Modernist Physics

Waves, Particles, and Relativities in the Writings of Virginia Woolf and D. H. Lawrence

Nonfiction, Science & Nature, Science, Other Sciences, History, Fiction & Literature, Literary Theory & Criticism
Cover of the book Modernist Physics by Rachel Crossland, OUP Oxford
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Rachel Crossland ISBN: 9780192547989
Publisher: OUP Oxford Publication: March 16, 2018
Imprint: OUP Oxford Language: English
Author: Rachel Crossland
ISBN: 9780192547989
Publisher: OUP Oxford
Publication: March 16, 2018
Imprint: OUP Oxford
Language: English

Modernist Physics takes as its focus the ideas associated with three scientific papers published by Albert Einstein in 1905, considering the dissemination of those ideas both within and beyond the scientific field, and exploring the manifestation of similar ideas in the literary works of Virginia Woolf and D. H. Lawrence. Drawing on Gillian Beer's suggestion that literature and science 'share the moment's discourse', Modernist Physics seeks both to combine and to distinguish between the two standard approaches within the field of literature and science: direct influence and the zeitgeist. The book is divided into three parts, each of which focuses on the ideas associated with one of Einstein's papers. Part I considers Woolf in relation to Einstein's paper on light quanta, arguing that questions of duality and complementarity had a wider cultural significance in the early twentieth century than has yet been acknowledged, and suggesting that Woolf can usefully be considered a complementary, rather than a dualistic, writer. Part II looks at Lawrence's reading of at least one book on relativity in 1921, and his subsequent suggestion in Fantasia of the Unconscious that 'we are in sad need of a theory of human relativity', a theory which is shown to be relevant to Lawrence's writing of relationships both before and after 1921. Part III considers Woolf and Lawrence together alongside late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century discussions of molecular physics and crowd psychology, suggesting that Einstein's work on Brownian motion provides a useful model for thinking about individual literary characters.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Modernist Physics takes as its focus the ideas associated with three scientific papers published by Albert Einstein in 1905, considering the dissemination of those ideas both within and beyond the scientific field, and exploring the manifestation of similar ideas in the literary works of Virginia Woolf and D. H. Lawrence. Drawing on Gillian Beer's suggestion that literature and science 'share the moment's discourse', Modernist Physics seeks both to combine and to distinguish between the two standard approaches within the field of literature and science: direct influence and the zeitgeist. The book is divided into three parts, each of which focuses on the ideas associated with one of Einstein's papers. Part I considers Woolf in relation to Einstein's paper on light quanta, arguing that questions of duality and complementarity had a wider cultural significance in the early twentieth century than has yet been acknowledged, and suggesting that Woolf can usefully be considered a complementary, rather than a dualistic, writer. Part II looks at Lawrence's reading of at least one book on relativity in 1921, and his subsequent suggestion in Fantasia of the Unconscious that 'we are in sad need of a theory of human relativity', a theory which is shown to be relevant to Lawrence's writing of relationships both before and after 1921. Part III considers Woolf and Lawrence together alongside late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century discussions of molecular physics and crowd psychology, suggesting that Einstein's work on Brownian motion provides a useful model for thinking about individual literary characters.

More books from OUP Oxford

Cover of the book Selected Poems by Rachel Crossland
Cover of the book Thyroid Disease by Rachel Crossland
Cover of the book The Charter of the United Nations by Rachel Crossland
Cover of the book The Changing Face of China by Rachel Crossland
Cover of the book Formalism and the Sources of International Law by Rachel Crossland
Cover of the book The Oxford Handbook of the Victorian Novel by Rachel Crossland
Cover of the book She by Rachel Crossland
Cover of the book The Common Freedom of the People by Rachel Crossland
Cover of the book Applied Methods of Cost-effectiveness Analysis in Healthcare by Rachel Crossland
Cover of the book Re-Forming Capitalism by Rachel Crossland
Cover of the book Homes and Haunts by Rachel Crossland
Cover of the book Irresolvable Norm Conflicts in International Law by Rachel Crossland
Cover of the book The Liberation of Jerusalem by Rachel Crossland
Cover of the book Oxford Handbook of Clinical Pathology by Rachel Crossland
Cover of the book Mathematics for the Imagination by Rachel Crossland
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy