Space, Time, and Spacetime Physical and Philosophical Implications of Minkowski's Unification of Space and Time ; [the volume contains selected papers by physicists and philosophers, most of which were presented at the Third International Conference on th

This volume is dedicated to the centennial anniversary of Minkowski's discovery of spacetime. It contains selected papers by physicists and philosophers on the Nature and Ontology of Spacetime. The first six papers, comprising Part I of the book, provide examples of the impact of Minkowski's spacetime representation of special relativity on the twentieth century physics. Part II also contains six papers which deal with implications of Minkowski's ideas for the philosophy of space and time. The last part is represented by two papers which explore the influence of Minkowski's ideas beyond the philosophy of space and time. Front Matter....Pages i-xii Front Matter....Pages 1-1 The Minkowskian Background of Whitehead’s Theory of Gravitation....Pages 3-24 The Experimental Verdict on Spacetime from Gravity Probe B....Pages 25-59 Rigidity and the Ruler Hypothesis....Pages 61-106 Minkowski Space and Quantum Mechanics....Pages 107-127 Relativity and Quantum Field Theory....Pages 129-146 Ether, the Theory of Relativity and Quantum Physics....Pages 147-155 Front Matter....Pages 157-157 Minkowski’s Proper Time and the Status of the Clock Hypothesis....Pages 159-179 Why Spacetime Is Not a Hidden Cause: A Realist Story....Pages 181-191 Structural Explanations in Minkowski Spacetime: Which Account of Models?....Pages 193-207 Relativity of Simultaneity and Eternalism: In Defense of the Block Universe....Pages 209-237 Minkowski Space-Time and Thermodynamics....Pages 239-256 No Presentism in Quantum Gravity....Pages 257-278 Front Matter....Pages 279-279 Space-Time, Phenomenology, and the Picture Theory of Language....Pages 281-290 The Fate of Mathematical Place: Objectivity and the Theory of Lived-Space from Husserl to Casey....Pages 291-311 Back Matter....Pages 313-314 Dedicated to the centennial anniversary of Minkowski's discovery of spacetime, this volume contains papers, most presented at the Third International Conference on the Nature and Ontology of Spacetime, that address some of the deepest questions in physics. [edited By] Vesselin Petkov Includes Bibliographic References And Index.