Series: Classics of Science
annotation
This publication is the first fundamental collection of Einstein's scientific works in the world literature. The scientific heritage of the famous scientist contains more than 200 articles on various issues physics. The vast majority of them, after being published in journals, were not collected and published. Meanwhile, a complete picture of Einstein's work would be of great scientific and cultural significance. With this publication, the Academy of Sciences of the USSR performs a significant part of this honorable task.
Einstein's works differ from the work of many other physicists of our time in that he accurately recorded in them all the stages of his work, which ended with the birth of a new physics. Each of the articles, each speech added new elements to the emerging picture of physical phenomena. Put together, they form, like pieces of a puzzle, a fascinating history of physics in its most tumultuous years. It was their logical sequence and the value of the study that made me choose this version of the publication, in which two directions were singled out - the theory of space and time (volumes I and II) and the theory of atomic and statistical phenomena (volume III). These directions did not develop independently, their ideas and work on them always overlapped; however, the logic of research manifests itself more clearly if the articles of these two directions are read without mixing.
The first and second volumes contain almost all of Einstein's work on the special theory of relativity, general theory relativity and unified field theory. Most of them have not been included in any separate editions and have not been published since the original publication. Only a few papers and papers belonging to Einstein on the theory of relativity were published in separate editions.
The third volume includes the rest scientific work Einstein in physics (in particular, in the theory brownian motion, thermodynamics, theory of light quanta, quantum statistics).
Fourth volume. In addition to the works included in the first three volumes, there were still a lot of articles devoted to more general issues. These articles developed Einstein's views on the problems of creativity, on the tasks of science; they also contain numerous speeches for humanism, against war and fascism.
When such articles were included in a collection of scientific papers, it was very difficult to decide where to draw the line. It seemed unconditional that in order to understand Einstein's work, it is very important to understand his epistemological views, his confidence in a person's ability to cognize the real world around him. Therefore, the works collected in the fourth volume constitute an organic addition to his main works included in the three previous volumes. At the end of the 4th volume, we placed the popular book "The Evolution of Physics", written by Einstein together with L. Infeld.
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| Volumes available: all | |
| Seller: (Moscow, RU/77 ) | |
| Condition: excellent; On sale from 01/13/2018 | |
| Comment: No dust jackets (bought without them). On the back flyleaf of volume 1 there is a second-hand bookstore mark. | |
Editorial
1913
1. Max Planck as a researcher
1914
2. Opening speech
3. Review of the book by G. A. Lorentz "Principle of Relativity"
1916
4. Preface to the book by E. Freindlich "Fundamentals of Einstein's theory of gravitation"
5. Review of the book by G. A. Lorentz "Statistical theories in thermodynamics"
6. Abstract of the work "Foundations of the General Theory of Relativity"
7. Elementary theory of flight and water waves
8. Ernst Mach
9. In memory of Karl Schwarzschild
1917
10. Review of the book by G. Helmholtz "Two reports on Goethe"
11. Marian Smoluchowski
1918
12. Motives scientific research
13. Review of the book by Hermann Weil "Space, Time, Matter"
1919
14. Leo Arone as a physicist
1922
15. Review of the book by V. Pauli "The Theory of Relativity"
16. Emil Warburg as a researcher
17. Preface to the collection of works published by the publishing house Kaitsosha
18. About modern crisis theoretical physics
1924
19. Preface to the German edition of Lucretius' On the Nature of Things
20. Centenary of the Birth of Lord Kelvin (June 26, 1824)
21. Review of the book by I. Winternitz "The Theory of Relativity and the Theory of Knowledge"
22. Review of the book by Max Planck "Thermal Radiation"
1926
23. W. G. Julius (1860-1925)
24. Reasons for the formation of meanders in river beds and the so-called Baer's law
1927
25. Isaac Newton
26. Newtonian mechanics and its influence on the formation of theoretical physics
27. To the 200th anniversary of the death of Isaac Newton
28. Letter to the Royal Society on the occasion of the 200th anniversary of the birth of Newton
