Title Einstein in Bohemia / Michael D. Gordin

Published Princeton, New Jersey : Princeton University Press, [2020]

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Description 1 online resource (xi, 343 pages) Contents Introduction : a spacetime interval -- First and second place -- The speed of light -- Anti-Prague -- Einstein positive and Einstein negative -- The hidden Kepler -- Out of Josefov -- From revolution to normalization -- Conclusion : Princeton, Tel Aviv, Prague Summary "Though Einstein is undoubtedly one of the most important figures in the history of modern science, he was in many respects marginal. Despite being one of the creators of quantum theory, he remained skeptical of it, and his major research program while in Princeton -the quest for a unified field- ultimately failed. In this book, Michael Gordin explores this paradox in Einstein's life by concentrating on a brief and often overlooked interlude: his tenure as professor of physics in Prague, from April of 1911 to the summer of 1912. Though often dismissed by biographers and scholars, it was a crucial year for Einstein both personally and scientifically: his marriage deteriorated, he began thinking seriously about his Jewish identity for the first time, he attempted a new explanation for gravitation-which though it failed had a significant impact on his later work-and he met numerous individuals, including Max Brod, Hugo Bergmann, Philipp Frank, and Arnošt Kolman, who would continue to influence him. In a kind of double-biography of the figure and the city, this book links Prague and Einstein together. Like the man, the city exhibits the same paradox of being both central and marginal to the main contours of European history. It was to become the capital of the Czech Republic but it was always, compared to Vienna and Budapest, less central in the Habsburg Empire. Moreover, it was home to a lively Germanophone intellectual and artistic scene, thought the vast majority of its population spoke only Czech. By emphasizing the marginality and the centrality of both Einstein and Prague, Gordin sheds new light both on Einstein's life and career and on the intellectual and scientific life of the city in the early twentieth century"-- Provided by publisher Analysis Archduke Franz Ferdinand Arnošt Kolman Central European history City of a Hundred Spires Czech Republic Czech capital Czechoslovakia Eastern European history Franz Kafka Isaac Newton Nikola Tesla Nobel Prize in physics Prague history Rudolf Steiner Stephen Hawking The Genius Biographies Walter Isaacson World War I Zionism great cities of Europe history of Prague history of science nationalism philosophy of science Bibliography Includes bibliographical references and index Notes In English Online resource; title from digital title page (viewed on March 05, 2020) Subject Einstein, Albert, 1879-1955 -- Homes and haunts -- Czech Republic -- Prague Einstein, Albert, 1879-1955 -- Homes and haunts -- Czech Republic -- Bohemia SUBJECT Einstein, Albert, 1879-1955 fast Subject SCIENCE -- History. Homes Czech Republic -- Bohemia Czech Republic -- Prague Form Electronic book LC no. 2019024580 ISBN 9780691199849 0691199841

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