Three Hundred Years of Gravitation

To commemorate the 300th anniversary of the publication of Isaac Newton’s Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica, Stephen Hawking and Werner Israel assembled a series of unique review papers by many of the world’s foremost researchers in cosmology, relativity, and particle physics. The resulting volume reflects the significant and exciting advances that have been made in these fields since the editors’ acclaimed volume, General Relativity: An Einstein Centenary Survey (CUP 1979). Newton’s immense contribution to the physical sciences is assessed, and its relevance to today’s physics made clear. The international group of contributors then chart the major developments in the study of gravitation, from Newtonian gravity to black hole physics. In the fields of galaxy formation, inflationary and quantum cosmology, and superstring unification, the book provides important overviews written by workers involved in the many advances described. By shaping such a wide-ranging and scholarly series of articles into a cohesive whole, the editors have created a fitting and lasting memorial to the man who continues to inspire scientists the world over.