An introduction to the special theory of relativity. The theory of relativity usually encompasses two interrelated theories by albert einstein. His presentation is lively and interspersed with historical, philosophical and special. In 1905, albert einstein revolutionized modern physics with his theory of relativity. The theory of relativity is a very complex and difficult subject to understand. The new book by jeffrey bennett introduces einsteins theory of relativity to a lay audience, explaining why black holes dont suck and other phenomena. Although there are many consequences of special relativity, this complex theory consists of only two postulates. Simple relativity is a 2d short educational animation film. We discussed on time dilation, length contraction, twin paradox and two postulates of special. The book walks the reader through the development of the special and general theories of relativity and the supporting theories they were built upon. Not the kind of thing i would suggest to an adult who wants to learn about the subject of relativity rather than einsteins life story.
Formulas from einsteins theory of special relativity. I havent seen any other books that starts with special relativity, develops general relativity smoothly, covers great deal of cosmological perturbation theory and quantum field theory in curved spacetime. General relativity explains the law of gravitation and its relation to other forces of nature. Rindler is the classic intro to special relativity. It applies to all physical phenomena, so long as gravitation is not significant. The theory of relativity is actually two theories that albert einstein came up with in the early 1900s. In 1905, albert einstein published the theory of special relativity, which explains how to interpret motion between different inertial frames of reference that is, places that are moving at constant speeds relative to each other. Special relativity applies to minkowski space, or flat spacetime phenomena which are not influenced by gravitation einstein knew that some weaknesses had been. Which is the best special relativity book with proper.
This is reflected in the book in the large number of examples and exercises, ranging from the rather simple through to. The first book is aimed at kids ages 714 and is a biography. The theory of relativity for dummies the crazy history. Albert einstein determined that massive objects cause a distortion in spacetime, which is felt as gravity. Special relativity wikibooks, open books for an open world. Special relativity einstein 1905 based on two postulates. The basic idea is so elegant that you dont need superpowers to understand it. This book gives an excellent introduction to the theory of special relativity. This book is devoted to a rigorous mathematical treatment of the flat minkowski spacetime of special relativity. Special relativity applies to all physical phenomena in the absence of gravity. It is suitable for those who has not yet started to physics degree or will not, but would like to understand the theory in a deeper and mathematical manner. Starting with the special theory and its limited applicability and the later development of the more universal general theory, aimed at covering the deficiencies of the former.
We will just discuss the very basics of the theory here. History is a part of all sciencei will mention some of the relevant events in the development of special relativitybut there is no attempt to present the material in a historical way. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading theory of relativity for the rest of us but not for dummies. For 100 years, the general theory of relativity has been a pillar of modern physics. The film is an attempt to explain albert einsteins special theory of relativity with a simpler visual representation and exciting. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets.
Theory of relativity simplified kindle edition by thomas, james. Professor resnick presents a fundamental and unified development of the subject with unusually clear discussions of the aspects that usually trouble beginners. In 1915 he published his general theory of relativity, dealing withgravityandacceleration. General relativity is a beautiful scheme for describing the gravitational. This is why in an introduction to general relativity it is of. A read is counted each time someone views a publication summary such as the title, abstract, and list of authors, clicks on a figure, or views or downloads the fulltext. Relativity simply explained by martin gardner goodreads.
Einsteins theory of special relativity describes what happens as things near the speed of light. A common confusion for students of special relativity is between that which is real and that which is apparent. Theory of relativity for the rest of us but not for dummies. February 14, 2008 the views of space and time which i wish to lay before you have sprung from the soil of experimental physics, and therein lies their strength. Much of the material is at a level suitable for high school students who have had advanced placement in physics and. In general relativity, the fabric of spacetime can occasionally allow for worldlines that create a closed timelike curve, which is relativity speak for time travel. An object remains in uniform motion unless acted on. The theory of relativity for dummies the theory of relativity explained for dummies with cartoons. A superquick, superpainless guide to the theory that conquered the universe. It pays particular attention to the lorentz group and the causal structure of the theory, but also treats the electromagnetic field tensor, spinors, and the topology of minkowski spacetime. Einsteins theory of general relativity predicted that the spacetime around earth would be not only warped but also twisted by the planets rotation. On the 100 th anniversary of albert einsteins general theory of relativity, bennetts book seeks to explain both special and general relativity in a form that a nonexpert could understand. A page of the original manuscripts of the theory of relativity developed by albert einstein on display at the israeli national academy of science and humanities in jerusalem on march 7, 2010. Theory of special relativity basics explained in hindi.
