Forces and fields : the concept of action at a distance in the history of physics /
Mary B. Hesse.
- Mineola, N.Y. : Dover Publications, 2005.
- x, 318 p. : ill. ; 21 cm.
$19.95 TB2193/1 Originally published: London ; New York : T. Nelson, 1961.
Includes bibliographical references (p. 306-311) and indexes.
I. The Logical Status of Theories II. The Primitive Analogies. III. Mechanism in Greek Science IV. The Greek Inheritance V. The Corpuscular Philosophy VI. The Theory of Gravitation VII. Action at a Distance VIII. The Field Theories IX. The Theory of Relativity X. Modern Physics XI. The Metaphysical Framework of Physics
This history of physics focuses on the question, "How do bodies act on one another across space?" The variety of answers illustrates the function of fundamental analogies or models in physics, as well as the role of so-called unobservable entities. Forces and Fields presents an in-depth look at the science of ancient Greece, and it examines the influence of antique philosophy on seventeenth-century thought. Additional topics embrace many elements of modern physics—the empirical basis of quantum mechanics, wave-particle duality and the uncertainty principle, and the action-at-a-distance theory of Wheeler and Feynman.