If one wishes to go beyond superficial discussions of the physical relations involved, one needs to set up precise equations for handling curved space. Whenever i visited chennai, i went to old book shops at moore market, on one such occasion, i got one book on relativity theory published at moscow, russia. The best part of this book is hearing einsteins writing on the subjects of relativity, the nature of science, and the issues of integrating general relativity with quantum theory. 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. 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. I consider this book as one of the greatest treasures resting with other books on my bookcase. This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. 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. Made relatively simple written for those who want to understand relativity but cant quite grasp the concepts. The reader is assumed to have but little mathematical knowledge. Relativtheorie used in 1906 by planck, who emphasized how the theory uses the principle of relativity. Since the publication of einsteins special theory of relativity in 1905, the discovery of such astronomical phenomena as quasars, pulsars, and black holes all intimately connected to relativity has provoked a tremendous upsurge of interest in the subject.
The theory of relativity is explained in layman terms with not a single mathematical formula included. 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. A physicist with a serious interest in and knowledge of aristotelianthomistic philosophy, he has posted a detailed and thoughtful critique of this. Special relativity simple english wikipedia, the free. The answer is that newtons theory violates special relativity, for it requires an unspecified action at a distance through which any two objectssuch as the. Einstein explained that when two objects are moving at a constant speed as the relative motion between the two. Buy einsteins theory of relativity dover books on physics.
It applies to the cosmological and astrophysical realm, including astronomy. Albert einstein is the most popular physicist, as he formulated the theory of relativity, which gave the energy mass equivalence formula and is directly related to time dilation. The special and the general theory by albert einstein. As soon as you accelerate or curve or do anything that changes the nature of the motion in any way special relativity ceases to apply. The information in this book covers all of the basic tools necessary to understand the einsteins theory of relativity. Gardner offers lucid explanations of not only the special and general theories of relativity, but of the michelsonmorley experiment, gravity and spacetime, machs principle, the twin. The theory transformed theoretical physics and astronomy during the 20th century, superseding a 200yearold theor. Unfortunately, in the case of this book dover let me down.
The first part, comprising seventeen chapters, is on the special theory of relativity. Four science board books for babies baby university board book sets. Books similar to albert einstein and the theory of relativity albert einstein and the theory of relativity. This book gives the reader a look into the tough life of a teen living on the street, and its quite easy to get swept up in the commotions of dylans life. Introduction to the relationship between matter, energy, space, time, gravity, speed of light, and curved space. Time dilation einsteins theory of relativity explained. Luck seems to favour me, on another occasion, i found same version of the book translated in my mother tongue and published by the. Relative to the books above, gardners book gives the best history of the developments leading up to the theory of relativity. Einsteins general theory of relativity requires a curved space for the description of the physical world. Special relativity applies to minkowski space, or flat spacetime phenomena which are not influenced by gravitation einstein knew that some weaknesses had been. Since the publication of einsteins special theory of relativity in 1905, the discovery of such astronomical phenomena as quasars, pulsars, and black holesall intimately connected to relativityhas provoked a tremendous upsurge of interest in the subject. The motion it explains is only if youre traveling in a straight line at a constant speed.
Eiensteins theory of relativity made relatively simple. Written for those who want to understand relativity but cant quite grasp the concept. There are only so many instances when the adjective horrifying can be used in a good and positive manner. In 1905, albert einstein determined that the laws of physics are the same for all nonaccelerating observers, and that the speed of light in a vacuum was independent of the motion of all observers. Now a straight line takes me from the roof to the ground.
The term theory of relativity was coined by max planck in 1908 to emphasize how special relativity and later, general relativity uses the principle of relativity. Theory of relativity, theories of science, books barnes. 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. What are the best reference books or textbooks about. An object remains in uniform motion unless acted on by a force. What are the best reference books or textbooks about general. Thinking outside the box youve heard all the fancy terms like einsteins theory of relativity, matter, mass, energy, speed of light, time, dimension, gravity, black hole, quantum mechanics, string theory, the big bang, the creation of the universe, the expanding universe, time travel. Jul 28, 2010 the term theory of relativity was coined by max planck in 1908 to emphasize how special relativity and later, general relativity uses the principle of relativity.
