Einstein's Jury: The Race to Test Relativity

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Princeton University Press, 2006 - 397 pages

Einstein's Jury is the dramatic story of how astronomers in Germany, England, and America competed to test Einstein's developing theory of relativity. Weaving a rich narrative based on extensive archival research, Jeffrey Crelinsten shows how these early scientific debates shaped cultural attitudes we hold today.

The book examines Einstein's theory of general relativity through the eyes of astronomers, many of whom were not convinced of the legitimacy of Einstein's startling breakthrough. These were individuals with international reputations to uphold and benefactors and shareholders to please, yet few of them understood the new theory coming from the pen of Germany's up-and-coming theoretical physicist, Albert Einstein. Some tried to test his theory early in its development but got no results. Others--through toil and hardship, great expense, and perseverance--concluded that it was wrong.

A tale of international competition and intrigue, Einstein's Jury brims with detail gleaned from Crelinsten's far-reaching inquiry into the history and development of relativity. Crelinsten concludes that the well-known British eclipse expedition of 1919 that made Einstein famous had less to do with the scientific acceptance of his theory than with his burgeoning public fame. It was not until the 1920s, when the center of gravity of astronomy and physics shifted from Europe to America, that the work of prestigious American observatories legitimized Einstein's work. As Crelinsten so expertly shows, the glow that now surrounds the famous scientist had its beginnings in these early debates among professional scientists working in the glare of the public spotlight.

 

Contents

EINSTEIN AND THE WORLD COMMUNITY OF PHYSICISTS AND ASTRONOMERS
3
THE ASTRONOMY COMMUNITY
7
THE ASTROPHYSICS REVOLUTION
9
EUROPEAN BRAINS AND AMERICAN MONEY
20
THE NATIONS LEADER
25
ASTRONOMERS AND SPECIAL RELATIVITY THE FIRST PUBLICATIONS
28
RELATIVITY AND THE ETHER
31
RELATIVITY AND SUBJECTIVISM
36
EINSTEINS THIRD VICTORY
173
UNRAVELING COMPLEXITIESEVERSHED VERSUS ST JOHN
175
EVERSHED VOTES FOR EINSTEIN
179
MORE ECLIPSE TESTING
183
CONFLICTING ANNOUNCEMENTS ON THE GOLDENDALE RESULTS
185
PREPARATIONS FOR THE AUSTRALIAN ECLIPSE
194
ALL EYES ON LICK
200
EMERGENCE OF THE CRITICS
213

USING RELATIVITY TO CALCULATE PLANETARY ORBITS
38
AMERICAN ASTRONOMERS INTRODUCTION TO RELATIVITY
40
19111919 ASTRONOMERS ENCOUNTER EINSTEIN
45
THE EARLY INVOLVEMENT 19111914
47
SOLAR ECLIPSES VULCAN AND THE PRINCIPLE OF RELATIVITY
50
EINSTEIN FINDS AN ASTRONOMER
55
PUZZLES IN THE SUNS SPECTRUM
65
THE RUSSIAN ECLIPSE OF 1914
76
THE WAR PERIOD 19141918
85
EINSTEINS BREAKTHROUGH
87
THE FREUNDLICH AFFAIR
90
NEWS OF EINSTEINS BREAKTHROUGH SPREADS
94
MIXED REACTIONS TO A COMPLICATED THEORY
98
CONSTRUCTING THE UNIVERSE
103
CHALLENGES FROM SOLAR OBSERVATIONS
108
LICK ASTRONOMERS Go ECLIPSE HUNTING
114
EINSTEIN LIBERATES FREUNDLICH
119
1919 A YEAR OF DRAMATIC ANNOUNCEMENT
125
DELAYS AND TECHNICAL CHALLENGES AT LICK
126
THE LICK VERDICT EINSTEIN IS WRONG
131
THE BRITISH DECLARE EINSTEIN IS RIGHT
140
MEN OF SCIENCE AGOG
146
PRESSURE FROM THE PRESS
153
THE ROLE OF ARTHUR EDDINGTON
157
EINSTEIN THE NATIONAL TREASURE
160
HALE REALIZES His VISION
165
19201925 ASTRONOMERS PUT EINSTEIN TO THE TEST
169
TACKLING THE SOLAR REDSHIFT PROBLEM
171
TJJ SEE VERSUS THE LICK OBSERVATORY
216
AN ANTIRELATIVITY COALITION IN THE EAST
225
THE ETHER ATTEMPTS A COMEBACK
231
THE DEBATE INTENSIFIES
236
MOUNT WILSON AND LICK VOTE FOR EINSTEIN
241
THE ANTIRELATIVITY CAMPAIGN GAINS MOMENTUM
243
CONFRONTATION
252
A NEW LINE OF EVIDENCE TO TEST EINSTEIN
257
19251930 FINAL ACCEPTANCE
263
RELATIVITY TRIUMPHS
265
THE RELATIVITY DEBATE CIRCA 1925
269
ANNOUNCEMENTS FOR AND AGAINST THE ETHER
273
ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE SIRIUS B RESULTS
277
JOHN A MILLER AND THE ECLIPSE TESTS
282
DAYTON C MILLER AND THE ETHER DRIFT
287
THREE MORE PRONOUNCEMENTS
290
RELUCTANT ACCEPTANCE
296
SILENCING THE CRITICS
300
ANTIRELATIVISTS RALLY IN THE EAST
307
THE FINAL SHOWDOWN
310
THE EMERGENCE OF RELATIVISTIC COSMOLOGY
315
FINAL REFLECTIONS
321
ASTRONOMERS RECEPTION OF RELATIVITY
323
RELATIVITY AND US
324
NOTES
327
BIBLIOGRAPHY
365
INDEX
385
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About the author (2006)

Jeffrey Crelinsten is an award-winning science writer and historian and president of The Impact Group, a private communications and research firm specializing in science and technology policy, communications, and education. He has written radio and film documentaries on Einstein and his theory of relativity for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), National Public Radio, and the National Film Board of Canada. His two-hour radio biography of Einstein, prepared for Einstein's 1979 centenary, was re-broadcast by the CBC in June, 2005. He lives in Toronto, Canada.

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