Journal ArticleDOI
Planck, the Quantum, and the Historians
TLDR
The first step in the introduction of quantum concepts into physics was made by Max Planck as mentioned in this paper, who derived an expression for the spectrum of black-body radiation in late 1900.Abstract:
In late 1900, the German theoretical physicist Max Planck derived an expression for the spectrum of black-body radiation. That derivation was the first step in the introduction of quantum concepts into physics. But how did Planck think about his result in the early years of the twentieth century? Did he assume that his derivation was consistent with the continuous energies inherent in Maxwellian electrodynamics and Newtonian mechanics? Or did he see the beginnings, however tentative and uncertain, of the quantum revolution to come? Historians of physics have debated this question for over twenty years. In this article, I review that debate and, at the same time, present Planck's achievement in its historical context.read more
Citations
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Journal ArticleDOI
The thermal near-field: Coherence, spectroscopy, heat-transfer, and optical forces
TL;DR: In this article, the spectral, spatial, resonant, and coherence properties of the evanescent thermal near-field have been characterized for systems with thermally excited molecular, surface plasmon polariton, and surface phonon polariton (SPhP) resonances.
Book ChapterDOI
Einstein’s Unified Field Theory Program
TL;DR: In this article, an overview of Einstein's work on unified field theory is presented, by looking at its conceptual, representational, biographical, and philosophical dimensions, and characterizing this work from four perspectives.
Book ChapterDOI
'No Success like Failure ...': Einstein's Quest for General Relativity, 1907-1920
TL;DR: This is the chapter on general relativity for the Cambridge Companion to Einstein which I am co-editing with Christoph Lehner as discussed by the authors, and it is based on the paper "General Relation and General Relation: A Review".
BookDOI
The Cambridge Companion to Einstein
Michel Janssen,Christoph Lehner +1 more
TL;DR: Einstein's special theory of relativity and the problems in the electrodynamics of moving bodies that led him to it are discussed in detail in this article, where Janssen and Christoph Lehner present an overview of the history of the special theory.
References
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Journal ArticleDOI
Ueber das Gesetz der Energieverteilung im Normalspectrum
TL;DR: In this article, a new set of Spekfralmessungen von O. Lummer, E. Pringsheim and E. Kurlbaum was gezeigt, das das zuerst von W. Wien aus molekularkinetischen Betrachtungen und spater von mir aus der Theorie der elektromagnetischen Strahlung abgeleitete Gesetz der Energieverteilung im Normalspektrum keine allgemeine G
Book
The collected papers of Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein,John Stachel,Martin J. Klein,Anne J. Kox,Robert Schulmann,Diana Kormos Buchwald,Michel Janssen,Daniel Kennefick,David E. Rowe,Rudy Hirschmann +9 more
TL;DR: In this article, the authors present a list of illustrative and textual features of the 14 volumes of the series, including: list of text, list of illustration and list of location symbols.
Journal ArticleDOI
Should the History of Science Be Rated X?: The way scientists behave (according to historians) might not be a good model for students.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors suggest that the teacher who wants to indoctrinate his students in the traditional role of the scientist as a neutral fact finder should not use historical materials of the kind now being prepared by historians of science: they will not serve his purposes.