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''Night Thoughts of a Classical Physicist'' is an historical novel by historian of science Russell McCormmach, published in 1982 by Harvard University Press. Set in 1918, the book explores the world of physics in the early 20th century—including the advent of modern physics and the role of physicists in World War I—through the recollections of the fictional Viktor Jakob. Jakob is an old German physicist who spent most of his career during the period of classical physics, a paradigm being confronted by the rapid and radical developments of relativistic physics in 1900s and 1910s. This conflict allows for extensive examination of the various tensions placed on Jakob by the academic environment, the German academic system and the changing academic culture of the early 20th century. The character of Jakob, a professor at a minor German university, is an amalgam of German physicists based on archival research by McCormmach. In the novel, he recalls interactions and events—documented in extensive footnotes to genuine publications and archival sources—involving many of the well-known physicists of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. ''Night Thoughts'', pointedly criticized for its lack of literary merit by some reviewers, was generally praised for its attempt at forging a new approach to history and historical fiction by incorporating extensive research into the text. ==Style== The novel is written as a traditional fictional biography. However, it uses footnotes to provide examples of historical proof for events and situations in Jakob's life, to prove the feasibility of situations.〔 Also, alongside the historical footnotes which point to the lives of historical scientists, his study is decorated with photographs of the same scientists, creating a reflection of how he has been shaped by their precedence.〔 Historical reflections, and flashbacks – focusing mostly on the Franco-Prussian war and World War I – form a considerable part of the narrative.〔 George Steiner called McCormmach "no novelist" pointing to how he "wisely ... avoids dialogue," commits numerous gaucheries, and how many of the dream sequences are flat. He felt that the work fails to show the passion which scientists feel for science.〔 On the other hand, Mary Jo Nye wrote that McCormach's work "might have pleased Polanyi", who "wanted to see passion, not only reason, in the depiction of the scientist’s life".〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Night Thoughts of a Classical Physicist」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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