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Einstein: His Space And Times, Steven Gimbel Apr 2015

Einstein: His Space And Times, Steven Gimbel

Gettysburg College Faculty Books

The commonly held view of Albert Einstein is of an eccentric genius for whom the pursuit of science was everything. But in actuality, the brilliant innovator whose Theory of Relativity forever reshaped our understanding of time was a man of his times, always politically engaged and driven by strong moral principles. An avowed pacifist, Einstein’s mistrust of authority and outspoken social and scientific views earned him death threats from Nazi sympathizers in the years preceding World War II. To him, science provided not only a means for understanding the behavior of the universe, but a foundation for considering the deeper …


4. Kepler, Robert L. Bloom, Basil L. Crapster, Harold A. Dunkelberger, Charles H. Glatfelter, Richard T. Mara, Norman E. Richardson, W. Richard Schubart Jan 1958

4. Kepler, Robert L. Bloom, Basil L. Crapster, Harold A. Dunkelberger, Charles H. Glatfelter, Richard T. Mara, Norman E. Richardson, W. Richard Schubart

Section VIII: The Development of Modern Science

Tycho Brahe (1546-1601), a Dane, spent nearly his entire life making careful measurements of the positions of the stars and planets. Most of his work was done at Copenhagen under the patronage of the Danish king. He developed and refined astronomical instruments to an accuracy that was far superior to anything previously done. In his late years at Prague, he started on the reduction to order of the systematic observations that he had made over a period of decades. In 1600 a young German mathematician and astronomer, Johannes Kepler (1571-1630), visited Tycho and then stayed to help in the mammoth …


2. Copernicus, Robert L. Bloom, Basil L. Crapster, Harold A. Dunkelberger, Charles H. Glatfelter, Richard T. Mara, Norman E. Richardson, W. Richard Schubart Jan 1958

2. Copernicus, Robert L. Bloom, Basil L. Crapster, Harold A. Dunkelberger, Charles H. Glatfelter, Richard T. Mara, Norman E. Richardson, W. Richard Schubart

Section VIII: The Development of Modern Science

Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1543), of German and possibly Polish extraction, spent three years at the University of Cracow and then ten years at Italian universities. In Italy he was introduced to the Pythagorean ideas, which left a permanent mark on his mind, and became interested in astronomical theories. He returned home to the position of canon of Frauenburg cathedral where he stayed until his death. [excerpt]


1. Greek And Medieval Science, Robert L. Bloom, Basil L. Crapster, Harold A. Dunkelberger, Charles H. Glatfelter, Richard T. Mara, Norman E. Richardson, W. Richard Schubart Jan 1958

1. Greek And Medieval Science, Robert L. Bloom, Basil L. Crapster, Harold A. Dunkelberger, Charles H. Glatfelter, Richard T. Mara, Norman E. Richardson, W. Richard Schubart

Section VIII: The Development of Modern Science

What kind of questions did the Greeks ask themselves about the physical universe? We can paraphrase Plato: the stars move about the earth in circles, the perfect paths, and they move with uniform motion as befits divine and eternal beings. But five of these stars are planets (Greek for wanderers) which appear to have irregular motion, first moving forward, then actually stopping, and then moving backward for awhile. Since the heavens are incorruptible, the planets too must really be moving in uniform motion in circular paths. How then can we account for the apparently irregular motions? What uniform motions must …