Pour comprendre Einstein by Théophile Moreux
"Pour comprendre Einstein" by Théophile Moreux is a popular science treatise written in the early 20th century. It aims to demystify Einstein’s relativity for the general reader by placing it against the backdrop of modern physics and by challenging sensational claims and misconceptions. The work surveys the evolution of ideas on atoms, electrons, light, ether, and motion, then shows how relativity proposes a unifying framework while insisting on its limits and the
conventional nature of some of its premises. The opening of this work explains why relativity suddenly captured public attention and argues that many popularizers distorted or overstated its novelty. Moreux outlines the scientific landscape before Einstein: the atomic model with electrons orbiting nuclei, immense latent energy and radioactivity, electromagnetic mass increasing with speed, radiation pressure, comet tails, and the Michelson–Morley result, along with Lorentz–FitzGerald contraction and Poincaré’s insights. He notes that light deflection near the Sun could also arise from older emission-style reasoning, stressing that prediction alone does not prove a theory. At the start of the exposition on relativity, he defines simultaneity via light signals, distinguishes objective from subjective simultaneity, illustrates Doppler and signal-delay effects, critiques paradoxical time-dilation stories as misreadings of conventions, and frames the constancy of light speed as a necessary but ultimately conventional postulate. (This is an automatically generated summary.)
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About this eBook
| Author | Moreux, Théophile, 1867-1954 |
|---|---|
| LoC No. | 22019618 |
| Title | Pour comprendre Einstein |
| Original Publication | Paris: Gaston Doin, 1922. |
| Contents | La Science avant Einstein -- La doctrine de la Relativité -- Les conséquences de la Relativité -- Espace et Matière -- L'Univers est-il infini? -- L'Espace à quatre dimensions et les Géométries non-euclidiennes -- L'Espace-Temps de Minkowski. La Relativité généralisée -- Sur quelques résultats de la Relativité -- Qu'est-ce que le Temps? -- Conclusion. |
| Credits | Laurent Vogel and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at www.pgdp.net (This book was produced from images made available by the HathiTrust Digital Library and the Internet Archive.) |
| Language | French |
| LoC Class | QC: Science: Physics |
| Subject | Relativity (Physics) |
| Subject | Einstein, Albert, 1879-1955 |
| Category | Text |
| EBook-No. | 78128 |
| Release Date | Mar 7, 2026 |
| Copyright Status | Public domain in the USA. |
| Downloads | 198 downloads in the last 30 days. |
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