From Newton to Einstein; Changing Conceptions of the Universe

Book may have numerous typos, missing text, images, or index. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. 1920. Excerpt: ... Ill EINSTEIN HIS is the most important result obtained in connection with the theory of gravitation since Newton's day. Einstein's reasoning is the result of one of the highest achievements of human thought." These words were uttered by Sir J. J. Thomson, the president of the Royal Society, at a meeting of that body held on November 6, 1919, to discuss the results of the Eclipse Expedition. Einstein another Newton--and this from the > lips of J. J. Thomson, England's most illustrious physicist! If ever man weighed words carefully it is this Cambridge professor, whose own researches have assured him immortality for all time. What has this Albert Einstein done to merit such extraordinary praise? With the world in turmoil, with classes and races in a death struggle, with millions suffering and starving, why do we find time to turn our attention to this Jew? His ideas have no bearing on Europe's calamity. They will not add one bushel of wheat to starving populations. The answer is not hard to find. Men come and men go, but the mystery of the universe remains. ^It is Einstein's glory to have given us a deeper insight into the universe. Our scientists are Huxley's agnostics: they do not deny activities beyond our planet; they merely center their attention on the knowable on this earth. Our philosophers, on the other hand, go far afield. Some of them soar so high that, like one poet's opinion of Shelley, the bubble bursts. Einstein, using the tools of the scientist--the experimentalist--builded a skyscraper which ultimately reached the philosophical school. His r61e is the rdle of alcohol in causing water and ether (the anaesthetic) to mix. Ether and water will mix no better than oil and water, without the presence of alcohol; in its presence a uniform mixture is obtained. The Object of...