
Contemporary Physics Plays
Making Time to Know Responsibility
Jenni G. Halpin(Author)
Palgrave Pivot (Publisher)
Published on 23. April 2018
Book
Hardback
VIII, 128 pages
978-3-319-75147-4 (ISBN)
Description
This book analyzes recent physics plays, arguing that their enaction of concepts from the sciences they discuss alters the nature of the decisions made by the characters, changing the ethical judgements that might be cast on them. Recent physics plays regularly alter the shape of space-time itself, drawing together disparate moments, reversing the flow of time, creating apparent contradictions, and iterating scenes for multiple branches of counterfactual history. With these changes both causality and responsibility shift, variously. The roles of iconic scientists, such as Albert Einstein and Werner Heisenberg, are interrogated for their dramatic value, placing history and dramatic license in tension. Cold War strategies and the limits of espionage highlight the emphatically personal involvement of ordinary individuals. This study is vital reading for those interested in physics plays and the relationship between the sciences and the humanities.
More details
Series
Edition
1st ed. 2018
Language
English
Place of publication
Cham
Switzerland
Publishing group
Springer International Publishing
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Illustrations
1 s/w Abbildung
VIII, 128 p. 1 illus.
Dimensions
Height: 216 mm
Width: 153 mm
Thickness: 13 mm
Weight
298 gr
ISBN-13
978-3-319-75147-4 (9783319751474)
DOI
10.1007/978-3-319-75148-1
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

Book
01/2019
Palgrave Pivot
€53.49
Article exhausted; check different version

E-Book
04/2018
Palgrave Pivot
€58.84
Available for download
Person
Jenni G. Halpin is Associate Professor of English Literature at Savannah State University, USA.
Content
1. Introduction: Ethics and Physics in Contemporary Plays.- 2. Playing Nuclear War: Learning Postmodern War from Modern Physics.- 3. Relativistic Intertextuality: Einstein as a Figure.- 4. What You Don't Know Is Going to Hurt Like Hell: Knowledge, Power, and the Faustian Bargain.- 5. Torn Palimpsest and Recycled Time: Copenhagen and Conclusion.