| Preface by the Rt. Hon. Viscount Haldane, O.M. | [pp. 5-8] |
| Introduction | [pp. 13-15] |
CHAPTER I
THE METAMORPHOSES OF
SPACE AND TIME |
Removing the mathematical difficulties—The pillars
of knowledge—Absolute time and space, from
Aristotle to Newton—Relative time and space,
from Epicurus to Poincaré and Einstein—
Classical Relativity—Antinomy of stellar
aberration and the Michelson experiment | [pp. 17-31] |
CHAPTER II
SCIENCE IN A NO-THOROUGHFARE |
Scientific truth and mathematics—The precise function
of Einstein—Michelson’s experiment, the Gordian knot
of science—The hesitations of Poincaré—The strange,
but necessary, Fitzgerald-Lorentz hypothesis—The
contraction of moving bodies—Philosophical and
physical difficulties | [pp. 32-52] |
CHAPTER III
EINSTEIN’S SOLUTION |
Provisional rejection of ether—Relativist
interpretation of Michelson’s experiment—New aspect
of the speed of light—Explanation of the contraction
of moving bodies—Time and the four dimensions of
space—Einstein’s “Interval” the only material
reality | [pp. 53-72] |
CHAPTER IV
EINSTEIN’S MECHANICS |
The mechanical foundation of all the sciences—
Ascending the stream of time—The speed of
light an impassable limit—The addition of speeds
and Fizeau’s experiment—Variability of mass—
The ballistics of electrons—Gravitation and light
as atomic microcosms—Matter and energy—
The death of the sun | [pp. 73-100] |
CHAPTER V
GENERALISED RELATIVITY |
Weight and inertia—Ambiguity of the Newtonian
law—Equivalence of gravitation and accelerated
movement—Jules Verne’s projectile and the principle
of inertia—Why rays of light are subject to
gravitation—How light from the stars is
weighed—An eclipse as a source of light | [pp. 101-123] |
CHAPTER VI
THE NEW CONCEPTION
OF GRAVITATION |
Geometry and reality—Euclid’s geometry and
others—Contingency of Poincaré’s criterion—
The real universe is not Euclidean but Riemannian—
The avatars of the number π—The point of view of
the drunken man—Straight and geodetic lines—The
new law of universal attraction—Explanation of the
anomaly of the planet Mercury—Einstein’s theory
of gravitation | [pp. 124-147] |
CHAPTER VII
IS THE UNIVERSE INFINITE? |
Kant and the number of the stars—Extinct stars and
dark nebulæ—Extent and aspect of the astronomical
universe—Different kinds of universes—Poincaré’s
calculation—Physical definition of the infinite—
The infinite and the unlimited—Stability and
curvature of cosmic space-time—Real and virtual
stars—Diameter of the Einsteinian universe—
The hypothesis of globes of ether | [pp. 148-159] |
CHAPTER VIII
SCIENCE AND REALITY |
The Einsteinian absolute—Revelation by science—
Discussion of the experimental bases of Relativity—
Other possible explanations—Arguments in favour
of Lorentz’s real contraction—Newtonian space
may be distinct from absolute space—The real is
a privileged form of the possible—Two attitudes
in face of the unknown | [pp. 160-172] |
CHAPTER IX
EINSTEIN OR NEWTON? |
Recent discussion of Relativism at the Academy
of Sciences—Traces of the privileged space
of Newton—The principle of causality,
the basis of science—Examination of M.
Painlevé’s objections—Newtonian arguments
and Relativist replies—M. Painlevé’s formulas
of gravitation—Fecundity of Einstein’s theory—
Two conceptions of the world—Conclusion | [pp. 173-185] |