A superquick, superpainless guide to the theory that conquered the universe. The special and the general theory by albert einstein. What is the best book for selflearning special and. Einsteins monograph on the theory of relativity is simply brilliant, of course, and i wouldnt presume to critique his work. But empire books, or whatever flybynight publisher was responsible for this particular edition of the book, was inexcusably negligent. Both books share the goal of introducing special relativity to. This book will elucidate all the iconic thoughts of einstein without requiring a physics degree from the reader. A fun way of understanding einsteins general theory of relativity by joshua carroll, universe today einsteins famous equation. The new book by jeffrey bennett introduces einsteins theory of relativity to a lay audience, explaining why black holes dont suck and other. The special and general theory may not sound very attractive at first. Its the best and easiest to understand book about relativity i have ever read.
Special and general relativity explain the structure of space time and provide a theory of gravitation, respectively. Effectively diagrammed and with an emphasis on logical structure, leo sartoris rigorous but simple presentation will guide interested readers through concepts of relative time and relative space. General relativity explained like youve never seen before. The theory of relativity, or simply relativity, encompasses two theories of albert einstein. This is his second book on relativity theory, the first being space and time in special relativity mcgrawhill, 1968. Needless to say, it is of purely historical interest today. The theory of relativity usually encompasses two interrelated theories by albert einstein. The first edition of the novel was published in 1916, and was written by albert einstein. Einsteins theory of relativity dover books on physics. An excellent book on einsteins special theory of relativity. First english translation of einsteins theory of relativity. I have no hesitation in saying that this is the best book on the special theory of relativity at a semipopular level i have ever read. It requires deep concentration and a lot of patience to follow what is presented, but in the end the reader is rewarded for their efforts with a deeper understanding of what the einsteins theory of relativity is all about. The book reveals that some of our most intuitive notions about time are shockingly wrong, and that the real nature of time discovered by einstein can be rigorously explained without advanced mathematics.
An interactive comic you dont need superpowers to understand. It brings to life the excitement of this fascinating subject, for an audience including young people at school post16 and the general public with an interest in modern physics. An accesible version of einsteins masterpiece of theory, written by th. General relativity gr, also known as the general theory of relativity gtr, is the geometric theory of gravitation published by albert einstein in 1915 and the current description of gravitation in modern physics. Sartori covers general relativity and cosmology, but focuses on einsteins theory.
This 4dimensional space is referred to as the spacetime continuum. Einsteins theories shocked the world with their counterintuitive results, including the dissolution of absolute time. Buy understanding einsteins theories of relativity. This was the first book on relativity theory, written in a burst of youthful enthusiasm by the twenty year old pauli. Laymen, too, are fascinated by relativity theory, which overturned the classical order of newtonian physics and postulated ideas the style is very clear and concise, and the treatment is. There are a great number of really excellent books on relativity, but no particular book is good for everyone.
David mermin asserts that relativity ought to be an important part of everyones educationafter all, it is largely about time, a subject with which all are familiar. Ive also devoted a lot of time to the study of relativity, in all its mathematical splendor, and believe ive reached a level of a competent 1st year physics grad student. Rindlers book is the absolute complete compendium on special relativity. The main characters of this science, non fiction story are. Intended for nonscientific readers with a knowledge of high school math, the book offers illuminating coverage of such topics as the speed of light, simultaneity, time distortion of space and mass, journeys to the stars, dimension and hyperspace, the theory of general relativity, anomalies in space, and the structure and evolution of the universe. The special theory of relativity was set forth by einstein in his 1905 paper on the electrodynamics of moving bodies. Einsteins theories relativity gravitation abebooks. The most famous work of einsteins life also dates from 1905 a busy year for him, when he applied the ideas of his relativity paper to come up with the equation emc2 that represents the relationship between mass m and energy e in a nutshell, einstein found that as an object approached the speed of light, c, the mass of the object increased. Relativity remains a topic of crucial interest for scientists grappling with its implications for physics, astronomy, cosmology and other disciplines. A fun way of understanding einsteins general theory of. No mathamatics if you read brief history of timebht by stephen hawking, i think you will not be satisfied because some topics you wont be able to understand and you will be confused.
Nonspecialists with no prior knowledge of physics and only reasonable proficiency with algebra can now understand einsteins special theory of relativity. The film is an attempt to explain albert einsteins special theory of relativity with a simpler visual. It applies to the cosmological and astrophysical realm, including astronomy. Excerpt from preface the obstacles which the layman finds to understanding einsteins relativity theories lie not so much in the inherent difficulty of these theories themselves as in the difficulty of preparing the mind for their. There are a lot of books out there that try to help nonscientists understand einsteins theories of relativity, and ive read a bunch of them. The special theory of relativity from stanford university. The new book by jeffrey bennett introduces einstein s theory of relativity to a lay audience, explaining why black holes dont suck and other phenomena. An accesible version of einsteins masterpiece of theory, written by the genius himself according to einstein himself, this book is intended to give an exact insight into the theory of relativity to those readers who, from a general scientific and philosophical point of view, are interested in the theory, but who are not conversant with the mathematical apparatus of. In this book he brings a simplified form of his profound understanding of the subject to the layperson. For 100 years, the general theory of relativity has been a pillar of modern physics. As the author clearly states, this in not a book that can be read like a novel. Einsteins theory of general relativity predicted that the spacetime around earth would be not only warped but also twisted by the planets rotation. Special relativity applies to all physical phenomena in the absence of gravity. 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.