1928
29. Speech at the grave of G. A. Lorenz
30. The merits of G. A. Lorentz in the matter of international cooperation
31. Regarding the book by Emil Meyerson "Relativistic Deduction"
32. Fundamental concepts of physics and changes that have occurred in them lately
1929
33. Speech at the anniversary of Professor Planck
34. Note on the translation of Arago's speech "In Memory of Thomas Jung"
35. Evaluation of the work of Simon Newcomb
36. Conversation by A. Einstein at a special session of the National Academy of Sciences in Buenos Aires on April 16, 1925
1930
37. Johannes Kepler
38. Foreword to Anton Reiser's book "Albert Einstein"
39. Religion and Science
1931
40. The nature of reality. Conversation with Rabindranath Tagore
41. Thomas Alva Edison
42. Preface to the book by R. de Villamil "Newton as a man"
43. Maxwell's influence on the development of ideas about physical reality
44. Preface to Newton's Optics
45. About radio
46. About science
47. Reply to congratulatory addresses at a dinner at Caltech
48. In memory of Albert A. Michelson
49. Science and happiness
1932
50. Prologue
51. Epilogue. Socratic dialogue
52. Remarks on a new formulation of problems in theoretical physics
53. From the book "Builders of the Universe"
54. For the seventieth birthday of Dr. Berliner
55. My creed
1933
56. Letters to the Prussian and Bavarian Academies of Sciences
57. On the method of theoretical physics
58. Science and civilization
1934
59. In memory of Paul Ehrenfest
60. In memory of Marie Curie
61. Preface to the book by L. Infeld “The World in the Light modern science»
62. In memory of de Sitter
1935
63. Review of the book by R. Tolman "Relativity, thermodynamics and cosmology"
64. In memory of Emmy Noether
1936
65. Physics and reality
66. Commentary on Prof. Page's Generalization of the Theory of Relativity and Criticism of Dr. Silberstein
1940
67. Reasoning about the foundations of theoretical physics
68. Freedom and science
1942
69. Activities and personality of Walter Nernst
70. The universal language of science
1944
71. Notes on the theory of knowledge by Bertrand Russell
1946
72. Preface to Rudolf Kaiser's Spinoza
1947
73. Paul Langevin
1948
74. In memory of Max Planck
75. Preface to the book by L. Barnett "The Universe and Dr. Einstein"
1949
76. Autobiographical notes
77. Comments on articles
1950
78. Physics, philosophy and scientific progress
79. Preface to Philipp Frank's Relativity
1951
80. Preface to the book by Carola Baumgardt “Johannes Kepler. Life and Letters"
81. Letter to G. Samuel
1952
82. Preface to I. Hannack's book "Emmanuel Lasker"
1953
83. G. A. Lorentz as a creator and a person
84. Preface to the book of Galileo "Dialogue about the two main systems of the world"
1954
85. To the 410th anniversary of the death of Copernicus
86. Preface to Max Jammer's book "The Concept of Space"
1955
87. Preface to the book of Louis de Broglie "Physics and Microphysics"
88. Autobiographical sketches
The evolution of physics
Application. Letters to Maurice Solovin
The main dates of the life and work of A. Einstein
Index of co-authors of articles published in this Collection of Scientific Papers
Index of articles published in this Collection of Scientific Papers
Great Soviet Encyclopedia: Albert Einstein (March 14, 1879, Ulm, Germany - April 18, 1955, Princeton, USA), physicist, creator of the theory of relativity and one of the creators of quantum theory and statistical physics. From the age of 14 he lived with his family in Switzerland. After graduating from the Zurich Polytechnic (1900), he worked as a teacher, first in Winterthur, then in Schaffhausen. In 1902, he received an expert position at the federal patent office in Bern, where he worked until 1909. During these years, E. created the special theory of relativity, performed research on statistical physics, Brownian motion, radiation theory, etc. E.'s work became famous, and in 1909 he was elected professor at the University of Zurich, then at the German University in Prague (1911-12). In 1912 he returned to Zurich, where he took a chair at the Zurich Polytechnic. In 1913 he was elected a member of the Prussian and Bavarian Academy of Sciences and in 1914 moved to Berlin, where he was director of the Physics Institute and prof. Berlin University. During the Berlin period E. completed the creation of the general theory of relativity, further developed the quantum theory of radiation. For the discovery of the laws of the photoelectric effect and work in the field of theoretical physics, E. was awarded Nobel Prize(1921). In 1933, he was forced to leave Germany, subsequently, in protest against fascism, he renounced German citizenship, left the academy and moved to Princeton (USA), where he became a member of the Institute for Higher Studies. During this period E. tried to develop