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Peter Galison

Einstein's Clocks, Poincare's Maps: Empires of Time Hardcover – August 17, 2003

by Peter Galison (Author)

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"More than a history of science; it is a tour de force in the genre."―New York Times Book Review

A dramatic new account of the parallel quests to harness time that culminated in the revolutionary science of relativity, Einstein's Clocks, Poincaré's Maps is "part history, part science, part adventure, part biography, part meditation on the meaning of modernity....In Galison's telling of science, the meters and wires and epoxy and solder come alive as characters, along with physicists, engineers, technicians and others....Galison has unearthed fascinating material" (New York Times).

Clocks and trains, telegraphs and colonial conquest: the challenges of the late nineteenth century were an indispensable real-world background to the enormous theoretical breakthrough of relativity. And two giants at the foundations of modern science were converging, step-by-step, on the answer: Albert Einstein, an young, obscure German physicist experimenting with measuring time using telegraph networks and with the coordination of clocks at train stations; and the renowned mathematician Henri Poincaré, president of the French Bureau of Longitude, mapping time coordinates across continents. Each found that to understand the newly global world, he had to determine whether there existed a pure time in which simultaneity was absolute or whether time was relative.

Esteemed historian of science Peter Galison has culled new information from rarely seen photographs, forgotten patents, and unexplored archives to tell the fascinating story of two scientists whose concrete, professional preoccupations engaged them in a silent race toward a theory that would conquer the empire of time. 40 b/w illustrations

Print length

256 pages
Language

English
Publisher

W. W. Norton & Company
Publication date

August 17, 2003
Dimensions

5.8 x 1.4 x 8.6 inches
ISBN-10

0393020010
ISBN-13

978-0393020014
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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Harvard historian of science Galison approaches our understanding of time at the beginning of the 20th century through two related dimensions. The first, extremely practical perspective focuses on our ability to accept a common definition of time at various locations. Before our current system of time zones existed, time was a local construct, making it extremely difficult to coordinate events, have trains run smoothly or determine longitude. The second, far more theoretical perspective deals with the basic laws of physics and addresses the question: is time absolute or relative? Galison focuses his narrative through the eyes of the two scientists most responsible for crafting our present understanding of time, Albert Einstein and Henri Poincare. While Einstein needs no introduction, the less well-known Poincare does. He was one of the world's most renowned mathematicians and president of the French Bureau of Longitude. Galison explains how, in the case of each of these scientists, the practical dimension helped shape their understanding of the theoretical dimension, and, in turn, how they helped transform the world. Although Galison's material is of great interest, his writing is often obtuse and overly technical, making the book's ideas less accessible to a general audience. 46 illus.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Scientific American

Two scientists closed in on one groundbreaking theory. Poincaré posited something so close to Einstein's theory of relativity that it is surprising in retrospect he did not take the final step. The story is told in this new (paperbound) edition of a book that appeared in 2003. Described then as "absolutely brilliant," "a stroke of genius," "fresh, idiosyncratic," and "meticulously detailed ... perhaps the most sophisticated history of science ever attempted in a popular science book," it is all of the above, but it is not for the intellectually faint of heart.

Editors of Scientific American

From Booklist

*Starred Review* Many have taken it as proof of Einstein's transcendent genius that he published his epoch-making Theory of Relativity while employed as a clerk in the Bern patent office, a place usually judged more likely to extinguish scientific inspiration than to kindle it. But when Harvard historian Galison takes a close look at that patent office, he sees something quite different. He sees an institution flooded with patent applications for technologies to coordinate distant clocks, applications forcefully highlighting the problem of simultaneity that lies at the very heart of relativity. Perhaps for some few it will diminish Einstein's accomplishment to realize how much his circumstances helped to focus his thinking. But for most it will only clarify his intellectual feat. Galison helps readers to understand how Einstein--no reclusive hermit--both learned from and surpassed contemporary scientists, engineers, and philosophers struggling to redefine time in a world newly unified by railroads, telegraphs, and radio. And no contemporary more closely paralleled Einstein in his pioneering path than the gifted French mathematician and cartographer Henri Poincare. An admirer of Poincare's neglected brilliance, Galison shows how the French scholar independently unraveled most of the mysteries of relativity, even partially anticipating Einstein's key breakthrough in redefining "local time." Still, while Poincare tried to integrate his insights into the Newtonian framework, Einstein recognized that relativity demanded an entirely new conceptual structure. Few books have ever made Einstein's work more accessible--or more engrossing--for general readers. Bryce Christensen
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review

"Galison provides a unique and enlightening view on the origin of time as we know it in the modern age."
― American Scientist

"Few books have ever made Einstein's work more accessible―or more engrossing―for general readers."
― Booklist starred review

