No Shadow of a Doubt: The 1919 Eclipse That Confirmed Einstein's Theory of Relativity

Description

On their 100th anniversary, the story of the extraordinary scientific expeditions that ushered in the era of relativity In 1919, British scientists led extraordinary expeditions to Brazil and Africa to test Albert Einstein's revolutionary new theory of general relativity in what became the century's most celebrated scientific experiment. The res

Daniel Kennefick is associate professor of physics at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville. He is the author of Traveling at the Speed of Thought: Einstein and the Quest for Gravitational Waves and a coauthor of An Einstein Encyclopedia (both Princeton).

"Finalist for the PROSE Award in History of Science, Medicine, and Technology, Association of American Publishers" "One of BBC Sky at Night Magazine's Best Astronomy and Space Books of 2019" "One of Nature's Top Ten Books of 2019" "[No Shadow of a Doubt] offers a richly detailed account of the protagonists and their success against long odds. Mr. Kennefick is at his most compelling when dissecting and refuting accusations of bias that have shrouded the historic feat."---Ray Jayawardhana, Wall Street Journal "Kennefick brings a thrilling mix of ingredients together into a . . . rewarding read: the chutzpah of Einstein; the glamour, luck and sense of adventure of eclipse-chasing; the audacity of planning such a demanding experiment during the first world war and executing it in its chaotic aftermath."---Anjana Ahuja, Financial Times "Physicist Kennefick narrates the buildup to, and fallout from, the experiment that confirmed Einstein's radical idea and made him an international star."---Andrea Gawrylewski, Scientific American "Meticulously researched and vividly written, [this] account is sure to become the standard reference work on this fascinating example of 'Big Science'."---Peter Coles, Nature "[An] insightful biography."---Simon Ings, The Spectator "This is a fascinating book, full of insights into the relationship between theory and experimental proof, and the relationship between science, internationalism, and war."---Emily Winterburn, BBC Sky at Night Magazine "A detailed and scholarly examination of the 1919 eclipse expeditions . . . a wonderfully rich and authoritative study of the way science worked in 1919 ("a golden age for astronomy")."---P. D. Smith, Times Literary Supplement "[Kennefick's] purpose is to very thoroughly rebut the skeptics, which he accomplishes in part through a careful and technical review of the instruments, the data, and an astronomer's 1978 reanalysis of the data using a computer, but also by standing up for Frank Dyson."---Karen Olsson, Bookforum "Daniel Kennefick's wonderful No Shadow of a Doubt has something for everyone, and I highly recommend it, especially in this centennial year."---Jay M. Pasachoff, Key Reporter "[An] excellent book . . . [this] story, in Kennefick's hands, is well told, with plenty to interest the non-specialist and the more expert reader alike"---Andy Sawyers, British Astronomical Association "Even if shadows and doubts about the 1919 findings remain, this thoughtful and rigorous book at least lays several old myths to rest."---Suman Seth, American Scientist "Daniel Kennefick's is the most detailed study of the eclipse expedition to date."---Alexei B. Kojevnikov, American Journal of Physics "[Kennefick] celebrates the 100th anniversary of that eclipse by providing us with a detailed, engagingly written, and extremely well-referenced account of the results and their purported confirmation of General Relativity."---David W. Hughes, The Observatory "Rather than privileging the roles of Eddington and Einstein, as other works have done, Kennefick places Einstein and even, to some extent, Eddington in the back seat, focusing instead on Sir Frank Dyson, the instruments and methods used, and the astronomical institutions associated with the expedition. Such an approach shows that the experimental verification of a theory does not lie with single figures but is often driven by several individuals and institutions-their environments, epoch, and instrumentation."---Tiffany Nichols, Isis