Einsteins most famous thought experiment, prepared for thought experiments in philosophy, science and the arts, eds. Mar 27, 2018 the book has a few minor shortcomings. It fails to generate serious problems for an ether. Einsteins thought experiments were influenced by a book that a friend of the family, talmud, had given him. We revisit this thought experiment from a modern point of view at a level suitable for undergraduate readership and. I do not own this video and post it for educational purposes only and i dont make any money from this upload. Einstein and the elevator thought experiment einsteins. We suppose a very long train traveling along the rails with constan. Einstein asked, what would it be like to ride light. Popular thought experiment books goodreads share book. The experiment that made einstein famous one hundred years ago, an extraordinary feat of astronomy proved that the theory of relativity was true. Here youll find interesting discussion of einsteins elevator.
Epr is the thought experiment created to refute the copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics and shrodingers cat. Gedankenexperiment, gedankenexperiment, or gedankenerfahrung considers a hypothesis, theory, or principle for the purpose of thinking through its consequences. The genius of einsteins thought experiments ask a spaceman. Since the momentum of the system must be conserved, the box must recoils to the left as the photon is emitted. Imagine two entangled particles shooting off in different directions. We immediately see that the three objections einsteins reports present serious obstacles to an emission theory. Imagine firing a light beam along a railroad embankment just as a train roars by in the same direction at, say, 2,000 miles a. The genius of einsteins thought exper iments ask a spaceman. He had a decent childhood being raised by both his mother and father. One of the critical thought experiments that einstein began to play with, very young, around the age of 16, was trying to imagine what would happen if he could catch up with a light. While the thought experiment evolved with time, it continued to be end page 40 based on the variation method.
Dec 14, 2016 in 1907, physicist albert einstein devised what we now call the elevator thought experiment, in which he dreamed up the idea of having an entire physics laboratory inside a falling elevator. Albert einstein famously used thought experiments experiments carried out in the mind onlyto work out complex ideas. Johann witthansen established that hans christian orsted was the first to use the german term gedankenexperiment lit. He knew that math was the language nature uses to describe her wonders, so he could visualize how equations were reflected in realities. I recommend this book to anybody interested in the philosophy of science. This mindmelting thought experiment of einsteins reveals. Einstein recalled how, at the age of 16, he imagined chasing after a beam of light and that the thought experiment had played a memorable role in his development of special relativity. The most famous of this thought experiments was on a beam of light, which was made into a brilliant childrens book. Einstein vs schrodinger in battle of the nobel laureates. His life and universe covers all this and much else in a painstaking and reliable biography. The main difference between mach and einsteins thought experiments was that, in the latter, no actual physical experiment could corroborate the results. Einstein s unique way of thinking contributed to his genius. His life and universe by walter isaacson, paperback.
Here, watch animations of einstein chasing a light beam which helped lead. Albert einstein noted the difference very clearly in a book called the book of evolution of physics which he coauthored with leopold enfield. Einstein s unique way of thinking contributed to his. Einsteins time by peter galison niels bohr library. Einstein just removed the ether entirely and assumed that the laws of physics, including the speed of light, worked the same regardless of how you were moving exactly as experiments and mathematics showed them to be. As the defiant but sensitive young genius is creating his theory of relativity, a new conception of time, he imagines many possible worlds.
Each chapter then is a thought experiment but what i would have liked to see is some theme or character or reason why i should be carried through the thought experiments. One of einsteins thought experiments had to do with quantum entanglement, which einstein liked to call spooky action at a distance. A vertical stack of three evenly spaced horizontal lines. Oct 14, 2009 as you know, i am fascinated by many aspects of albert einstein, and one of them is his habit of doing thought experiments. Thought experiments in science, philosophy, and the arts routledge studies in. Becker gives too much space to recent applications building on bells research, and too little to new developments in the philosophy of science. It even holds a germ of einstein s subtle theory of gravity.
May 23, 2017 einsteins theory of special relativity defined a new relationship between space. There was no binding theme, and thus the book could better have been reduced to a list. Einsteins unfinished thought experiment hannibal and me. It is perhaps the simplest experiment to understand and clearly shows the difference between reference body and frame of reference. In a famous catchphrase, einstein couldnt believe that god played with dice, and for decades he kept up the search for a unified field theory that would make sense of everything. In einsteins case, he mused picture him day dreaming about things such as elevators falling through space and painters inside of them, about twodimensional beetles crawling around. For special relativity, he employed moving trains and flashes of lightning to explain his most penetrating insights. The story begins with the intuitive thought experiments that set einstein off on his quest and traces the revolution in cosmology that is still playing out in todays labs and observatories. Relatively speaking, a complicated life biographer walter isaacson has turned his attention to the 20th centurys scientific poster boy, whose family life was as difficult as his career.
