In my course the professor has treated the following topics. Special relativity and classical field theory not even wrong. Special relativity is loosely based on the tried and tested course at oxford, where extensive tutorials and problem classes support the lecture course. The book covers the transition from newtonian to einsteinian behaviour for electrons, the relativistic expressions for mass, momentum and energy of particles. The book was published in multiple languages including english, consists of pages and is available in paperback format. This book presents special relativity sr from first principles and logically arrives at the conclusions. In physics, special relativity also known as the special theory of relativity is the generally accepted and experimentally confirmed physical theory regarding the relationship between space and time.
Einstein developed the modern theory of relativity. 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 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. Hello everyone, im studying physics as an undergraduate and im currently taking the course special relativity. This book is ambitious in its scope to introduce concepts from differential geometry to a wide audience including second year undergraduates. There will be simple diagrams and some thought experiments. The theory of special relativity was developed by albert einstein in 1905, and it forms part of the basis of modern physics. As one of the great physicist, lorentz deducted the lorentz factor by which time, length and relativistic mass change for an object while the object is moving. Special and general relativity explain the structure of space time and provide a theory of gravitation, respectively. Einstein explained that when two objects are moving at a constant speed as the relative motion between the two. Although the final form of the theory came to use minkowski spaces and metric tensors, it is possible to discuss sr using nothing more than high school algebra. The laws of physics are the same in all inertial frames, and the speed of light is the same for all observers. This will help you make the connection between sr and gr tensor notations, etc since deeper then. 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.
A listing of technical books for general relativity. The main characters of this science, non fiction story are. Galileo and newton developed the first correct version of classical relativity. As far as the book is concerned it covers special relativity. The first thing to notice is that our usual division of time into past, present, and futurewhich i tacitly accepted when discussing the metaphysical problems of the atheory a. While lorentz failed to discover this relativity due to his belief in newtons. A selfcontained introduction to special relativity for students who have completed an introduction to classical mechanics. But you will need to do all the of exercises to grasp everything. 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. Free relativity books download ebooks online textbooks. This work was written with as little mathematics as possible and was designed to appeal to an even broader readership, albeit one still somewhat educated in mathematics or physics.
The aim of this book is to introduce people without a strong physics or even scientific background to the special and general theories of relativity and now i want to read other similar scientific books. Its entitled special relativity and classical field theory, and is in much the same successful style as the first two books. Great book to dive into the special relativity theory from the beginnermathematician perspective. The 17 best special relativity books recommended by phil plait, such as geometry, why does emc2 and special relativity. The first edition of the novel was published in 1916, and was written by albert einstein. Later chapters cover the lorentz transformations, the laws of.
Special relativity merged page is maintained in order to preserve attributions. Woodhouses comparatively short special relativity is a pleasure to read and therefore qualifies right off as a good source to use for learning about special relativity on your own. So i was wondering what are the best books you know of regarding special relativity for undergraduates. Einsteins special theory of relativity is a superb place to begin a serious study of physics. Otherwise, we could not use classical physics to launch satellites or build bridges. That book gives better insight into the geometric nature of relativity than this book and thus helps the reader build up to gr. A popular exposition, which established his reputation as one of the greatest thinkers of our and perhaps any age. The book represents one of the best conspects in special relativity and is useful for professors of special relativity. Please continue to improve it and thanks for the great work.
Experience and the special theory of relativity 17. 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. The book is particularly readable and anyone keen on being introduced to the concepts that have been influenced by special relativity will find this valuable. Taylor and wheeler is good, but not all that mathematical. Find the top 100 most popular items in amazon books best sellers. After finishing his work in special relativity, einstein spent a decade. Also included are the four lectures he gave to explain his findings in more detail. Rindler is the classic intro to special relativity. The special and general theory dover books on physics. This is a book with great quantities of words, and figures, trying to explain. Isbn 97818996304 the book walks the reader through the development of the special and general theories of relativity and the supporting theories they were built upon. Introduction to special relativity dover books on physics.
By the year 1900, most of physics seemed to be encompassed in the two great theories of newtonian mechanics and maxwells theory of electromagnetism. Then, at the end of 1916, he published a small book entitled on the special and the general theory of relativity, generally comprehensible. Prelude to special relativity it is important to note that although classical mechanics, in general, and classical relativity, in particular, are limited, they are extremely good approximations for large, slowmoving objects. Special relativity notes preface in the fall of 2006 i had been asked by several students if i knew a good book to read about tensors. Therefore, einstein proposed the theory of special relativity, which boils down to this. I would a good book to study the special relativity. This is reflected in the book in the large number of examples and exercises, ranging from the rather simple through to the more involved and challenging. General and special relativity book by albert einstein. Starting with the special theory and its limited applicability and the later development of the more universal general theory. The book walks the reader through the development of the special and general theories of relativity and the supporting theories they were built upon. This book is devoted to a rigorous mathematical treatment of the flat minkowski spacetime of special relativity. For instance, the derivation of the standard kinematic results starting from einstein s postulates is outstandingly clear. This is the most important finding not just one of the most in the history of human beings. In this book he brings a simplified form of his profound understanding of the subject to the layperson.
Relativity the special and general theory by albert. May show signs of minor shelf wear and contain limited notes and highlighting. This book offers an essential bridge between collegelevel introductions and advanced graduatelevel books on special relativity. Einsteins theories shocked the world with their counterintuitive results, including the dissolution of absolute time. The equality of inertial and gravitational mass as an argument for the general postulate of relativity 21. Please continue to improve it and thanks for the great work so far. Presentist idea that only the present really existsseems to be. A fine, physicallybased introduction to many of the details of special relativity. Introduction to special relativity, by wolfgang rindler, oxford u. In fact indian students have cheaper alternatives especially the one that is quite good is the book by a.
The following edition is a good translation with the diagrams included. Scitech book news judging from his book, helliwell must be a fine teacher. Most modern books include it as a subset of general relativity. Special relativityintroduction wikibooks, open books. What are good books for special relativity physics stack exchange. Relativity is the study of how different observers measure the same event. But sadly im not too big a fan of the book we are using for the course.
So a week before the exam i quickly wrote up 8 pages of notes summarizing what was discussed in class concerning tensors. You will get the indian edition at less than 15 the price of this book. As for an advanced math student, this book has a lot of words i wanted sometimes more math and formulas a more formal way, you know. 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. This is the talk page of an article that has been merged and now redirects to the page.
Which is the best special relativity book with proper. An introduction to the mathematics of the special theory of relativity by naber, gregory l. Whether youre in a brokendown school bus, a speeding train or some manner of futuristic rocket ship, light moves at the same speed, and the laws. A lot of very nice material is touched on in its pages, presented in natural sequence consonant with history, and is not improperly belabored. It starts out with special relativity, and becomes even more extreme with general relativity. It is designed for people who have had intro physics only. This is a superb introduction to special relativity, which this writer, who is certainly no genius, was able to work through at age 18 not without effort. Special relativity is limited to objects that are moving with respect to inertial frames of referencei. Special relativity because this page is not frequently watched, present and future discussions and edit requests should take place at. A very useful table of constants is added at the end of the book. I am sure that they exist, but i could not immediately think of any. Beginning with the behaviour of light and all other electromagnetic radiation, the theory of special relativity draws conclusions that are. In albert einsteins original treatment, it is based on two postulates. The material on general relativity gr is no harder, but much less detailed, so that one cannot hope to get a realistic idea of what gr is really about from this book alone.
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