a unified field theory and dealt with issues of cosmology. Works on the theory of relativity. The main thing scientific achievement E. - the theory of relativity, which is essentially a general theory of space, time and gravity. The concepts of space and time that prevailed before E. were formulated by I. Newton at the end of the 17th century. and did not come into obvious conflict with the facts until the development of physics led to the emergence of electrodynamics and, in general, to the study of motions with velocities close to the speed of light. The equations of electrodynamics (Maxwell's equations) turned out to be incompatible with the equations of Newton's classical mechanics. The contradictions became especially acute after the implementation of Michelson's experiment, the results of which could not be explained within the framework of classical physics.
The special, or particular, theory of relativity, the subject of which is the description of physical phenomena (including the propagation of light) in inertial frames of reference, was published by E. in 1905 in an almost complete form. One of its main provisions - the complete equality of all inertial frames of reference - makes the concepts of absolute space and absolute time of Newtonian physics meaningless. The physical meaning is retained only by those conclusions that do not depend on the speed of the inertial frame of reference. On the basis of these ideas, E. derived new laws of motion, which in the case of low velocities reduce to Newton's laws, and also gave a theory of optical phenomena in moving bodies. Turning to the ether hypothesis, he comes to the conclusion that the description electromagnetic field does not require any medium at all, and that the theory turns out to be consistent if, in addition to the principle of relativity, the postulate of the independence of the speed of light from the frame of reference is introduced. A deep analysis of the concept of simultaneity and the processes of measuring intervals of time and length (partially carried out also by A. Poincaré) showed the physical necessity of the formulated postulate. In the same (1905) year, E. published an article where he showed that the mass of a body m is proportional to its energy E, and the following year he deduced the famous relation E = mc2 (c is the speed of light in vacuum). Great importance to complete the construction of the special theory of relativity had the work of G. Minkowski on four-dimensional space-time. Special relativity has become a necessary tool physical research(for example, in nuclear physics and elementary particle physics), her conclusions received full experimental confirmation.
The special theory of relativity left aside the phenomenon of gravitation. The question of the nature of gravitation, as well as the equations of the gravitational field and the laws of its propagation, was not even raised in it. E. drew attention to the fundamental importance of the proportionality of the gravitational and inertial masses (the principle of equivalence). Trying to reconcile this principle with the invariance of the four-dimensional interval, E. came to the idea of the dependence of the geometry of space - time on matter and after a long search in 1915-16 derived the equation of the gravitational field (Einstein's equation, see Gravitation). This work laid the foundations for the general theory of relativity.
E. made an attempt to apply his equation to the study of the global properties of the universe. In 1917, he showed that from the principle of its homogeneity, one can obtain a connection between the density of matter and the radius of curvature of space-time. Limiting himself, however, to a static model of the universe, he was forced to introduce negative pressure (the cosmological constant) into the equation in order to balance the forces of attraction. The right approach to the problem was found by A.A. Friedman, who came up with the idea of an expanding universe. These works marked the beginning of relativistic cosmology.
In 1916, E. predicted the existence of gravitational waves by solving the problem of the propagation of a gravitational disturbance. Thus, the construction of the foundations of the general theory of relativity was completed.
The general theory of relativity explained (1915) the anomalous behavior of the orbit of the planet Mercury, which remained incomprehensible within the framework of Newtonian mechanics, predicted the deflection of a beam of light in the gravitational field of the Sun (discovered in 1919-22) and the shift of the spectral lines of atoms located in the gravitational field (discovered in 1925 ). Experimental confirmation of the existence of these phenomena has become a brilliant confirmation of the general theory of relativity.
