Now anyone can grasp Einstein's great theory of relativity -- without formal training, unlimited time, or a genius IQ. In Relativity Demystified, theoretical physicists (and student-savvy authors) David McMahon and Paul Ansing provide an effective, illuminating, and entertaining way to learn the essentials and formulas of Einstein's theories. With Relativity Demystified, you master the subject one step at a time-at your own speed. This unique self-teaching guide offers problems at the end of each chapter and part to pinpoint weaknesses, and a 100-question final exam to reinforce the entire book.
The two towering achievements of modern physics are quantum theory and Einstein's general theory of relativity. Together, they explain virtually everything about the world we live in. But, almost a century after their advent, most people haven't the slightest clue what either is about. Did you know that there's so much empty space inside matter that the entire human race could be squeezed into the volume of a sugar cube? Or that you grow old more quickly on the top floor of a building than on the ground floor? And did you realize that 1% of the static on a TV tuned between stations is the relic of the Big Bang? These and many other remarkable facts about the world are direct consequences of quantum physics and relativity. Quantum theory has literally made the modern world possible. Not only has it given us lasers, computers and nuclear reactors but it has provided an explanation of why the sun shines and why the ground beneath our feet is solid. Despite this, however, quantum theory and relativity remain a patchwork of fragmented ideas, vaguely understood at best and often utterly mysterious. They have even gained a reputation of being beyond the understanding of the average person. Author Marcus Chown emphatically disagrees. As Einstein himself said, "Most of the fundamental ideas of science are essentially simple and may, as a rule, be expressed in a language comprehensible to everyone."
If you think that the marvels of modern physics have passed you by, it is not too late. In Chown’s capable hands, quantum physics and relativity are not only painless but downright fun. So sit back, relax, and get comfortable as an adept and experienced science communicator brings you quickly up to speed on some of the greatest ideas in the history of human thought.
Einstein's general theory of relativity is introduced in this advanced undergraduate and beginning graduate level textbook. Topics include special relativity in the formalism of Minkowski's four-dimensional space-time, the principle of equivalence, Riemannian geometry and tensor analysis, Einstein's field equation and cosmology. The author presents the subject from the very beginning with an emphasis on physical examples and simple applications without the full tensor apparatus.
General Relativity and Gravitation. Vol.1-2 by A. Held (ed.)
These volumes offer a number of articles dealing with quantization and general relativity. Within this field there are several approaches. The oldest of these uses the canonical approach to relativity, a topic to which a large portion of Volume 1 is devoted. In addition to the article on quantization, other problems that are discussed using this formalism are the Cauchy problem, the positive mass conjecture, and the Hamiltonian structure of space-time. The necessary background is covered in an extensive review article.
Volume 1 also contains several articles expounding the gauge theory and the supergravity outlook. The more exotic approach through the use of twistors is described in Volume 2.
1) Sidelights on Relativity
2) Relativity--The Special and General Theory by Albert Einstein
Two influential essays: Ether and Relativity (1920) discusses properties demanded of the ether of space by the theory of relativity; Geometry and Experience (1921) describes the limits within which the Euclidean or any other practical geometric system can be held to be approximately true in connection with the concept of a finite universe.
