments Albert A. Michelson and Edward W. Morley, "On the Relative Motion of the Earth and Luminiferous Ether," American Journal of Science. 34 (1887), pp. 333-345. For Einstein's solution to the null result of the Trouton Noble experiment, see my notes on Einstein's 1907 paper on the inertia of energy. |
Norton Powerpoint (30 min) |
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| H. A. Lorentz, Attempt
of a Theory of Electrical and Optical Phenomena in Moving Bodies
(Translation of Versuch einer Theorie des Electrischen und
Optischen Erscheinungen in bewegten Körpern.) Review Sections 59-61. Show how his first order theorem of corresponding states, presented with equations (69) and (70), supports the conclusion "Thus all phenomena happen exactly in such a manner, as if the earth were at rest, the oscillation period ware T', and the celestial body, as seen from earth, would be located not in the direction (-b'x, -b'v,-b'z, ), but in the direction (-bx, -bv,-bz,)." Note that Lorentz's local time calculation is duplicated in Einstein's relativistic calculation with the relativity of simultaneity. |
Kiki Timmermans (30 min) |
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| Discovery of General Relativity | |||
| 5 |
Feb 8 |
General relativity. Very, very briefly. The simplest introduction to general relativity in Einstein for Everyone that uses lots of pictures and essentially no mathematics. A simple statement of the core content of general relativity. Word doc. For Einstein's introductions, see Albert Einstein, "The Foundation of the General Theory of Relativity," (1916) Albert Einstein, The Meaning of Relativity. (1922) |
Norton powerpoint (60 min) |
| The Error that Showed the Way: Einstein’s Path to his
Gravitational Field Equations John D. Norton, "Einstein’s Conflicting Heuristics: The Discovery of General Relativity," pp. 17-48 in Thinking about Space and Time: 100 Years of Applying and Interpreting General Relativity. Einstein Studies, Volume 15. C. Beisbart, T. Sauer, C. Wüthrich (eds). Cham, Switzerland: Birhäuser/Springer Nature, 2020. |
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| Albert Einstein, "Principle
of Relativity and Gravitation" Section V in "On the Relativity
Principle and the Conclusions Drawn from it" 1907. See sections 17-19 Norton's notes. |
Alex Eira (30 min) |
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| 6 |
Feb 15 |
Albert Einstein, "On the
Influence of Gravitation on the Propagation of Light," 1911 |
Seth Davis (30 min) |
| Albert Einstein and Marcel Grossmann,
"Outline of a Generalized Theory of Relativity and of a Theory of
Gravitation," (1913) Norton's notes Background: Einstein's hole and point-coincidence argument. |
Eleanor Knox (30 min) |
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| Einstein's Zurich Notebook | Norton powerpoint (30 min) |
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| Thursday Feb 16 | Outside event: Marco Giovanelli
(Philosophy, Turin) "Special Relativity as a Theory of Principles. On Einstein' Distinction between Constructive and Principle Theories" Oxford Philosophy of Physics Seminar 4:30pm Oxford time = 11:30am Pittsburgh time |
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| 7 |
Feb 22 |
What are the foundational principles of Einstein's general theory of relativity? | |
| Einstein's canonical statements. Part A, Section 1-4 of Albert Einstein, "The Foundation of the General Theory of Relativity," (1916) pp. 59-67 in Albert Einstein, The Meaning of Relativity. (1922) |
Dejan Makovec (30 min) |
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| Dennis Lehmkuhl, "The Equivalence Principle(s)" in Routledge Companion to the Philosophy of Physics. Routledge, 2022. | Zhongao Lu (30 min) Slides |
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| John D. Norton, "General
Covariance and the Foundations of General Relativity: Eight
Decades of Dispute," Reports on Progress in Physics,
56 , pp.791-858. Background: John D. Norton, "Geometries in Collision: Einstein, Klein and Riemann." in J. Gray, ed., The Symbolic Universe. Oxford University Press, pp.128-144. |
Norton (30 min) Powerpoint |
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| General Relativity Developed | |||
| 8 |
Mar 1 |
John Earman and Jean Eisenstaedt, "Einstein and Singularities," Studies
in History and Philosophy of Modern Physics, 30(1999),
pp. 185-235. This is a long paper. Don't try to cover everything in it! (For a popular sketch of how Einstein understood the "Schwarzschild radius," to be singular, see John D. Norton "Einstein on Singularities" in Einstein for Everyone. For a popular sketch of Einstein on the "mass horizon" singularity in a de Sitter spacetime see John D. Norton, "Thinking Mathematically or Thinking Physically?" in "How Did Einstein Think?" Goodies page.) |
Harrison Payne (45 min) |
| Dennis Lehmkuhl, "Approach to the Problem of Motion in General
Relativity," Philosophy of Science, 84 (December 2017) pp.