Genius guides viewers through einstein s ideas with visualizations of the thought experiments he often used to come up with the ideas in the first place. Einstein called this thought experiment the germ of the special relativity theory. Years later, when his younger son, eduard, asked why he was so famous, einstein replied by using another simple thought experiment to describe his insight that gravity was the curving of the. Atoms entropy quanta einstein s statistical physics of 1905. In a good mystery story, the clearest clues often lead to the wrong suspects. Einstein, a 19161952, the foundation of the general theory of relativity. What if serious scientific answers to absurd hypothetical questions by randall munroe plato and a. Albert einsteins surprising thoughts on the meaning of life. One of einstein s most famous thought experiments took place in 1895, when he was just 16. A hallmark of albert einsteins career was his use of visualized thought experiments as a fundamental tool for understanding physical issues and for elucidating his concepts to others.
The moment albert einstein found out the truth youtube. How does einsteins moving train and lightning thought. So for the next ten years he wrestled with this thought experiment until he came up with the special theory of relativity. Imagine a world where time is like x, imagine a world where time is like y and so on. First, imagine a stationary box floating in deep space. Albert einsteins famous thought experiments led to groundbreaking ideas. A modern classic, einsteins dreams is a fictional collage of stories dreamed by albert einstein in 1905, about time, relativity and physics. Talmud would bring books to albert on a weekly basis.
Instead, this thought experiment should be thought of as an early example. The total wave function for the pair links the positions of the particles as well as their linear momenta. The result of einsteins experimental elevator experiment was nothing less than the principles underlying the general theory of relativity. What he imagined is this scenario you are in a vacuum, pursuing a beam of light at the speed of light basically going as fast as light. His life and ideas with 21 activities and thought experiments for kids series. The train experiment at times it appears to follow inconsistent reasoning. This thought experiment answered einstein s old question about what he would see if he traveled along with a beam of light.
Einsteins thought experiment in the context of an emission theory of light let us now return to einsteins thought experiment and imagine that its target has become an emission theory of light. Thought experiments are basically devices of the imagination. Quotes from albert einstein germanborn physicist developed the general theory of relativity, einstein is often regarded as the father of modern physics thought for today quotes to motivate and inspire. Imagine you have a twosided coin thatcan easily be split in. Philosopical criticisms of the einstein thought experiment. Similarly, einsteins elevator showed that light will bend in a gravitational field. In one of einsteins famous thought experiments, he realized that gravity and acceleration appear to be the same phenomenon. Nov 01, 2015 years later, when his younger son, eduard, asked why he was so famous, einstein replied by using another simple thought experiment to describe his insight that gravity was the curving of the. What are some of the best books on thought experiments. In that situation, einstein thought, that light should appear stationary or frozen. May 16, 2017 einstein later explained the problem with another thought experiment. A hallmark of albert einsteins career was his use of visualized thought experiments german. Famous as it is, it has proven difficult to understand just how the thought experiment delivers its results. May 04, 2016 einstein reveals how to manipulate time.
The nist team tested another aspect of the thought experiment, which says that everything inside the elevator would. Have there been any philosophical criticisms of this thought experiment and its conclusions. One of einsteins most defining qualities was his remarkable ability to conceptualize complex scientific ideas by imagining reallife scenarios. Don howard 1985 says einstein was unhappy with the way podolsky had written up the argument in epr. Thought process 20 things you need to know about einstein. This work investigates the presence of thought experiments tes which. Feb 09, 2017 the genius of einstein s thought experiments ask a spaceman. Think about what would happen if an elevator suddenly went. Thought experiments in the theory of relativity and in quantum. For general relativity, he considered a person falling off a roof, accelerating elevators, blind b. Einsteins most famous thought experiment university of pittsburgh. Thought experiments stanford encyclopedia of philosophy. The impossible barber and other bizarre thought experiments. Albert would devour these books and discuss them with talmud.
Einsteins theory of special relativity created a fundamental link between space and time. Einstein called this thought experiment the germ of the special. For perhaps the hundredth time, i try to think like einstein. Einstein suggested the famous moving train thought experiment to exemplify the relativity of simultaneity in his popular book, on the special and the general theory of relativity. A simple thought experiment shows that the relative existence of the induced electric field in einstein s celebrated magnet and conductor thought experiment already forces the relativity of simultaneity. Einstein s thought experiment involved two particles that have collided or which have been created in such a way that they have properties which are correlated. Inside the box, a photon is emitted and travels from the left towards the right. Jan 01, 2012 albert einstein is an interesting fellow. He simply couldnt make the trip, for at the speed of light, length. Einsteins imaginary elevator thought experiment proven. Mar 12, 2017 albert einsteins surprising thoughts on the meaning of life albert einstein shared his thoughts on the meaning of life and his own spiritual views.
1218 577 507 904 179 1372 1201 29 910 648 1095 1306 1511 344 861 233 343 954 1551 1367 86 223 1191 86 494 75 1364 690 937 439 1129 854 1429 1406 1364 1236 258 1416 399 633 1116 541