"An easy-reading but penetrating book. [Galison] brings the story of time to life as a story of wires and rails, precision maps, and imperial ambitions, as well as a story of physics and philosophy."
― Science

"This is how twentieth-century science really began....Engaging, original, and absolutely brilliant."
― James Gleick

About the Author

Peter Galison is Mallinckrodt Professor for the History of Science and of Physics at Harvard University. He is a recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship and the Max Planck Prize, as well as the Pfizer Prize for the Best Book in the History of Science for Image and Logic.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ W. W. Norton & Company; 1st edition (August 17, 2003)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 256 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0393020010
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0393020014
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.8 x 1.4 x 8.6 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #683,267 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #208 in Relativity Physics (Books)
- #1,797 in History & Philosophy of Science (Books)

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4.1 79 ratings

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Bruce Loveitt

Clockwatchers

Reviewed in the United States on September 22, 2003

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In this book, Peter Galison attempts to show that scientists and mathematicians, no matter how brilliant, do not work in a vacuum. The focus is more on Henri Poincare than Albert Einstein, although Einstein is certainly not slighted. It's just that Mr. Galison feels, at least as far as the general public is concerned, Poincare has been "slighted,"....and this book, in part, is an attempt to redress the situation. It is easy to think of mathematicians and physicists as being disconnected from the "real world." Mr. Galison wants to show us, however, that they are influenced heavily by their colleagues in the scientific community and, more generally, by the culture they are part of. Thus, Poincare (president of the French Bureau of Longitude) was a creature of his times: he was "formed" by his education at the Ecole Polytechnique, with its emphasis on combining theory with practice. He was a man who "networked," and constantly exchanged ideas with fellow mathematicians and scientists. As a Frenchman, he shared in the humiliation of the French defeat at the hands of the Prussians in the war of 1870. Thus, it was important for France to lead the way in the longitudinal mapping of the planet (which required the synchronization of clocks across great distances). This longitudinal mapping was important for war and peace (for moving armies and navies...and oceangoing commerce). Synchronized clocks, even apart from their relationship to longitude, were also important for other reasons- such as for regulating railroad schedules. Mr. Galison's point: time was in the air and, since the outlook was global, there was an understanding that time was relative rather than absolute. Mr. Galison is not trying to say that Poincare "invented" the Theory of Special Relativity. What he is trying to say is that the obsession with time was "in the ether." Einstein, in Switzerland, was not immune to these influences. Which brings us to, for me, anyway, the most interesting part of the book - the relationship between Einstein's work at the Bern patent office (both the specifics and the methodology). People were constantly trying to come up with better ways of synchronizing clocks, and Einstein saw many of these patent applications. Also, it was his job to evaluate patent applications. The patent application (amongst other things) has to show that you've come up with something original, and it also has to show clearly how the invention will work. Mr. Galison makes a convincing argument that Einstein's job, at the very least, kept him thinking about the synchronization (and, hence, the relativity) of time. Even more interesting, in his 1905 paper on Special Relativity, Einstein did not use footnotes or make references to other scientists. Mr. Galison speculates: was this arrogance on Einstein's part, or was he influenced by his work at the patent office? In other words, it wouldn't help your case if, in a patent application, you showed how your idea was based on other ideas. You needed to show you had come up with something new. Regarding patents and practicality, Einstein, in his 1905 paper, included "thought experiments" to show how his theory should function in the real world. Let me stress that Mr. Galison is not trying to downplay Einstein's brilliance. He is trying to show that everyone is affected by what is going on around them - no exceptions granted. Mr. Galison is also keen to show us the differences in the working methods of the two men. Einstein was a bit of a rebel - he enjoyed overturning the apple cart. Hence he was not reluctant to discard theories he had no use for. Poincare believed more in building on what came before him, and in reaching consensus. According to Mr. Galison, this makes Poincare appear conservative- but this isn't so. He was a brilliant man, but just not as radical as Einstein. To paraphrase an analogy the author uses, Pablo Picasso may not have been Jackson Pollock, but this didn't make Picasso conservative. One caveat concerning the book: it is certainly not for the beginner. Mr. Galison's explanations and diagrams are clear and concise. However, since I don't have much of a background in math, I found the sections on Poincare to be tough-sledding. I have previously done some reading on relativity, so I found the sections on Einstein to be a bit easier to get through. So, just be aware that the author is expecting that you have some familiarity with what he is talking about. That caveat aside, I wholeheartedly recommend this book.