1202–1214. Background: Albert Einstein and Jakob Grommer, "General Theory of Relativity and Equations of Motion," 1927 Equations of motion of particles derived from assuming particles are singularities. |
Harrison Payne (45 min) |
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| Mar 8 | Spring Break | ||
| 9 |
Mar 15 |
Albert Einstein, "On a Stationary System with Spherical Symmetry
Consisting of Many Gravitating Masses," Annals of Mathematics, 40
(1939), pp. 929-936. (Argues black
holes cannot form by gravitational collapse.) (For a popular sketch of Einstein's argument, see "Einstein 1939" in Einstein for Everyone.) |
Adam Koberinski (30 min) |
| Albert Einstein and Nathan Rosen, "The
Particle Problem in the General Theory of Relativity," Physical
Review 48 (1935), pp. 73-77. (Particles are Einstein-Rosen bridges of a fully extended Schwardschild spacetime.) (For a popular sketch of Einstein's argument, see "Einstein-Rosen Bridges" in Einstein for Everyone.) |
Lucy Mason (30 min) |
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| Dennis Lehmkuhl, “Why Einstein Did Not Believe That General Relativity Geometrizes Gravity”, Studies in History and Philosophy of Modern Physics, 46 (2014), 316–326. | Zhonghao Lu (30 min) |
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| Contributions to Quantum Theory: Wave Particle Duality | |||
| 10 |
Mar 22 |
Einstein's 1905 light quantum paper Albert Einstein, "On a Heuristic Point of View about the Creation and Conversion of Light," Annalen der Physik, 17 (1905). Background: John D. Norton, "Atoms Entropy Quanta: Einstein's Miraculous Argument of 1905," Studies in History and Philosophy of Modern Physics, 37 (2006), pp. 71-100. Joh D. Norton, "Einstein's Miraculous Argument of 1905: The Thermodynamic Grounding of Light Quanta" in C. Joas, C. Lehner and J. Renn (eds.), HQ1: Conference on the History of Quantum Physics: Max Planck Institute for the History of Science. Preprint 350. Vol. 1, pp. 63-78. |
Norton powerpoint (30 min) |
| Albert Einstein, "On the Present Status of the Radiation Problem,"
Physikalische Zeitschrift, 19 (1909), pp.
