Einstein Studies in Russia

This volume offers a selection of the best contributions by Russianscholars--historians and philosophers of science--to the EinsteinStudies industry, broadly construed. Most of the papers included herewere first published in Russian in the 'Einshteinovskiy Sbornik'series (Einstein Studies), the first of its kind, and initiated in1966 by Nobel Prize winner Igor Tamm. From 1966-1990, fourteen volumesof the 'Sbornik' were published by Nauka, the chief academic publisherin the former...
More Description

This volume offers a selection of the best contributions by Russianscholars--historians and philosophers of science--to the EinsteinStudies industry, broadly construed. Most of the papers included herewere first published in Russian in the 'Einshteinovskiy Sbornik'series (Einstein Studies), the first of its kind, and initiated in1966 by Nobel Prize winner Igor Tamm. From 1966-1990, fourteen volumesof the 'Sbornik' were published by Nauka, the chief academic publisherin the former Soviet Union.The book explores such topics as the historical and foundationalissues in general relativity and relativistic cosmology, Einstein'scontributions to quantum theory of radiation, and the rise of Dirac'squantum electrodynamics. The volume also includes a detaileddescription of the physics colloquium Einstein established andcoordinated in 1912-1914 in Zurich.The contributors draw extensively on documentation previouslyunavailable to most scholars. Thus the materials from various Russianarchives shed new light on the famous exchange (regarding the firstevolutionary cosmological models) between Einstein and AleksandrFriedmann in the early 1920s and on the role of Boris Podolsky andVladimir Fock in the emergence of quantum electrodynamics. The little-known correspondence between Einstein and a famous German pilot PaulEhrhardt suggests that, during World War I, Einstein was involved withaero- and hydrodynamics and thought about ways of improving airfoildesign. Other articles discuss new approaches to important questionsin the foundations of general relativity and cosmology.Historians, philosophers, and sociologists of science should beprepared to find much new and unexpected material in this engagingvolume presenting the best of the recent Russian scholarship in thefield. The book will be accessible to the general reader as well.