Laymen, too, are fascinated by relativity theory, which overturned the classical order of newtonian physics and postulated ideas about space and time that often seem to contradict common sense. The book is also logically organized to facilitate understanding of the sequence of phenomena and research that guided einstein. Our goal will be to go behind the mythmaking and beyond the popularized presentations of relativity in order to gain a deeper understanding of both einstein the person and. Frenchs book is very good, even though it isnt brand new. In this work einstein intended, as far as possible, to give an exact insight into the theory of relativity to those readers who, from a general and scientific philosophical point of view, are interested in the theory, but who are not conversant with the mathematical apparatus of. The reader is assumed to have but little mathematical knowledge. Buy einsteins theory of relativity dover books on physics book online at best prices in india on. Simple relativity is a 2d short educational animation film. Its now been converted to adobes portable document format.
Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. General relativity generalizes special relativity and refines newtons law of universal gravitation, providing a unified description of gravity as a geometric property of space and. About the book nonspecialists with no prior knowledge of physics and only reasonable proficiency with algebra can now understand einsteins special theory of relativity. I clearly see the strength of this book in lucid, selfcontained, lively, downtoearth, and meticulous presentation. It is a great book and written by a world class scholar.
In this course we will seek to understand einstein, especially focusing on the special theory of relativity that albert einstein, as a twentysix year old patent clerk, introduced in his miracle year of 1905. Geometry and cosmology, the fundamental laws of classical mechanics, the newtonian worldsystem, the fundamental laws of optics, the fundamental laws of electrodynamics and einsteins special principle of relativity. The book was published in multiple languages including english, consists of pages and is available in paperback format. The present book is intended, as far as possible, to give an exact insight into the theory of relativity to those readers who, from a general scientific and philosophical point of view, are interested in the theory, but who are not conversant with the mathematical apparatus of theoretical physics. So, instead of reading that you should read later ver. Effectively diagrammed and with an emphasis on logical structure, leo sartoris rigorous but simple presentation will guide interested readers through concepts of relative time. An object remains in uniform motion unless acted on. The special and the general theorya clear explanation. The universe can be viewed as having three space dimensions updown, leftright, forwardbackward and one time dimension. The phase velocity of matter waves is always greater than c, which opposes the principle of special theory of relativity 5,45 46 474849505152. In this course we will seek to understand einstein, especially focusing on the special theory of relativity that albert einstein, as a twentysix year old. Albert einstein 5 preface december, 1916 the present book is intended, as far as possible, to give an exact insight into the theory of relativity to those readers who, from a. Einsteins relativity theory was presented as a principled, rather than a constructive, theory.
Albert einstein s theory of relativity is the basis for our understanding of the universe, but if you still arent quite sure how it works, this video does an excellent job of explaining. Einstein s theory of special relativity created a fundamental link between space and time. To be honest i imagine that selflearning relativity to be quite difficult. Understanding einsteins relativity is based on mermins lectures to nonscience majors at cornell university, which the author has been giving intermittently for the past 30 years. 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. What are the best books to understand theory of relativity. An accesible version of einstein s masterpiece of theory, written by the genius himself according to einstein himself, this book is intended to give an exact insight into the theory of relativity to those readers who, from a general scientific and philosophical point of view, are interested in the theory, but who are not conversant with the mathematical apparatus of. A principled theory is one that begins with principles and then uses these principles to explain the phenomena. Albert einstein, in his theory of special relativity, determined that the laws of physics are the same for all nonaccelerating observers, and he showed that the speed of light within a vacuum is the same no matter the speed at which an observer travels. This book provides a lively and visual introduction to einsteins theory of relativity. Relativity remains a topic of crucial interest for scientists grappling with its implications for physics, astronomy, cosmology, and other disciplines.
Einstein realized that massive things like earth warp spacetime. The special and the general theory began as a short paper and was eventually published as a book written by albert einstein with the aim of giving. Occasional black and white illustrations throughout. As a result, he found that space and time were interwoven.
Unfortunately, in the case of this book dover let me down. N david mermin this readable and complete exposition of the nature of time as addressed in einsteins special theory of relativity is accessible to readers without training in the sciences. Clear, concise exposition of both the special and general theories of relativity, intended for nonscientific readers with a knowledge of high school math. General relativity explains the law of gravitation and its relation to other forces of nature.
The basic idea is so elegant that you dont need superpowers to understand it. Einsteins theory fits in an unusual place for introductory books on the topic. Topics include simultaneity, time dilation, length contraction, the possibility of travel to a distant star, noneuclidean geometries, black holes, and the structure of the universe. Albert einstein determined that massive objects cause a distortion in spacetime, which is felt as gravity. Here is a book which is quirky but which will be valuable to some. Understanding relativity by leo sartori seeks to provide an introduction to einsteins theory. Woodhouse gives the best clear path to the full theory of general relativity.
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