The development of the general theory of relativity in the works of E. and his collaborators is associated with an attempt to build a unified field theory in which the electromagnetic field must be organically connected with the metric of space - time, as well as the gravitational field. These attempts did not lead to success, but interest in this problem increased in connection with the construction of a relativistic quantum field theory.
Works on quantum theory. E. plays an important role in developing the foundations of quantum theory. He introduced the concept of the discrete structure of the radiation field and, on this basis, derived the laws of the photoelectric effect, and also explained the luminescent and photochemical laws. E.'s ideas on the quantum structure of light (published in 1905) were in apparent contradiction with the wave nature of light, which was resolved only after the creation of quantum mechanics.
Successfully developing quantum theory, E. in 1916 came to the division of radiation processes into spontaneous (spontaneous) and forced (induced) and introduced the Einstein coefficients A and B, which determine the probabilities of these processes. The result of E.'s reasoning was the statistical derivation of Planck's law of radiation from the condition of equilibrium between emitters and radiation. This work E. underlies modern quantum electronics.
Applying the same statistical consideration, no longer to the emission of light, but to vibrations of the crystal lattice, E. creates the theory of heat capacity solids(1907, 1911). In 1909 he derives a formula for the fluctuation of energy in a radiation field. This work was a confirmation of his quantum theory of radiation and played important role in the development of the theory of fluctuations.
E.'s first work in the field of statistical physics appeared in 1902. In it, E., not knowing about the works of J.W. Gibbs, develops his version of statistical physics, defining the probability of a state as an average over time. This view of the starting points of statistical physics leads E. to develop the theory of Brownian motion (published in 1905), which formed the basis of the theory of fluctuations.
In 1924, having become acquainted with S. Bose's article on the statistics of light quanta and evaluating its significance, E. published Bose's article with his notes, in which he pointed out a direct generalization of Bose's theory to an ideal gas. This was followed by E.'s work on the quantum theory of an ideal gas; This is how Bose-Einstein statistics arose.
Developing the theory of the mobility of molecules (1905) and investigating the reality of Ampère currents that generate magnetic moments, E. came to the prediction and experimental discovery, together with the Dutch physicist W. de Haas, of the effect of changing the mechanical moment of a body during its magnetization (the Einstein-de Haas effect).
Scientific works of E. played big role in development modern physics. The special theory of relativity and the quantum theory of radiation formed the basis of quantum electrodynamics, quantum field theory, atomic and nuclear physics, elementary particle physics, quantum electronics, relativistic cosmology, and other branches of physics and astrophysics.
E.'s ideas are of great methodological importance. They changed the mechanistic views on space and time that had prevailed in physics since the time of Newton and led to a new, materialistic picture of the world based on a deep, organic connection of these concepts with matter and its movement, one of the manifestations of this connection was gravitation. Ideas E. became the main component modern theory dynamic, continuously expanding universe, which makes it possible to explain an unusually wide range of observed phenomena.
E.'s discoveries were recognized by scientists around the world and gave him international prestige. E. was very worried about the socio-political events of the 20-40s, he resolutely opposed fascism, war, the use of nuclear weapons. He took part in the anti-war struggle in the early 30s. In 1940, E. signed a letter to the President of the United States, in which he pointed out the danger of the appearance of nuclear weapons in Nazi Germany that stimulated the organization nuclear research in the USA.
E. was a member of many scientific societies and academies of the world, including an honorary member of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR (1926).
