MG14 - Talk detail

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Abstract

General Relativity was developed by Albert Einstein at the beginning of the 20th century as an answer to fundamental problems of contemporary physics. The talk will trace the genesis of General Relativity in its contexts in physics, mathematics and philosophy, taking into consideration not only Einstein's research but that of many other scientists who contributed to the development of relativity. The theory nevertheless remained a marginal phenomenon of physics at first, especially in comparison to quantum theory. It was not until the second half of the 20th century that General Relativity developed into a key instrument of astrophysics. The rise of relativistic astrophysics was prepared and accompanied by a renaissance of General Relativity. The talk will explore the prehistory and conditions of this renaissance and show how General Relativity eventually became not only a highly active field of research but also one of the principal challenges to the conceptual unification of physics.

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