The author does an incredible job of simply explaining eisenstein special theory of relativity for the average person. My first contact with gr was with sean carrolls spacetime and geometry i really like. I was studying with the help of a book that had been gnawed at the. Essentials of physics explained by its most brilliant teacher richard p. Aug 07, 2003 theories of relativity, in my opinion, was a horrifying eyeopener. General relativity explains the law of gravitation and its relation to other forces of nature. Their work has uncovered a number of the universes more surprising secrets, and many believe further wonders remain hidden. The new book by jeffrey bennett introduces einsteins theory of relativity to a lay audience, explaining why black holes dont suck and other phenomena. List of books and articles about theory of relativity. For those of you who already hnow the basics, i introduce new ideas about quantum time, relative mass, and a time component to mass and.
Gravitation by charles misner, kip thorne, and john wheeler, is pretty much the authoritative reference on general relativity to the extent that one exists. This was the first book on relativity theory, written in a burst of youthful enthusiasm by the twenty year old pauli. This volume, a revised version of martin gardners earlier relativity for the million, brings this fascinating topic up to date. When the theory of relativity appeared in the early 1900s, it upended centuries of science and gave physicists a new understanding of space and time. Einsteins theory of gravitation as curved spacetime. Hi everyone, today we explain einsteins famous theory of relativity. Special relativity applies to minkowski space, or flat spacetime phenomena which are not influenced by gravitation. Comprehensive coverage of the special theory frames of reference, lorentz transformation, relativistic mechanics of mass points, more, the general theory principle of equivalence, riemannchristoffel curvature tensor, more and the unified theory weyls gaugeinvariant geometry, kaluzas fivedimensional theory and projective field theories, more.
Buy understanding einsteins theories of relativity. Special relativity or the special theory of relativity is a theory in physics that was developed and explained by albert einstein in 1905. Needless to say, it is of purely historical interest today. Albert einsteins theory of relativity explained simply by. So, while still working at the patent office in 1907, einstein had what he would call his. Max born is a nobel laureate 1955 and one of the worlds great physicists. More math and complexity comes in the later stages of the book introducing the general theory of relativity and may be hard to grasp even with a basic. Yet there are now many other texts that discuss these subjects with much more clarity and much more depth, and have many more years of thought and experiment. Relativity simply explained dover classics of science. Albert einstein determined that massive objects cause a distortion in spacetime, which is felt as gravity.
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. He was one of the most advanced scientific minds of his day, and he made many contributions to physical science study. For the graduate textbook by robert wald, see general relativity book. I had two semesters of college calculus and, believe me, i would otherwise have. And its the logic behind einsteins famous equation that e mc2. Apr 22, 2014 the new book by jeffrey bennett introduces einsteins theory of relativity to a lay audience, explaining why black holes dont suck and other phenomena. For 100 years, the general theory of relativity has been a pillar of modern physics. Its now been converted to adobes portable document format. Albert einstein is famous for his theory of relativity, and gps navigation and nuclear energy would be impossible without the equation emc2. Their work has uncovered a number of the universes more surprising secrets, and many believe further wonders remain hidden within the theory s tangle of equations, waiting to be exposed. A superquick, superpainless guide to the theory that conquered the universe.
Thus was i led to defend presentism in the book which requires, among other things, arguing that the presentist view of time has not been refuted by relativity theory. The story of general relativity, and what makes something a science. The definitions of words related to the theory can be useful when reading other texts on the topic. Einstein expanded the special theory of relativity into a general theory completed c.
Because isaac newtons law of gravity served so well in explaining the behaviour of the solar system, the question arises why it was necessary to develop a new theory of gravity. Introduction to the theory of relativity peter gabriel. Relativity simply explained free books epub truepdf azw3 pdf. The earth as a moving car everyone knows that a person may be sitting in any kind of a vehicle without noticing its progress, so long as the movement does not vary in direction or speed. The basic idea is so elegant that you dont need superpowers to understand it. The theory of relativity is based on previously known scientific studies plus insights penned by albert einstein. As einstein later said, the reason for the development of general relativity was the preference of inertial motion within special relativity, while a theory which from the outset prefers no particular state of motion appeared more satisfactory to him. This book provided the first complete description of his general theory of relativity.
