In last few posts, we have seen two books on Einstein and his work (Albert Einstein’s Philosophical Views and The Theory of Relativity and Einstein and the philosophical problems of 20th-century physics). In this post, we will see yet another book on a similar theme, Einstein by Kuznetsov.
About the book:
This book is a biographical sketch of Einstein’s personal and professional life. It starts from his childhood, charts his professional career at various places, and finally ends with his death and legacy. Ideas and opinions of Einstein about other personalities like Mozart, Dostoyevsky and schools of thought like positivism, rationalism are explored. His ideas about theoretical concepts in physics, where he made fundamental contributions, the photo-electric effect, Brownian motion, the special and general theory of relativity and finally quantum mechanics are described. All through this Einstein’s journey from city to city- Bern, Prague, Zurich, Berlin and finally Princeton are described. There is a chapter on Nazi regime and also one on the atomic bomb. Finally, Einstein’s death and his legacy are seen.
Original scan by DLI,
The book is available in Bengali too.
Contents
Introduction 5
Chapter 1. Adolescence 18
Chapter 2. Student Days 25
Chapter 3. Bern 35
Chapter 4. The “Extra-Personal” 48
Chapter 5. Rationalism 53
Chapter 6. Einstein and Positivism 67
Chapter 7. Dostoyevsky and Mozart 83
Chapter 8. Mathematics and Reality 94
Chapter 9. Points of View in the Selection of Scientific Theories and the Foundations of Classical Physics 111
Chapter 10. Brownian Movement 129
Chapter 11. Photons 138
Chapter 12. The Constancy of the Velocity of Light 143
Chapter 13. The Principle of the Constancy of the Velocity of Light and Classical Physics 150
Chapter 14. The Lorentz Contraction 156
Chapter 15. Space, Time, Energy, and Mass 162
Chapter 16. Prague and Zurich 171
Chapter 17. Berlin 192
Chapter 18. The General Theory of Relativity 200
Chapter 19. Confirmation of the Relativity Theory 206
Chapter 20. Fame 212
Chapter 21. Travels 231
Chapter 22. The Nazi Regime in Germany 248
Chapter 23. Princeton 254
Chapter 24. Einstein’s Attitude Towards Quantum Mechanics 269
Chapter 25. Relativity, Quanta, and Unified Field Theory 297
Chapter 26. “The Evolution of Physics” 325
Chapter 27. The A-Bomb Tragedy Chapter 337
Chapter 28. Death 352
Chapter 29. Immortality 362
Selected References 371
Name Index 373
