Einstein, Physics and Reality

1999 Science

Author : Jagdish Mehra
Release : 1999
Genre : Science
Kind : eBook
Book Rating : 130/5 ( reviews)

Book Synopsis Einstein, Physics and Reality by : Jagdish Mehra

Download or read book Einstein, Physics and Reality written by Jagdish Mehra. This book was released on 1999. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Albert Einstein was one of the principal founders of the quantum and relativity theories. Until 1925, when Bose-Einstein statistics was discovered, he made great contributions to the foundations of quantum theory. However, after the discovery of quantum mechanics by Heisenberg and wave mechanics by Schrodinger, with the consequent development of the principles of uncertainty and complementarity, it would seem that Einstein's views completely changed. In his theory of the Brownian motion, Einstein had invoked the theory of probability to establish the reality of atoms and molecules; but, in 1916-17, when he wished to predict the exact instant when an atom would radiate -- and developed his theory of the A and B coefficients -- "a statistical residue remained," which he did not quite have the courage of his convictions to accept, as he told his friend Max Born. However, he wrote later to Born that quantum mechanics "is certainly imposing," but "an inner voice tells me that it is not the real thing ... It does,not bring us closer to the secret of the 'Old One'. I, at any rate, am convinced that He is not playing at dice." At the 1927 and 1930 Solvay Conferences on Physics in Brussels, Einstein engaged in profound discussions with Niels Bohr and others about his conviction regarding classical determinism versus the statistical causality of quantum mechanics. To the end of his life he retained his belief in a deterministic philosophy. This highly interesting book explores Einstein's views on the nature and structure of physics and reality.

How Physics Confronts Reality: Einstein Was Correct, But Bohr Won The Game

2009-07-28 Science

Author : Roger G Newton
Release : 2009-07-28
Genre : Science
Kind : eBook
Book Rating : 524/5 ( reviews)

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Book Synopsis How Physics Confronts Reality: Einstein Was Correct, But Bohr Won The Game by : Roger G Newton

Download or read book How Physics Confronts Reality: Einstein Was Correct, But Bohr Won The Game written by Roger G Newton. This book was released on 2009-07-28. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book recalls, for nonscientific readers, the history of quantum mechanics, the main points of its interpretation, and Einstein's objections to it, together with the responses engendered by his arguments. Most popular discussions on the strange aspects of quantum mechanics ignore the fundamental fact that Einstein was correct in his insistence that the theory does not directly describe reality. While that fact does not remove the theory's counterintuitive features, it casts them in a different light.Context is provided by following the history of two central aspects of physics: the elucidation of the basic structure of the world made up of particles, and the explanation, as well as the prediction, of how objects move. This history, prior to quantum mechanics, reveals that whereas theories and discoveries concerning the structure of nature became increasingly realistic, the laws of motion, even as they became more powerful, became more and more abstract and remote from intuitive notions of reality. Newton's laws of motion gained their abstract power by sacrificing direct and intuitive contact with real experience. Arriving 250 years after Newton, the break with a direct description of reality embodied in quantum mechanics was nevertheless profound.

Einstein's Unfinished Revolution

2019-04-09 Science

Author : Lee Smolin
Release : 2019-04-09
Genre : Science
Kind : eBook
Book Rating : 122/5 ( reviews)

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Book Synopsis Einstein's Unfinished Revolution by : Lee Smolin

Download or read book Einstein's Unfinished Revolution written by Lee Smolin. This book was released on 2019-04-09. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A daring new vision of the quantum universe, and the scandals controversies, and questions that may illuminate our future--from Canada's leading mind on contemporary physics. Quantum physics is the golden child of modern science. It is the basis of our understanding of atoms, radiation, and so much else, from elementary particles and basic forces to the behaviour of materials. But for a century it has also been the problem child of science, plagued by intense disagreements between its intellectual giants, from Albert Einstein to Stephen Hawking, over the strange paradoxes and implications that seem like the stuff of fantasy. Whether it's Schrödinger's cat--a creature that is simultaneously dead and alive--or a belief that the world does not exist independently of our observations of it, quantum theory is what challenges our fundamental assumptions about our reality. In Einstein's Unfinished Revolution, globally renowned theoretical physicist Lee Smolin provocatively argues that the problems which have bedeviled quantum physics since its inception are unsolved for the simple reason that the theory is incomplete. There is more, waiting to be discovered. Our task--if we are to have simple answers to our simple questions about the universe we live in--must be to go beyond it to a description of the world on an atomic scale that makes sense. In this vibrant and accessible book, Smolin takes us on a journey through the basics of quantum physics, introducing the stories of the experiments and figures that have transformed the field, before wrestling with the puzzles and conundrums that they present. Along the way, he illuminates the existing theories about the quantum world that might solve these problems, guiding us toward his own vision that embraces common sense realism. If we are to have any hope of completing the revolution that Einstein began nearly a century ago, we must go beyond quantum mechanics as we know it to find a theory that will give us a complete description of nature. In Einstein's Unfinished Revolution, Lee Smolin brings us a step closer to resolving one of the greatest scientific controversies of our age.