Editorial
1. Max Planck as a researcher
2. Opening speech
3. Review of the book by G. A. Lorentz "Principle of Relativity"
4. Preface to the book by E. Freindlich "Fundamentals of Einstein's theory of gravitation"
5. Review of the book by G. A. Lorentz "Statistical theories in thermodynamics"
7. Elementary theory of flight and water waves
8. Ernst Mach
9. In memory of Karl Schwarzschild
10. Review of the book by G. Helmholtz "Two reports on Goethe"
11. Marian Smoluchowski
12. Motives for scientific research
13. Review of the book by Hermann Weil "Space, Time, Matter"
14. Leo Arone as a physicist
15. Review of the book by V. Pauli "The Theory of Relativity"
16. Emil Warburg as a researcher
17. Preface to the collection of works published by the publishing house Kaitsosha
18. On the modern crisis of theoretical physics in 1924.
19. Preface to the German edition of Lucretius' On the Nature of Things
21. Book review.I. Winternitz "The Theory of Relativity and the Theory of Knowledge"
22. Review of the book by Max Planck "Thermal Radiation"
23. W. G. Julius (1860---1925)
24. Reasons for the formation of meanders in river beds and the so-called Baer's law
25. Isaac Newton
26. Newtonian mechanics and its influence on the formation of theoretical physics
27. To the 200th anniversary of the death of Isaac Newton
28. Letter to the Royal Society on the occasion of the 200th anniversary of the birth of Newton
29. Speech at the grave of G. A. Lorenz
30. The merits of G. A. Lorentz in the matter of international cooperation
31. Regarding the book by Emil Meyerson "Relativistic Deduction"
32. Fundamental concepts of physics and changes that have occurred in them lately
33. Speech at the anniversary of Professor Planck
34. Note on the translation of Arago's speech "In Memory of Thomas Jung"
35. Evaluation of the work of Simon Newcomb
36. A. Einstein's conversation at a special session of the National Academy of Sciences in Buenos Aires on April 16, 1925.
37. Johannes Kepler
38. Foreword to Anton Reiser's book "Albert Einstein"
39. Religion and Science
40. The nature of reality. Conversation with Rabindranath Tagore
41. Thomas Alva Edison
42. Preface to the book by R. de Villamil "Newton as a man"
43. Maxwell's influence on the development of ideas about physical reality
44. Preface to Newton's Optics
45. About radio
46. About science
47. Reply to congratulatory addresses at a dinner at Caltech
48. In memory of Albert A. Michelson
49. Science and Happiness
50. Prologue
51. Epilogue. Socratic dialogue
52. Remarks on a new formulation of problems in theoretical physics
53. From the book "Builders of the Universe"
54. For the seventieth birthday of Dr. Berliner
55. My creed
56. Letters to the Prussian and Bavarian Academies of Sciences
57. On the method of theoretical physics
58. Science and civilization
59. In memory of Paul Ehrenfest
60. In memory of Marie Curie
61. Preface to the book by L. Infeld "The World in the Light of Modern Science"
62. In memory of de Sitter
63. Review of the book by R. Tolman "Relativity, thermodynamics and cosmology"
64. In memory of Emmy Noether
65. Physics and reality
66. Commentary on Prof. Page's generalization of the theory of relativity and criticism of Dr. Silberstein
67. Reasoning about the foundations of theoretical physics
68. Freedom and Science
69. Activities and personality of Walter Nernst
70. The universal language of science
71. Notes on the theory of knowledge by Bertrand Russell
72. Preface to Rudolf Kaiser's Spinoza
73. Paul Langevin
74. In memory of Max Planck
75. Preface to the book by L. Barnett "The Universe and Dr. Einstein"
76. Autobiographical notes
77. Comments on articles
78. Physics, philosophy and scientific progress
79. Preface to Philipp Frank's Relativity
80. Preface to the book by Carola Baumgardt “Johannes Kepler. Life and Letters"
81. Letter to G. Samuel
82. Preface to I. Hannack's book "Emmanuel Lasker"
83. G. A. Lorentz as a creator and a person
84. Preface to the book of Galileo "Dialogue about the two main systems of the world"
85. To the 410th anniversary of the death of Copernicus
86. Preface to Max Jammer's book "The Concept of Space"
87. Preface to the book of Louis de Broglie "Physics and Microphysics"
88. Autobiographical sketches The evolution of physics
Application. Letters to Maurice Solovin
The main dates of the life and work of A. Einstein
