Induction after Electromagnetism

Abstract

: Faraday ’ s discovery of electromagnetic induction transformed the world by providing the blueprint for the mass production of electricity and a new type of motor that replaced the steam engine as the main driving force of the global economy. Electromagnetic induction presented a new set of physical problems whose solutions undermined the theoretical framework of Newtonian physics and redefined the nature of inductive reasoning. As the main logical inference characterizing the natural sciences, induction has been the subject of numerous philosophical debates about its definition and scientific value. In this paper, I trace a lesser-known contribution to these debates that developed in the wake of the epistemological changes instigated by the phenomenon of electromagnetic induction and that, through Einstein ’ s and Bachelard ’ s achievements, changed the modern conceptions of science, discovery, and history. I also argue that these achievements are inscribed in a tradition that should in-clude Balzac ’ s pioneering use of electromagnetic induction to convey the elusive nature of scientific discovery. in the case where an electric field is produced by electromagnetic induction, the gravitational field similarly has only a relative existence. Thus, for an observer in free fall from the roof of a house there exists, during his fall, no gravitational field – at least not in his immediate vicinity. If the observer releases any objects, they will remain, relative to him, in a state of rest [ … ]. There is no transition from the system of Newton to the system of Einstein. One does not proceed from the first to the second by amassing data, perfecting measurements, and making slight adjustments to first principles. What is needed is some totally new ingredi-ent. It is a ‘ transcendental induction ’ and not an ‘ amplifying induction ’ that leads the way from classical to relativistic physics. 15