Einstein's Mistakes: The Human Failings of Genius

by Hans C. Ohanian

Overview

“A thought-provoking critique of Einstein’s tantalizing combination of brilliance and blunder.”—Andrew Robinson, New Scientist

Never before translated into English, the Manimekhalai is one of the great classics of Indian culture.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780393337686
Publisher:	Norton, W. W. & Company, Inc.
Publication date:	11/01/2009
Pages:	418
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.20(h) x 1.20(d)

About the Author

Hans C. Ohanian received his B.S. from the University of California, Berkeley, and his Ph.D. from Princeton University, where he worked with John A. Wheeler. He has taught at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Union College, and the University of Vermont. He is the author of several textbooks spanning all undergraduate levels: Physics, Principles of Physics, Relativity: A Modern Introduction, Modern Physics, Principles of Quantum Mechanics, Classical Electrodynamics, and, with Remo Ruffini, Gravitation and Spacetime. He is also the author of dozens of articles dealing with gravitation, relativity, and quantum theory, including many articles on fundamental physics published in the American Journal of Physics, where he served as associate editor for some years. He lives in Vermont.

Table of Contents

Preface xi

Chronology of Einstein’s Mistakes xiii

Prelude ”I will resign the game“ xv

1 ”A lovely time in Berne“ 1

2 ”And yet it moves“ 34

3 ”If I have seen farther...“ 57

4 ”A storm broke loose in my mind“ 86

5 ”Motions of inanimate, small, suspended bodies“ 108

6 ”What is the Light quantum?“ 127

7 ”The argument is jolly and beguiling“ 148

8 ”Suddenly, 1 had an idea” 176

9 ”The theory is of incomparable beauty“ 204

10 ”The world is a madhouse“ 238

11 ”Does God play dice?“ 273

12 ”The graveyard of disappointed hopes“ 300

Postmortem 330

Notes 339

Bibliography 367

Index 375

Editorial Reviews

"Recounts [Einstein’s] chronicle of errors in clear and engaging prose, giving us in the process a short course in the history of modern physics and a witty and provocative account of the subject’s life."

Wall Street Journal - Darrin M. McMahon

"The book’s quixotic approach—retelling Einstein’s story by homing in on his blunders—makes for good intellectual entertainment. . . . [It] kept me eagerly turning the pages."

Los Angeles Times - George Johnson

"A wonderful story that is well worth taking the time to read....We get a short course in this history of modern physics, one that is well-written and entertaining as well."

Mathematical Reviews - Alan S. McRae

A close examination of Einstein's work, emphasizing the errors and wrong turns that even colleagues overlooked. Ohanian, a former editor of the American Journal of Physics, proceeds through the years, rarely missing a paper, speech, interview or controversy. The author covers many fields, because Einstein made not one but several breakthrough discoveries; his Nobel, in fact, was for the photoelectric effect, not relativity. Einstein admitted that mathematics was not his strong suit, but beyond the torrent of errors in that area, Ohanian also finds mistakes in physical assumptions that range from oversimplification to outright nuttiness. Max Planck, working as a journal editor, read the unknown Einstein's revolutionary 1905 paper on special relativity and found a major error in the discussion of relativistic mass. Recognizing the paper's importance, Planck approved it and later worked out a correct recalculation for which he has never received credit. Because of Einstein's fame, everyone believes he discovered the equation linking mass to energy. In fact, other physicists knew of it for years, and his 1905 proof was incomplete; once Max Von Laue produced a complete proof in 1911, Einstein adopted it. Ohanian emphasizes two absolute laws of research. One: If a scientist makes a brilliant discovery, everyone forgives mistakes he made along the way. Two: If he becomes a scientific superstar, he gets credit for everything in his field. Thus Einstein gets credit for everything connected with relativity, including earlier discoveries and those of colleagues who improved his work. Dennis Overbye's Einstein in Love (2000) gives the best popular account of his science, while WalterIsaacson's bestselling Einstein (2007) is the best on his life. Ohanion's book delves more deeply into physics and into Einstein's thought processes, so readers will have to pay close attention. A sophisticated overview of modern physics, including more of Einstein's missteps than readers usually encounter.

Kirkus Reviews