Switch to: References

Add citations

You must login to add citations.
  1. The Conventionality of Simultaneity and Einstein’s Conventionality of Geometry.Mario Bacelar Valente - 2018 - Kairos 20 (1):159-180.
    The conventionality of simultaneity thesis as established by Reichenbach and Grünbaum is related to the partial freedom in the definition of simultaneity in an inertial reference frame. An apparently altogether different issue is that of the conventionality of spatial geometry, or more generally the conventionality of chronogeometry when taking also into account the conventionality of the uniformity of time. Here we will consider Einstein’s version of the conventionality of geometry, according to which we might adopt a different spatial geometry and (...)
    Direct download (3 more)  
     
    Export citation  
     
    Bookmark  
  • Einstein's redshift derivations: its history from 1907 to 1921.Mario Bacelar Valente - 2018 - Circumscribere: International Journal for the History of Science 22:1-16.
    Einstein's gravitational redshift derivation in his famous 1916 paper on general relativity seems to be problematic, being mired in what looks like conceptual difficulties or at least contradictions or gaps in his exposition. Was this derivation a blunder? To answer this question, we will consider Einstein’s redshift derivations from his first one in 1907 to the 1921 derivation made in his Princeton lectures on relativity. This will enable to see the unfolding of an interdependent network of concepts and heuristic derivations (...)
    Direct download (3 more)  
     
    Export citation  
     
    Bookmark   1 citation  
  • Nothing but coincidences: the point-coincidence and Einstein’s struggle with the meaning of coordinates in physics.Marco Giovanelli - 2021 - European Journal for Philosophy of Science 11 (2):1-64.
    In his 1916 review paper on general relativity, Einstein made the often-quoted oracular remark that all physical measurements amount to a determination of coincidences, like the coincidence of a pointer with a mark on a scale. This argument, which was meant to express the requirement of general covariance, immediately gained great resonance. Philosophers such as Schlick found that it expressed the novelty of general relativity, but the mathematician Kretschmann deemed it as trivial and valid in all spacetime theories. With the (...)
    No categories
    Direct download (3 more)  
     
    Export citation  
     
    Bookmark   2 citations  
  • Frames and stresses in Einstein's quest for a generalized theory of relativity.Olivier Darrigol - 2019 - Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part B: Studies in History and Philosophy of Modern Physics 68:126-157.
    Direct download (2 more)  
     
    Export citation  
     
    Bookmark  
    		•
  • Perverted Space-Time Geodesy in Einstein’s Views on Geometry.Mario Bacelar Valente - 2018 - Philosophia Scientiae 22:137-162.
    A perverted space-time geodesy results from the idea of variable rods and clocks, whose length and rates are taken to be affected by the gravitational field. By contrast, what we might call a concrete geodesy relies on the idea of invariable unit-measuring rods and clocks. Indeed, this is a basic assumption of general relativity. Variable rods and clocks lead to a perverted geodesy, in the sense that a curved space-time may be seen as a result of a departure from the (...)
    Direct download (3 more)  
     
    Export citation  
     
    Bookmark  
    		•
  • Perverted Space-Time Geodesy in Einstein’s Views on Geometry.Mario Bacelar Valente - 2018 - Philosophia Scientiae 22:137-162.
    Une géodésie spatio-temporelle pervertie résulte des notions de règles et d’horloges variables, qui sont prises pour avoir leur longueur et leur rythme affectés par le champ gravitationnel. D’autre part ce que nous pourrions appeler une géodésie concrète repose sur les notions de règles et d’horloges invariables de mesure d’unité. En fait, il s’agit d’une hypothèse de base de la relativité générale. Les règles et les horloges variables conduisent à une géodésie pervertie dans le sens où un espace-temps courbe pourrait être (...)
    No categories
    Direct download (2 more)  
     
    Export citation  
     
    Bookmark  
    		•
  • The conventionality of simultaneity in Einstein’s practical chrono-geometry.Mario Bacelar Valente - 2017 - Theoria : An International Journal for Theory, History and Fundations of Science 32 (2):177-190.
    While Einstein considered that sub specie astern the correct philosophical position regarding geometry was that of the conventionality of geometry, he felt that provisionally it was necessary to adopt a non-conventional stance that he called practical geometry. here we will make the case that even when adopting Einstein’s views we must conclude that practical geometry is conventional after all. Einstein missed the fact that the conventionality of simultaneity leads to a conventional element in the chrono-geometry, since it corresponds to the (...)
    Direct download (4 more)  
     
    Export citation  
     
    Bookmark   1 citation