69 people found this helpful

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Gary

plenty of detail: a clash between concrete and abstract

Reviewed in the United States on September 1, 2018

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I vacillate between a four and a five star review. The scholarship itself is deserving of five. The title and the intended audience for whom this book is addressed causes concern. So beware: If detail aplenty is not to your liking, stay away. It is helpful for the prospective reader to be familiar with elementary physics. Keep in mind that Albert Einstein is not the sole, nor primary, focus of this exposition.
(1) Chapter one will encapsulate all else to follow later in the book. A hurried reader can conclude study with chapter one, learning more by perusing the endnotes (twenty pages of endnotes concludes the book, they are fascinating). The bibliography is a rich source of material (the bibliography occupies fifteen pages).
(2) Chapter two segues to Poincare, we read of a central theme: "intertwined abstraction and concreteness." (page 48).
This will be a tough chapter for a casual reader. These pages make reference to Poincare and his "new, qualitative, methods to explore classical celestial dynamics," here is where the "abstractness" seeps in (beginning page 65).
Assiduous study of this chapter will be rewarded.
(3) The long chapter three has this to say: "Both astronomers and railroaders viewed the new technologies of transport and communication as disciplining time more effectively than any school." (page 125). Clocks and time, fully explored. In other words, from the mechanical (clocks and technology) to the abstract (time).
(4) We stay with Poincare in chapter four, staying with the "concrete," as we learn of maps. Read: "even in mathematics, machines and mechanomorphic structures were vital for Poincare." (page 210). This is preparatory to...
(5) Einstein, or rather, Einstein's clocks. Discover what it is within electromagnetism that concerned Einstein. Reading:
"there is no doubt at all that he emerged from these early Bern years with a powerful sense of the distinction between that which was accessible to our experience and that which was inaccessibly hidden behind the curtain of the perceptible." (page 239). This is a long chapter (fifty pages), yet, enlightening !
(6) The concluding chapter quotes Poincare: "science is only a classification, and a classification cannot be true, merely convenient." (page 305). Galison writes: "Einstein wanted to orient time and space within a theory that matched the phenomena, not just in prediction but in austerity." (page 317).
(7) Concluding my assessment: If you have the time and the inclination, secure a copy. The book is fascinating and quite detailed. You will surely learn much. Not an easy read, but worth the effort.

3 people found this helpful

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Donald E. Malvin

Einstein's Clocks, Poincare's Maps: Too Much of a good thing

Reviewed in the United States on September 28, 2003

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With a life long fascination toward those things mathematical, scientific and historical, I approached Peter Galison's book with happy expectations. Investing three days in its reading and finding much new material of interest, I have no problem with Mr. Galison's credentials as a scholar and historian of science.
Sadly, what is admirable regarding his book has been seriously compromised by Galison's maddening redundancy and deluge of verbosity. How many times need he remind us that Poincare was trained at the Ecole Polytechnique and headed the Bureau des Longitudes, or that Einstein was more than just a clerk at the Swiss Patent Office where he received valuable experience regarding clock synchronization?
Though some reviewers found the book overly technical, I would have appreciated more detail in the thoughts and experiments of the two protagonists, as well as more information than was given regarding the contributions and lives of other significant players such as Minkowski, Maxwell, Lorentz and Mach.
While the notes, bibliography, and Galison's insights attest to his dedication and knowledge, the 328 pages of text, for what they contained, could easily have been reduced by 75 to 100 pages, if not more. I can only wonder if the author was simply churning out text to meet the obligations of a book contract. Besides being personally frustrating --because I truly appreciated much of what he presented-- this excess, as I forced myself to read through the final pages, became laughable. Before he publishes his next book, I strongly suggest Gallison take a freshman course in journalism at his university, Harvard, so that he might be more sensitive to the literary advantages of trimming the fat!

100 people found this helpful

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arnold labrie

In a good state

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 3, 2019

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Delivery took a bit longer than expected. But all is good that ends well.

JAROSLAV J. PETERKA

I enjoyed reading and learning from this book

Reviewed in Canada on May 17, 2015

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I enjoyed reading and learning from this book. The human mind, and the its adaptations and discoveries is fascinating.

Amazon Customer

Five Stars

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 16, 2017

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This is a good history of the evolution of time in the modern age

Marc dM

Teleurstellend

Reviewed in the Netherlands on September 24, 2016

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Galison valt heel veel in herhaling en blijft m.n. heel lang stil staan bij allerlei vergaderingen en politieke discussies ten tijde van Poincaré, waardoor de essentie helemaal verloren gaat. Echte geschiedschrijving.
Diepgang ontbreekt volledig als het gaat om de wetenschappelijke betekenis van het begrip tijd en de "arrow of time" en wat beide geleerden hebben bijgedragen in deze discussie.

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André Gargoura

Nothing to write home about...!

Reviewed in France on January 23, 2020

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It's really difficult to say anything positive about that book : Galison does not seem to be able to express his message(s) clearly and intelligibly ; let alone the reader who is rapidly confused and finally lost in the deluge of historical bla bla...

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