The Philosophy of Space and Time (Dover Books on Physics) [Paperback]

Hans Reichenbach (Author), Physics (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 1957 | ISBN-10: 0486604438 | ISBN-13: 978-0486604435

A brilliantly clear and penetrating exposition of developments in physical science and mathematics brought about by the advent of non-Euclidean geometries, including in-depth coverage of the foundations of geometry, the theory of time, Einstein's theory of relativity and its consequences, other key topics.

Product Details

• Paperback: 295 pages
• Publisher: Dover Publications (June 1, 1957)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0486604438
• ISBN-13: 978-0486604435
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #310,824 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

56 of 56 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Forgotten jewel?, December 14, 1999

By 

Arja Turunen-Red (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Philosophy of Space and Time (Dover Books on Physics) (Paperback)

This is an absolutely fabulous book about the foundations of special and general relativity. The author's deep understanding of and insight to these complex structures is beautifully displayed and explained using simple but nontrivial examples and very readable text. If you really want to understand relativity, you must read this book. The focus is not on formal mathematics but on the real, intuitive, content of the concepts and the mathematical theory.

If you have been confused by discussions of rigid rods, clocks, simultaneity etc. in other sources, check out Reichenbach's construction of the light geometry and his discussion of the indefinite space type. Want to understand how gravity affects spacetime but do not want to study differential geometry? Read Reichenbach's sections on the Riemannian spaces and his chapter about space and time in gravitational fields. No other source explains these relationships as clearly and without resorting to silly or trivial examples.

A beautiful scholarly book which is thoroughly accessible. The author's great love of the subject is much in evidence.

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellently written and still relevant today, October 10, 2002

By 

T. Gwinn (USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Philosophy of Space and Time (Dover Books on Physics) (Paperback)

Reichenbach writes with clarity, reason and passion on a topic that is in much need of this still today. It is accessible to the astute layperson - there is some occasional math, but the text handles most of the important concepts. It is useful for anyone interested in the combined scientific and philosophical perspective of space and time.

Reichenbach, in the Introduction, rues the current estrangement of philosophy and science, longing for the "natural philosophy" of the past, where thinkers were well-versed in both areas.

So this book takes us through the philosophy of space and time accompanied and supported by empirical and theoretical scientific work. He seems to have little in the way of agenda or "-isms" to tout, nor is he inclined to spend much ink on rehashing historical debates or trivial examples. And although the book winds it way eventually to General Relativity, we are thankfully not dragged through the typical "Aristotlean view -> Galilean view -> Einsteinian view" that is so commonly used.

Instead, he begins by discussing Euclidean space, the nature of geometry and so on. Throughout, the notion of topology is a common thread. Time, simultaneity, Lorentz, Principle of Equivalence, and gravitational effects on the topology of spacetime, are some of the steps through the book.

In section 39, for example, he guides us on a detour entitled "The Analytic Treatment of Reimannian Spaces", just to carry "...the treatment of general geometry a little further." In four short pages and a modicum of equations, the nature of tensors as a natural mathematical consequence appear, effortlessly and painlessly.

All along, woven in, are cogent philosophical treatments of the topic currently under discussion. The book is a good example of the author's desire to see philosophy and science melded again, and good example of his prowess in both areas.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book on the foundations of relativity, September 28, 2006

By 

Carlo Del Noce (Genova, Italy) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Philosophy of Space and Time (Dover Books on Physics) (Paperback)

The reference to "A." which Mr. Ecce Nihil could not find is to a German book by Reichenbach, as written in the author's introduction at page xv. Reichenbach's book IS consistent. It is one of the few books on relativity explaining the question of clock synchronization properly and comprehensively ( in the sense of Bridgman's operational view ).