185-93. Anthony Duncan and Michel Janssen, "Section 3.4.3 Einstein’s 1909 Salzburg lecture: fluctuations and wave–particle duality" in Constructing Quantum Mechanics Volume One: The Scaffold: 1900–1923. Oxford University Press, 2019. |
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| Section 6 in "On the Present Status..." [Energy fluctuation argument] | Kakir Bakshi slides (30 min) |
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| Section 7 in "On the Present Status..." [Pressure fluctuation argument] | Brett Park Powerpoint (30 min) |
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| Mar 22 |
Term paper proposals due in email prior to seminar today. | ||
| Critique of Quantum Theory: Einstein Bohr Debate | |||
| 11 |
Mar 29 |
Niels Bohr, "Discussions with Einstein on Epistemological Problems
in Atomic Physics," in P. A Schilpp, ed., Albert Einstein:
Philosopher Scientist. |
Philipp Berghofer slides (30 min) |
| Albert Einstein, Autobiographical Notes (fragments),
Reply to Criticism (fragments) Background: Albert Einstein, "Quantum Mechanics and Reality," Dialectica, 2 (1948), pp. 32-24. |
Philipp Berghofer (30 min) |
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| David Kaiser, "Bringing the human actors back on stage: the personal context of the Einstein-Bohr debate," British Journal for the History of Science, 27 (1994), pp. 129-52. | Kabir Bakshi (30 min) |
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| Einstein and the Philosophy of Science | |||
| 12 |
Apr 5 |
Don A. Howard and Marco Giovanelli, "Einstein’s
Philosophy of Science", The Stanford Encyclopedia of
Philosophy. Background: John D. Norton, “Philosophy in Einstein’s Science," in Alternatives to Materialist Philosophies of Science, Philip MacEwen, ed., The Mellen Press. |
Kamyar Asasi (30 min) |
| Einstein on the Constructive-Principle Theory Distinction Einstein 1907, Einstein to Sommerfeld 1908, Einstein 1919, Einstein 1949 Mathias Frisch, "Mechanisms, principles, and Lorentz’s cautious realism," Studies in History and Philosophy of Modern Physics 36 (2005), pp. 659–679 |
Alex Eira (30 min) |
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| John D. Norton, "How Hume and Mach Helped Einstein Find Special Relativity," pp. 359-386 in M. Dickson and M. Domski, eds., Discourse on a New Method: Reinvigorating the Marriage of History and Philosophy of Science. Chicago and La Salle, IL: Open Court, 2010. | Norton (30 min) Powerpoint |
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| 13 |
Apr 12 |
Einstein's thought experiments. A clever thought experiment for E=mc2: Albert Einstein, "The Principle of the Conservation of Motion of the Center of Gravity and the Inertia of Energy," Annalen der Physik, 20(1906), pp. 627-33. John D. Norton, "Thought Experiments in Einstein's Work," in Thought Experiments In Science and Philosophy, eds. T. Horowitz, G. J. Massey, Savage, MD: Rowman and Littlefield, 1991. For the next step in Einstein's work on the inertia of energy, see my notes on Einstein's 1907 paper on the inertia of energy. |
Norton (30 min) Powerpoint |
| Einstein on theoretical concepts as free creations Fragments in Ideas and Opinion, Autobiographical Notes, Evolution of Physics |
Kamyar Asasi (30 min) |
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| John D. Norton, “'Nature is the Realisation of the Simplest Conceivable Mathematical Ideas': Einstein and the Canon of Mathematical Simplicity.” Studies in History and Philosophy of Modern Physics 31 (2000), pp. 135–170. | Norton (30 min) Powerpoint |
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| Einstein More Broadly | |||
| 14 | Apr 19 | Einstein "About
Religion," from Ideas and Opinions, pp. 36-52. Einstein's 1954 "God Letter" English, German facsimile. Background: Max Jammer, Einstein and Religion: Physics and Theology. Princeton University Press, 1999. |
Zonhghao Lu (30 min) Powerpoint |
| Einstein's 14 part, full FBI file in the FBI Records "Vault"
website. https://vault.fbi.gov/Albert%20Einstein Background: Fred Jerome, The Einstein File: The FBI’s Secret War Against the World’s Most Famous Scientist. Montreal: Baraka books, 2018. Siegfried Grundmann, The Einstein Dossiers: Science and Politics Einstein’s Berlin Period with an Appendix on Einstein’s FBI File. Springer 2004. |
Everyone: look at the FBI file and find something
noteworthy |
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| Friday Apr 28 |
Term papers due. |
Error in standard translation of Einstein's 1905 "On the Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies." Section 1. Definition of Simultanteity
We have not defined a common “time” for A and B, for the latter cannot be defined at all unless we establish by definition that the “time” required by light to travel from A to B equals the “time” it requires to travel from B to A.
should read
... a "time" common from A and B. The latter can be determined by establishing by definition that the "time" needed for light to travel from A to B is equal to the "time" it needs to travel from B to A.