Relativity: The Special and the General Theory

Relativity: The Special and the General Theory

Relativity: The Special and the General Theory

Relativity: The Special and the General Theory

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Overview

An easy to understand collection of the ideas of one of the greatest scientists of the twentieth century including the idea he is most known for, the theory of relativity

Redesigned inside and out to have a fresh, appealing look, this new edition of a classic Crown Trade Paperback is a collection of Einstein's own popular writings on his work and describes the meaning of his main theories in a way virtually everyone can understand.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781440627125
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
Publication date: 07/25/2006
Series: Penguin Classics Series
Sold by: Penguin Group
Format: eBook
Pages: 208
Sales rank: 626,591
File size: 407 KB
Age Range: 18 Years

About the Author

Albert Einstein (1879–1955), one of the greatest thinkers of the twentieth century, was born in Ulm, Germany, to German-Jewish parents. He published his first great theories in Switzerland in the early 1900s while working as a patent clerk.

Nigel Calder, educated as a physicist at Cambridge University, began his full-time writing career on the original staff of New Scientist magazine. His most recent book is the bestselling Einstein's Universe.

Table of Contents

Relativity
Introduction by Nigel Calder
Suggestions for Further Reading
Preface by Albert Einstein

Part I: The Special Theory of Relativity

1. Physical Meaning of Geometrical Propositions
2. The System of Co-ordinates
3. Space and Time in Classical Mechanics
4. The Galileian System of Co-ordinates
5. The Principle of Relativity (in the Restricted Sense)
6. The Theorem of the Addition of Velocities Employed in Classical Mechanics
7. The Apparent Incompatibility of the Law of Propagation of Light with the Principle of Relativity
8. On the Idea of Time in Physics
9. The Relativity of Simultaneity
10. On the Relativity of the Conception of Distance
11. The Lorentz Transformation
12. The Behaviour of Measuring-Rods and Clocks in Motion
13. Theorem of the Addition of the Velocities. The Experiment of Fizeau
14. The Heuristic Value of the Theory of Relativity
15. General Results of the Theory
16. Experience and the Special Theory of Relativity
17. Minkowski's Four-Dimensional Space

Part II: The General Theory of Relativity

18. Special and General Principle of Relativity
19. The Gravitational Field
20. The Equality of Inertial and Gravitational Mass as an Argument for the General Postulate of Relativity
21. In What Respects Are the Foundations of Classical Mechanics and of the Special Theory of Relativity Unsatisfactory?
22. A Few Inferences from the Genral Principle of Relativity
23. Behaviour of Clocks and Measuring-Rods on a Rotating Body of Reference
24. Euclidean and Non-Euclidean Continuum
25. Gaussian Co-ordinates
26. The Space-Time Continuum of the Special Theory of Relativity Considered as a Euclidean Continuum
27. The Space-Time Continuum of the General Theory of Relativity Is Not a Euclidean Continuum
28. Exact Formulation of the General Principle of Relativity
29. The Solution of the Problem of Gravitation on the Basis of the General Principle of Relativity

Part III: Considerations on the Universe as a Whole

30. Cosmological Difficulties of Newton's Theory
31. The Possibility of a "Finite" and Yet "Unbounded" Universe
32. The Structure of Space According to the General Theory of Relativity

Appendices

1. Simple Derivation of the Lorentz Transformation
2. Minkowski's Four-Dimensional Space ("World")
3. The Experimental Confirmation of the General Theory of Relativity
(a) Motion of the Perihelion of Mercury
(b) Deflection of Light by a Gravitational Field
(c) Displacement of Spectral Lines towards the Red

Index

Introduction

Preface

Preface

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. The work presumes a standard of education corresponding to that of a university matriculation examination, and, despite the shortness of the book, a fair amount of patience and force of will on the part of the reader. The author has spared himself no pains in his endeavour to present the main ideas in the simplest and most intelligible form, and on the whole, in the sequence and connection in which they actually originated. In the interest of clearness, it appeared to me inevitable that I should repeat myself frequently, without paying the slightest attention to the elegance of the presentation. I adhered scrupulously to the precept of that brilliant theoretical physicist, L. Boltzmann, according to whom matters of elegance ought to be left to the tailor and to the cobbler. I make no pretence of having with-held from the reader difficulties which are inherent to the subject. On the other hand, I have purposely treated the empirical physical foundations of the theory in a "step-motherly" fashion, so that readers unfamiliar with physics may not feel like the wanderer who was unable to see the forest for trees. May the book bring some one a few happy hours of suggestive thought!

A. EINSTEIN

December, 1916


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