Includes bibliographical references and index In November 1919, newspapers around the world alerted readers to a sensational new theory of the universe: Albert Einstein's theory of relativity. Coming at a time of social, political, and economic...
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Includes bibliographical references and index In November 1919, newspapers around the world alerted readers to a sensational new theory of the universe: Albert Einstein's theory of relativity. Coming at a time of social, political, and economic upheaval, Einstein's theory quickly became a rich cultural resource with many uses beyond physical theory. Media coverage of relativity in Britain took on qualities of pastiche and parody, as serious attempts to evaluate Einstein's theory jostled with jokes and satires linking relativity to everything from railway budgets to religion. The image of a befuddled newspaper reader attempting to explain
Contents; Acknowledgments; A Note on Money; Introduction; 1. Light Caught Bending: Relativity in the Newspapers; 2. Einstein for the Tired Business Man: Exposition in Magazines; 3. Cracks in the Cosmos: Space and Time in Pulp Fiction; 4. A Lady on Neptune: Arthur Eddington's Talkative Universe; 5. A Freak Sort of Planet: Dorothy L. Sayers's Cosmic Bachelors; 6. Talking to Mars: William Empson's Astronomy Love Poems; Conclusion: Dreaming the Future; Notes; Bibliography; Index;
Relativity in the newspapers -- Einstein for the tired business man: exposition in magazines -- Cracks in the cosmos: space and time in pulp fiction -- A lady on Neptune: Arthur Eddington's talkative universe -- A freak sort of planet: Dorothy L. Sayers's cosmic bachelors -- Talking to Mars: William Empson's astronomy love poems -- Conclusion: Dreaming the future
