Concepts of Mass in Contemporary Physics and Philosophy

by Max Jammer

The concept of mass is one of the most fundamental notions in physics, comparable in importance only to those of space and time. But in contrast to the latter, which are the subject of innumerable physical and philosophical studies, the concept of mass has been but rarely investigated. Here Max Jammer, a leading philosopher and historian of physics, provides a concise but comprehensive, coherent, and self-contained study of the concept of mass as it is defined, interpreted, and applied in contemporary physics and as it is critically examined in the modern philosophy of science. With its focus on theories proposed after the mid-1950s, the book is the first of its kind, covering the most recent experimental and theoretical investigations into the nature of mass and its role in modern physics, from the realm of elementary particles to the cosmology of galaxies.The book begins with an analysis of the persistent difficulties of defining inertial mass in a noncircular manner and discusses the related question of whether mass is an observational or a theoretical concept. It then studies the notion of mass in special relativity and the delicate problem of whether the relativistic rest mass is the only legitimate notion of mass and whether it is identical with the classical (Newtonian) mass. This is followed by a critical analysis of the different derivations of the famous mass-energy relationship E = mc2 and its conflicting interpretations. Jammer then devotes a chapter to the distinction between inertial and gravitational mass and to the various versions of the so-called equivalence principle with which Newton initiated his Principia but which also became the starting point of Einstein's general relativity, which supersedes Newtonian physics. The book concludes with a presentation of recently proposed global and local dynamical theories of the origin and nature of mass.Destined to become a much-consulted reference for philosophers and physicists, this book is also written for the nonprofessional general reader interested in the foundations of physics.

Genres: Science

176 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1999

Reviews

[Yilmaz Aksoy]

Kitabın başlığı ilgimi çektiği için okumak istedim. Girişte kitabın sadece fizikçiler için değil konuya ilgi duyan herkes için yazıldığını ve bu nedenle mecbur kalınmadıkça matematiğe girilmediğini okuyunca hevesim daha da arttı. Kitabı okudukça gördüm ki, bu kitap bariz fizikçiler için yazılmış ve içi matematik dolu. Matematik olmayan yerlerde de Lagrangian, Lorentz transformasyonları gibi kavramlar kullanılarak yine matematiğe yer verilmiş. Tabii ki bu kısımları atlayarak okudum ve zaten kısa olan kitap çabucak bitti. Peki bu kitaptan ne anladım? Bilim insanları kütle dediğimiz şeye epey kafa yormuşlar. Hem bilimsel hem de felsefi olarak. Bizim okulda Galileo ile bitirdiğimiz kütle deneylerine hala devam etmekteler. Sonuçta yazarın gerçek beklentilerini karşılayamadığım için bu kitaba yıldız vermeyeceğim. Fizikçiler ya da fizik felsefesinin içinde olanlar için ilginç bir kitap olabilir ama benim gibi biraz felsefe biraz da popüler fizik bekleyenler için oldukça yanlış bir seçim olacaktır.

[Andrew Davis · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book discusses various concepts around mass of a physical body and its perception over the last few hundred years, from Newton to Einstein. He brings up a concept of longitudinal and transverse mass of electrons, later replaced by the concept of relativistic mass. He also discusses a gravitational mass and inertial mass, which differ in a way they are measured, but are the same in value.

[John Michael Strubhart · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very detailed and comprehensive treatment of the concept of mass as it applies to physics and philosophy. It gets very mathy, so if you like physics without the math, forget it, buddy! You're not really all that interested in physics anyway (unless you just want to read the last chapter, but then, that's cheating).

[Michael David · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was an entertaining take on the concept of mass as it evolved through the ages, but to be entirely honest, the earlier chapters discussing about the slow transformation of the multitudinous concepts of mass to become the quantitas materiae was more enjoyable than the later chapters. Still, because this is a matter of taste, I just thought that the book was all right.

[Rodney Wallace · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice review and cross referencing of marque formulas and retail theory