Imperial College, London 12-15 September 2008

Lecture Theatre, Civil Engineering Department

OBJECTIVES OF THE CONFERENCE

The objectives of this conference are the same as those pursued in the previous Physical Interpretations of Relativity Theory (PIRT) conferences which have been held in Imperial College, London, every two years since 1988.  Similar objectives are pursued in the PIRT conferences which were instigated during 2003 in Moscow at the Bauman Moscow State Technical University, and in Calcutta at the Calcutta Mathematical Society. In 2007, the first PIRT conference was organised in Budapest with a special emphasis on philosophy of science.

These objectives are:-

“… to explore the chief characteristics – including the advantages and disadvantages – of the various physical, geometrical, and mathematical interpretations of the formal structure of Relativity Theory, and to examine the philosophical and other questions concerning the various interpretations of the accepted mathematical expression of the Relativity Principle. 

Relativity permeates the physical sciences to the same extent that Evolutionary Theory permeates the biological sciences and therefore papers reviewing the links between Relativity and other major departments of physical science are within the scope of the conference.

Critical review of the conceptual apparatus and the statements of the Relativity Principle is invited provided it is rational and scientific.   Papers which are written  primarily in support of quasi-religious or metaphysical viewpoints are not compatible with the conference objectives.

The conference seeks to review subjects relevant to the solution of physical , mathematical-physical and technical problems.   It is intended to inter-relate several fields of research and to promote understanding between different schools of thought engaged in studying Relativity…”

The Conference Programmes of the London conferences include papers dealing with the following major themes:-

- Cosmology, Gravitation and Space-Time Structure.
- Time, Reference Frames and the Fundamentals of Relativity.
- Nature and Models of the Physical Vacuum.
- Formal Structures and Physical Interpretations of Relativity Theory.
- Experimental Aspects of Relativity.
- The Poincare-Lorentz and the Einstein-Minkowski expositions of the Relativity Principle.
- The Relativistic World Ether: The Ether Geometrized; Dirac’s Ether and Ether Formulations of Relativity.
- Analogues of Relativity and Quantum Mechanics.
- The Vortex Sponge.
- Historical and Philosophical Aspects of Relativity.
- Conceptual Foundations of Modern Physics.

This is not an exhaustive list, and colleagues wishing to submit papers dealing with different subjects should send an outline of their proposed contribution to the organizers of the London conference.