Vesselin Petkov received a graduate degree in physics from Sofia University, a doctorate in philosophy from the Institute for Philosophical Research of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, and a doctorate in physics from Concordia University. He taught at Sofia University and is currently teaching at Concordia University. He wrote the book "Relativity and the Nature of Spacetime" (Springer 2005) and edited the books "Relativity and the Dimensionality of the World" (Springer 2007), and "Minkowski Spacetime: A Hundred Years Later" (Springer, forthcoming). He is a member of the Governing Board of the International Society for the Advanced Study of Spacetime

Addresses some of the deepest questions in all of physics

Describes how other areas of physics are influenced by our choice of spacetime description

Substantial contributions provide overviews for newcomers to the area

Includes supplementary material: [...]

I.Minkowski's Representation of Special Relativity -- Examples of Its Impact on the Twentieth Century Physics.- The Minkowskian Background of Whitehead¿s Theory of Gravitation.- The Experimental Verdict on Spacetime from Gravity Probe B.- Rigidity and the Ruler Hypothesis.-Minkowski Space and Quantum Mechanics.- Relativity and Quantum Field Theory.- Ether, the Theory of Relativity and Quantum Physics.- II: Implications of Minkowski's Ideas for the Philosophy of Space and Time.- Minkowski¿s Proper Time and the Status of the Clock Hypothesis.-Why Spacetime is not a Hidden Cause: A Realist Story.- Structural Explanations in Minkowski Spacetime: Which Account of Models?.-Relativity of Simultaneity and Eternalism: In Defense of the Block Universe.- Minkowski Spacetime and Thermodynamics.-No Presentism in Quantum Gravity.-III. The Impact of Minkowski's Ideas Beyond the Philosophy of Space and Time.- Spacetime, Phenomenology, and the Picture Theory of Language.- The Fate of Mathematical Place: Objectivity and the Theory of Lived-Space from Husserl to Casey.