1. Translating Henri Poincaré
Bruce D. Popp, Ph.D.
Those of you who have attended previous presentations I’ve given are probably aware that I encouraged questions and interacted extensively with the audience.
This presentation will not be like that; please hold your questions to the end.
September 8, 2017
Translating Poincaré Bruce D. Popp, Ph.D.

2. Translating Poincaré Bruce D. Popp, Ph.D.
September 8, 2017
Translating Poincaré Bruce D. Popp, Ph.D.

3. Rendiconti del circolo matematico di Palermo
Meeting of July 23, 1905
Printed December 14, 1905
Session of June 5, 1905
September 8, 2017
Translating Poincaré
Bruce D. Popp, Ph.D.

4. Annalen der Physik 17 (1905): 891-921
Received: June 30, 1905
Published: September 26,1905
Annalen der Physik 17 (1905):
Dated: Bern,June1905
Received: 30 June 1905
Published: 26 September 1905
In: Annalen der Physik 17 (1905):
September 8, 2017
Translating Poincaré
Bruce D. Popp, Ph.D.

5. E. T. Whittaker, 1951 L. de Broglie (1954) J. D. Jackson (1962)
P. Galison (2003)
O. Darrigol (2004)
Poincaré établissait ainsi sur des bases solides la nouvelle dynamique relativiste de l’électron qui a encore à l’heure actuelle tant d’applications : il accomplissait ainsi une œuvre capitale, mais en même temps, peut-être parce-qu’il était plus analyste que physicien, il n’apercevait pas le point de vue général appuyé sur une critique très fine de la mesure des distances des durées que le jeune Albert Einstein venait de découvrir dans une géniale intuition et qui le conduisait à une transformation complète de nos idées sur le temps. Poincaré n’a pas franchi ce pas décisif, mais il est, avec Lorentz, celui qui a le plus contribué à le rendre possible.
In 1905, almost at the same time as Poincaré and without knowledge of Lorentz’s paper, Einstein formulated special relativity in a general and complete way obtaining the results of Lorentz and Poincaré but showing that his ideas were of much wider applicability. Instead of basing his discussion on electrodynamics, Einstein showed that just two postulates were necessary, one of them involving a very general property of light.
Did Einstein really discover relativity? Did Poincaré already have it? These old questions have grown as tedious as they are fruitless. ... From our perspective, assigning a graded checklist to Einstein and Poincaré counts as the least interesting part of the story of time and simultaneity.
Once this sort of prejudice has been eliminated, the interesting question no longer is whether a contemporary of Einstein got it right or wrong—-using Einstein as a gauge—-but how the similarities and dissimilarities between his and Einstein’s approaches can be explained.
Title: A history of the theories of aether and electricity.
Author/ Creator: Whittaker, E. T
Publisher: London, New York T. Nelson [1951]-
Physical Description: volumes : diagrams ; 25 cm
Specific Disc/ Volume Needed: Vol. 2: The Modern Theories,
September 8, 2017
Translating Poincaré
Bruce D. Popp, Ph.D.

6. Starting to Translate Poincaré Lorentz 1898 1899 1900 1904 1905 1906
La mesure du temps
1898
1899
1900
1904
1905
1906
1908
On a simplified theory of the electrical and optical phenomena in moving bodies
La théorie de Lorentz et le principe de réaction
Electromagnetic phenomena in a system moving with any velocity smaller than that of light
Sur la dynamique de l'électron
La dynamique de l'électron
September 8, 2017
Translating Poincaré
Bruce D. Popp, Ph.D.

7. What’s Interesting? Poincaré Lorentz 1898 1899 1900 1904 1905 1906
Interaction
Lorentz
Measurement of time
Clock synchronization
Situated in philosophy
La mesure du temps
1898
1899
1900
1904
1905
1906
1908
Radiation carries momentum and energy
La théorie de Lorentz et le principe de réaction
Choice of notation
No mention of J. J. Thomson or English scientists, why?
Origin of term “Lorentz transformation”
Lorentz transformations form a group
Maxwell’s equations are invariant under Lorentz transformation
Classical radius of electron
Electron shape
Poincaré stresses
Sur la dynamique de l'électron
Aberration
Reducto ad absurdum arguments against ether
La dynamique de l'électron
September 8, 2017
Translating Poincaré
Bruce D. Popp, Ph.D.

8. Status I have a draft translation of the five articles by Poincaré
I’m looking at developing this into a two part book:
Translation
Chapters on what l find interesting
Then the books I still plan to translate
September 8, 2017
Translating Poincaré
Bruce D. Popp, Ph.D.

9. Previous Project: Complete
September 8, 2017
Translating Poincaré Bruce D. Popp, Ph.D.