These alone are reasons enough for everyone to embark on a journey of learning about this theory. The theory of relativity usually encompasses two interrelated theories by albert einstein. One of the clearest, most entertaining introductions to the subject ever written offers lucid explanations of not only the special and general theories of relativity, but also of the michelsonmorley experiment, gravity, and spacetime, machs principle, the twin paradox, models of the universe and other topics. The term theory of relativity was based on the expression relative theory german. In the discussion section of the same paper, alfred bucherer used for the first time the expression theory of relativity german. 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. Thats where einsteins general theory of relativity comes in. But ethan gave the vagueness of her life definition. Time dilation einsteins theory of relativity explained time dilation einsteins theory of relativity explained time dilation and einsteins theory of relativity go hand in hand. Relativity is a book all about the different relationships within a family. Einsteins theory of general relativity predicted that the spacetime around earth would be not only warped but also twisted by the planets rotation. Its great if you want to see how einstein explained it, but it is generally not a good introduction. Physicists have been exploring, debating, and questioning the general theory of relativity ever since albert einstein first presented itin 1915.
General relativity explained like youve never seen before. The late late show with james corden recommended for you. An object remains in uniform motion unless acted on. In einsteins theory of relativity, time dilation describes a difference of elapsed time between two events, as measured by observers that are either moving relative to each other, or differently, depending on their proximity to a gravitational mass. The general theory is principally concerned with the largescale effects of gravitation and therefore is an essential ingredient in theories of the. Creation of general relativity early investigations.
A book in which one great mind explains the work of another great mind in terms comprehensible to the layman is a significant achievement. What is very fascinating is the comparison of this theory against newtonian and euclidean laws. The completed formulation of the general theory of relativity was published in 1916 fig. Relativity simply explained by martin gardner goodreads. The beautiful simplicity and weird time sags of einsteins 100yearold masterpiece. This book, which has been reprinted continuously in every major language in the world, contains an accessible description of the two theories of relativity. Dec 01, 2010 the first chapters of the book on the general theory of relativity are easy to approach even for those with no background in physics, featuring only little math and easy to relate to examples. It discusses many aspects and applications of the theory in far more mathematical and logical detail than any other book ive seen. After reading your simplest format sacretic method of relativity theory, i gave a lecture to my calculus students with printed notes of your documents you gave me permission to print by comparing stephen howking theory of black holes, einsteins theory of relativity, and the movie interstellar. For a more accessible and less technical introduction to this topic, see introduction to general relativity.
I hope that no one will ask me what was this book about. Books similar to albert einstein and the theory of relativity. Here is a book which is quirky but which will be valuable to some. It applies to all physical phenomena, so long as gravitation is not significant. The special and the general theorya clear explanation. The theory of relativity can even be used to explain why gps works or why gold is yellow and doesnt rust. The first chapters of the book on the general theory of relativity are easy to. The first chapters of the book on the general theory of relativity are easy to approach even for those with no background in physics, featuring only little math and easy to relate to examples. Witty, perceptive, and easily accessible to the general reader, it is one of the clearest and most entertaining introductions to relativity ever written. Apr, 2018 when the theory of relativity appeared in the early 1900s, it upended centuries of science and gave physicists a new understanding of space and time. Gibilisco could do a better job of explaining the relativity of simultaneity among objects. Special relativity applies to all physical phenomena in the absence of gravity. Einsteins theory of relativity dover books on physics.
It introduced a new framework for all of physics and proposed new concepts of space and time. Even though it hardly make use of mathematics, it succeeds in explaining the reasons led to the special and general theory of relativity by following a purely physical way of reasoning. Basically, it states that the faster we go, the more the time is affected. Einsteins theory of relativity made relatively simple.
1177 113 286 353 542 864 1458 541 1021 765 1131 1408 1368 855 583 820 1355 1478 1011 81 1313 1164 672 989 472 313 192 322 1020 572 462 428 413 756 90 942 503 599 382 521 830 406 1242 1326 725 788 58 343 402 839