Since the publication of einsteins special theory of r. He states at the beginning of the book that hes trying to keep it concise and. Taylor and wheeler is good, but not all that mathematical. Special relativity or the special theory of relativity was developed and explained by albert einstein in 1905 because of some weaknesses that had been discovered in older physics. He begins by sharing an overview of special relativity, including its history, principles, and.
What is the best book for selflearning special and. The project sections in the book is aimed at making one think critically. Theory of relativity, theories of science, books barnes. It applies to the cosmological and astrophysical realm, including astronomy. The author seems to write a lot of childrens books about math, science, and computers, but i see no evidence that he has any deep knowledge of. Einstein himself explored these concepts when developing general relativity, but never made much. This popular book is downloaded over 40 000 times per year and guarantees to be captivating and surprising on every page. This is an introduction to einsteins theories of special and general relativity.
Special relativity is a featured book on wikibooks because it contains substantial content, it is wellformatted, and the wikibooks community has decided to feature it on the main page or in other places. Theory of relativity for the rest of us but not for. Relativity is einsteins attempt to explain special and general relativity to a general audience. Einstein for dummies and over 8 million other books are available for. He includes, for example, a section on the common sense of relativity. Special relativity practice problems a textbook based on this website is now available from cambridge university press. The completed formulation of the general theory of relativity was published in 1916 fig. Frey leads readers on a fascinating journey in this book that seeks to prove that albert einsteins theory of special relativity is all wrong. Here are some important specialrelativity equations that deal with time dilation, length contraction, and more. A very good book for beginners, with some material not found in other books, such as alternative spacetime. If you have any comments or questions on these lecture notes, please email them to takeuchiatvtdotedu. Einstein explained that when two objects are moving at a constant speed as the relative motion between the two. General relativity explained like youve never seen before. Nowadays this theory is often used as a prototype for other, more intricate constructions to describe forces between elementary particles or other branches of fundamental physics.
Einstein put forth special relativity, which explains motion at nearlight speeds. He states at the beginning of the book that hes trying to keep it concise and at a level where most people should be able to understand the small amounts of mathematics he uses. One is called special relativity and the other is called general relativity. It is designed for people who have had intro physics only. Special relativity or the special theory of relativity is a theory in physics that was developed and explained by albert einstein in 1905. For example, older physics could not explain the constant speed of light einstein believed that these physics theories gave unspoken preference to one group of observers i. Please continue to improve it and thanks for the great work. Special relativity is limited to objects that are moving with respect to inertial frames of referencei. Special relativity theory srt has two postulates, one stating that the laws of physics are the same for all observers, and the other stating that the speed of light is the constant 186,000 miles.
Special relativity simple english wikipedia, the free. There is an old book by max born, called einsteins theory of relativity which explains the special relativity in great detail without any advanced mathematics and a little bit of general relativity. Beginning with the behaviour of light and all other electromagnetic radiation, the theory of special relativity draws conclusions that are. Special relativity is loosely based on the tried and tested course at oxford, where extensive tutorials and problem classes support the lecture course. The topic of the book is einsteins special theory of relativity, which is difficult for most of us to comprehend because it deals with physical phenomenon that. So general relativity describes how any massive object, such as the sun, produces gravity by bending space and time around it. Say einstein, and most of us think a cheeky oldster with wild white hair, sticking out his tongue and b either e mc2, or the theory of relativity. Books on general relativity for dummies physics forums.