Traveling at the speed of thought : Einstein and the quest for gravitational waves
Since Einstein first described them, gravitational waves have been the subject of more sustained controversy than perhaps any other phenomenon in physics. This book takes readers through the theoretical controversies and thorny debates that raged around the subject of gravitational waves after the publication of Einstein's theory.
Print Book, English, 2007
Princeton University Press, Princeton (N.J.), 2007
XII, 319 p. ill. 25 cm
9780691117270, 0691117276
1015103826
Illustrations ix Acknowledgments xi Chapter 1: The Gravitational Wave Analogy 1 Chapter 2: The Prehistory of Gravitational Waves 18 Chapter 3: The Origins of Gravitational Waves 41 Chapter 4: The Speed of Thought 66 Chapter 5: Do Gravitational Waves Exist? 79 Chapter 6: Gravitational Waves and the Renaissance of General Relativity 105 Chapter 7: Debating the Analogy 124 Chapter 8: The Problem of Motion 144 Chapter 9: Portrait of the Skeptics 180 Chapter 10: On the Verge of Detection 203 Chapter 11: The Quadrupole Formula Controversy 231 Chapter 12: Keeping Up with the Speed of Thought 259 Appendix A: The Referee's Report 281 Appendix B: Interviews and Other New Sources 290 Notes 293 Bibliography 299 Index 315