000 02911nam a22003378i 4500
001 CR9780511563997
003 UkCbUP
005 20200124160325.0
006 m|||||o||d||||||||
007 cr||||||||||||
008 090518s1997||||enk o ||1 0|eng|d
020 _a9780511563997 (ebook)
020 _z9780521431781 (hardback)
020 _z9780521634205 (paperback)
040 _aUkCbUP
_beng
_erda
_cUkCbUP
050 0 0 _aQC794.6.G7
_bC36 1997
082 0 0 _a530.1/4/0904
_220
100 1 _aCao, Tian Yu,
_d1941-
_eauthor.
245 1 0 _aConceptual developments of 20th century field theories /
_cTian Yu Cao.
264 1 _aCambridge :
_bCambridge University Press,
_c1997.
300 _a1 online resource (xx, 433 pages) :
_bdigital, PDF file(s).
336 _atext
_btxt
_2rdacontent
337 _acomputer
_bc
_2rdamedia
338 _aonline resource
_bcr
_2rdacarrier
500 _aTitle from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 05 Oct 2015).
505 0 0 _g1.
_tIntroduction --
_g2.
_tThe rise of classical field theory --
_g3.
_tEinstein's route to the gravitational field --
_g4.
_tThe general theory of relativity (GTR) --
_g5.
_tThe geometrical programme (GP) --
_g6.
_tThe rise of quantum theory --
_g7.
_tThe formation of the conceptual foundations of quantum field theory --
_g8.
_tThe quantum field programme (QFP) --
_g9.
_tThe route to gauge fields --
_g10.
_tThe formation of the conceptual foundations of gauge field theories --
_g11.
_tThe gauge field programme (GFP) --
_g12.
_tOntological synthesis and scientific realism --
_gApp. A1.
_tThe rise of intrinsic, local, and dynamic geometry --
_gApp. A2.
_tHomotopy classes and homotopy groups.
520 _aThis book gives a broad synthesis of conceptual developments of twentieth-century field theories, from the general theory of relativity to quantum field theory and gauge theory. The author gives a historico-critical exposition of the conceptual foundations of the theories revealing a pattern to the evolution of these conceptions. Theoretical physicists and students of theoretical physics will find in this book an account of the foundational problems of their discipline that will help them understand the internal logic and dynamics of their subject. In addition the book will provide professional historians and philosophers of science, and especially philosophers of physics, with a conceptual basis for further historical, cultural and sociological analysis of the theories discussed. The book also contains much material for philosophical (metaphysical, methodological and semantical) reflection. Finally, the scientifically qualified general reader will find in this book a deeper analysis of contemporary conceptions of the physical world than can be found in popular accounts of the subject.
650 0 _aUnified field theories.
776 0 8 _iPrint version:
_z9780521431781
856 4 0 _uhttps://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511563997
999 _c522167
_d522165