Reconsidering a scientific revolution: the case of Einstein versus Lorentz
type: Item
instance of: scholarly article
title: Reconsidering a scientific revolution: the case of Einstein versus Lorentz
zbMATH Open document ID: 1034.01015
author: Michel Janssen
published in: Physics in Perspective
publication date: 2003-10-28T00:00:00Z
review text: The author of the study under review, Michael Janssen (Univ. of Minnesota), parallels the scientific debate between Albert Einstein and Hendrik A. Lorentz with that between Copernicus and Ptolemy. Knowledge of Lorentz' ether theory may be understood and explained better if considering his ideas and interpretations on invariance. It is known that Lorentz's theory represents a combination between Newtonian mechanics and Maxwellian electrodynamics. From Newton, Lorentz took over the space-time arena and the laws of motion. On the other hand, Einstein's special theory of relativity (first discussed in his ``On the electrodynamics of moving bodies'') seems to have similar concerns with the scientific interests of Lorentz. The opposition between them may be expressed as: \textit{constructive theory} and \textit{theory of principle}.
Mathematics Subject Classification ID: 01A60
Mathematics Subject Classification ID: 83-03
zbMATH DE Number: 1925630
zbMATH Keywords: relativity
zbMATH Keywords: ether theory
zbMATH Keywords: invariance
zbMATH Keywords: Einstein
zbMATH Keywords: Lorentz
zbMATH Keywords: empirical equivalence
reviewed by: Cristina Irimia
MaRDI profile type: Publication
full work available at URL: s000160200003
OpenAlex ID: W2048415683
Wikidata QID: Q56459234
DOI: 10.1007/S000160200003
description: scientific article; zbMATH DE number 1925630