Einstein, Tagore and the Nature of Reality

2016-06-23 Science

Author : Partha Ghose
Release : 2016-06-23
Genre : Science
Kind : eBook
Book Rating : 341/5 ( reviews)

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Book Synopsis Einstein, Tagore and the Nature of Reality by : Partha Ghose

Download or read book Einstein, Tagore and the Nature of Reality written by Partha Ghose. This book was released on 2016-06-23. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The nature of reality has been a long-debated issue among scientists and philosophers. In 1930, Rabindranath Tagore and Albert Einstein had a long conversation on the nature of reality. This conversation has been widely quoted and discussed by scientists, philosophers and scholars from the literary world. The important question that Tagore and Einstein discussed was whether the world is a unity dependent on humanity, or the world is a reality independent on the human factor. Einstein took the stand adopted by Western philosophers and mathematicians, namely that reality is something independent of the mind and the human factor. Tagore, on the other hand, adopted the opposite view. Nevertheless, both Einstein and Tagore claimed to be realists despite the fundamental differences between their conceptions of reality. Where does the difference lie? Can it be harmonized at some deeper level? Can Wittgenstein, for example, be a bridge between the two views? This collection of essays explores these two fundamentally different conceptions of the nature of reality from the perspectives of theories of space-time, quantum theory, general philosophy of science, cognitive science and mathematics.

Einstein, Physics and Reality

1999 Biography & Autobiography

Author : Jagdish Mehra
Release : 1999
Genre : Biography & Autobiography
Kind : eBook
Book Rating : 432/5 ( reviews)

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Book Synopsis Einstein, Physics and Reality by : Jagdish Mehra

Download or read book Einstein, Physics and Reality written by Jagdish Mehra. This book was released on 1999. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Albert Einstein was one of the principal founders of the quantum and relativity theories. Until 1925, when the BoseOCoEinstein statistics was discovered, he made great contributions to the foundations of quantum theory. However, after the discovery of quantum mechanics by Heisenberg and wave mechanics by SchrAdinger, with the consequent development of the principles of uncertainty and complementarity, it would seem that Einstein''s views completely changed. In his theory of the Brownian motion, Einstein had invoked the theory of probability to establish the reality of atoms and molecules; but, in 1916OCo17, when he wished to predict the exact instant when an atom would radiate OCo and developed his theory of the A and B coefficients OCo he wondered whether the OC quantum absorption and emission of light could ever be understood in the sense of the complete causality requirement, or would a statistical residue remain? I must admit that there I lack the courage of my convictions. But I would be very unhappy to renounce complete causalityOCO, as he wrote to his friend Max Born. However, he wrote later to Born that quantum mechanics OC is certainly imposingOCO, but OC an inner voice tells me that it is not the real thing OC It does not bring us closer to the secret of the OCyOld OneOCO. I, at any rate, am convinced that He is not playing at diceOCO. At the 1927 and 1930 Solvay Conferences on Physics in Brussels, Einstein engaged in profound discussions with Niels Bohr and others about his conviction regarding classical determinism versus the statistical causality of quantum mechanics. To the end of his life he retained his belief in a deterministic philosophy. This highly interesting book explores Einstein''s views on the nature and structure of physics and reality. Contents: The OC Non-Einsteinian Quantum TheoryOCO OC The Crisis in Theoretical PhysicsOCO Letters on Wave Mechanics; Epistemological Discussion with Einstein: Does Quantum Mechanics Describe Reality Correctly?; Is the Quantum-Theoretical Description of Nature Complete?; Does God Play Dice?; Mach Contra Kant: Aspects of the Development of Einstein''s Natural Philosophy. Readership: Scientists and general readers."

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