No Shadow of a Doubt: The 1919 Eclipse That Confirmed Einstein's Theory of Relativity

No Shadow of a Doubt: The 1919 Eclipse That Confirmed Einstein's Theory of Relativity

by Daniel Kennefick
No Shadow of a Doubt: The 1919 Eclipse That Confirmed Einstein's Theory of Relativity

No Shadow of a Doubt: The 1919 Eclipse That Confirmed Einstein's Theory of Relativity

by Daniel Kennefick

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Overview

The extraordinary story of the scientific expeditions that ushered in the era of relativity

In 1919, British scientists led expeditions to Brazil and Africa to test Albert Einstein's new theory of general relativity in what became the century's most celebrated scientific experiment. The result ushered in a new era and made Einstein a celebrity by confirming his prediction that the path of light rays would be bent by gravity. Yet the effort to "weigh light" during the May 29, 1919, solar eclipse has become clouded by myth and skepticism. Could Arthur Eddington and Frank Dyson have gotten the results they claimed? Did the pacifist Eddington falsify evidence to foster peace after a horrific war by validating the theory of a German antiwar campaigner? In No Shadow of a Doubt, Daniel Kennefick provides definitive answers by offering the most comprehensive and authoritative account of how expedition scientists overcame war, bad weather, and equipment problems to make the experiment a triumphant success.


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780691217154
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Publication date: 03/09/2021
Pages: 416
Sales rank: 515,450
Product dimensions: 5.20(w) x 7.70(h) x 1.20(d)

About the Author

Daniel Kennefick is associate professor of physics at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville. He is the author of Traveling at the Speed of Thought: Einstein and the Quest for Gravitational Waves (Princeton).

Table of Contents

Prologue: May 29, 1919 1

1 The Experiment That Weighed Light 6

2 Eclipses 19

3 Two Pacifists, Einstein and Eddington 31

4 Europe in Its Madness 56

5 Preparations in Time of War 92

6 The Opportunity of the Century? 105

7 Tools of the Trade 125

8 The Improvised Expedition 142

9 Outward Bound 152

10 Through Cloud, Hopefully 172

11 Not Only Because of Theory 181

12 Lights All Askew in the Heavens 226

13 Theories and Experiments 252

14 The Unbearable Heaviness of Light 288

15 The Problem of Scientific Bias 328

Epilogue: Where Are They Now? 341

Acknowledgments 353

Appendix 357

Notes 367

Bibliography 375

Index 387

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"Full of revealing discoveries, this delightful and engaging book is indispensable reading not only because we are commemorating the 100th anniversary of the eclipse expeditions that confirmed Einstein's general theory of relativity, but also because it addresses with exquisite clarity foundational issues in physics, astronomy, technology, and the history and philosophy of science. With nuance and impeccable attention to detail, Daniel Kennefick convincingly refutes decades of incorrect claims and interpretations about these momentous expeditions."—Diana K. Buchwald, director of The Einstein Papers Project

"No Shadow of a Doubt takes us back to one of the most famous events in the history of science—the May 29, 1919, solar eclipse that changed physics forever and made Einstein a star. This fascinating account reads like a detective novel, deftly treading through the controversy of how evidence from that day was obtained, handled, and presented."—Jimena Canales, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

"The famously disputed 1919 eclipse expedition is an icon for physics and for history, philosophy, and sociology of science. Kennefick's richly detailed, scholarly, and highly readable book is aimed at settling the issues across the board once and for all. If you want to understand what happened and what it means, this is the book you should start with."—Harry Collins, Cardiff University

"This vivid, captivating, and precisely written scientific history follows the most famous of all scientific expeditions—the measurement of starlight bent by the Sun that made Einstein the most famous scientist in the world—and the personal, political, and scientific turbulence that surrounded general relativity. Most strikingly, the book tracks the debates that have wracked the eclipse measurements from 1919 up to recent times. It deserves a wide audience."—Peter Galison, Harvard University

"Few scientific experiments have become more famous—or controversial—than the British eclipse expeditions of 1919, which set out to test Albert Einstein's strange new theory of gravitation. In this masterful analysis, astrophysicist and historian Daniel Kennefick re-examines the fateful test, delivering larger lessons about science and its history."—David Kaiser, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

“A wonderful book that tells the story of the most important scientific observation of the twentieth century, No Shadow of a Doubt is beautifully and engagingly written and draws on intimate knowledge about every aspect of this grand event.”—Dennis Lehmkuhl, California Institute of Technology

No Shadow of a Doubt is impressively researched and convincingly argued. With sharp prose and lucid explanations, Kennefick weaves the story of Einstein’s path to general relativity with the story of Eddington’s path to Africa, where he gathered evidence for the gravitational effects on light predicted by Einstein.”—Joseph D. Martin, University of Cambridge

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