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How Einstein Made Asymmetry Disappear: Symmetry and Relativity in 1905.

Authors :
Hon, Giora
Goldstein, Bernard R.
Source :
Archive for History of Exact Sciences; Jul2005, Vol. 59 Issue 5, p437-544, 108p
Publication Year :
2005

Abstract

This article discusses how Albert Einstein, a physicist made asymmetry disappear. Making asymmetry disappear has proved to be one of the significant moves that Einstein took in his annus mirabilis of 1905. The result of the research was surprising: Einstein removed the asymmetry in electrodynamics successfully but, at the same time, he did not apply symmetry as a heuristic or methodological tool in physics; nevertheless, he invoked the term symmetry in a number of contexts following, by and large, contemporary usage of mathematical reasoning in physics.

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
00039519
Volume :
59
Issue :
5
Database :
Complementary Index
Journal :
Archive for History of Exact Sciences
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
17406423
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00407-005-0098-9