Book Description
SIX IDEAS THAT SHAPED PHYSICS is the 21st century's alternative to traditional, encyclopedic textbooks. Thomas Moore designed SIX IDEAS to teach students: --to apply basic physical principles to realistic situations --to solve realistic problems --to resolve contradictions between their preconceptions and the laws of physics --to organize the ideas of physics into an integrated hierarchy
Customer Reviews:
Very Good Book.......2004-05-20
This is a very good intro to special relativity. The author uses spacetime diagrams very skillfuly and explains even confusing topics very clearly. Overall, a very good book.
Key to a solid understanding of relativity.......2004-01-01
After finishing the first half of an advanced first year physics class, I was hopelessly confused with the subject of relativity as it had been presented by my teacher and by my text book. A few months later, I borrowed this book from my father and read it in about a week. When I was done with the book, I was amazed that I had ever been confused with such a simple and beautiful subject as relativity.
The author skillfully anticipates many possible misconceptions and clearly explains the correct principles. The book at times can be tedious, but only when reinforcement of fundamental ideas is necessary.
I've never read a physics book as good as this one.
Average customer rating:
- A qualified recommendation
- Still The Best
- Worthwhile Read
- Readable, for the Science-Minded
- Not as good as the real thing
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Relativity: The Special and the General Theory
Albert Einstein
Manufacturer: Three Rivers Press
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ASIN: 0517884410
Release Date: 1995-06-06 |
Amazon.com
How better to learn the Special Theory of Relativity and the General Theory of Relativity than directly from their creator, Albert Einstein himself? In Relativity: The Special and the General Theory, Einstein describes the theories that made him famous, illuminating his case with numerous examples and a smattering of math (nothing more complex than high-school algebra). Einstein's book is not casual reading, but for those who appreciate his work without diving into the arcana of theoretical physics, Relativity will prove a stimulating read.
Book Description
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.
Customer Reviews:
A qualified recommendation.......2007-09-18
As at least one reviewer has noted there are several editions of this book. (This exact edition is also available in paperback.) Definitely get this one (or another 15th edition) because it is the 1952, fifteenth edition, which is the last one that Einstein prepared and is the one that contains all five of his appendices. My local bookstore has several editions put out by different publishers. Side by side were two, one was a 1916, third edition, that contained only three appendices and the other was the complete 1952, fifteenth edition, which actually cost a dollar LESS than the incomplete version. The 1916 version is in public domain, so the publisher does not have to pay anything to the Einstein estate. Thus, the publisher makes more money from purchasers who are not savvy enough to realize that they are getting an inferior edition for the same or even a higher price than a complete one. Caveat emptor.
The four stars do not in any way refer to my view of Einstein or his work. Were they the basis of the review I would have given it five stars. I am qualifying my recommendation because I believe that only some readers will find the book to be suitable for their needs. Thus, I am giving it only four stars because this book is too elementary for someone studying relativity in a graduate course but too complex for someone with little or no physics background. Thus, the readership is somewhat limited.
Pros:
1) This book is Einstein's classic presentation of his special and general theories of relativity, prepared for a general audience. As such, it has interesting historical value as well as being illuminating for some readers. The fifteenth edition contains all of Einstein's corrections and all of his appendices.
2) A reasonably good presentation of the special theory.
3) Good for someone with a physics background (engineers, physicists at the BS or MS level, chemists, etc.) It is, however, too elementary for someone studying relativity at a graduate level. For them, it is primarily useful as a historical document. They would probably get more from Einstein's papers than from this book, which was written for the general public.
Cons:
1) The bulk of this book was written in 1916, in German, and then translated into English. As such, it is somewhat convoluted in places and generally has the typical flavor of 19th century prose.
2) I feel that while the special theory is presented in a reasonably straightforward manner the general theory is not. Einstein uses a little math here, but it is insufficient for a physicist and is probably incomprehensible for someone with little or no math or physics background. I believe that Martin Gardner's book "Relativity Simply Explained" is a better choice for someone with little or no science background. It does a very much better job of explaining the general theory for a general audience.
3) While Einstein explains how the basic assumptions of his theories differ from those of classical physics, these differences are not, in my opinion, highlighted sufficiently. I recommend Isaacson's recent biography of Einstein for those who wants these differences more clearly delineated. Isaacson clearly shows why Einstein's theories were so radical a departure from those of Newton.
All in all, this is a good book for the right audience.
Still The Best.......2007-08-11
After reading books by Hawking, Kaku, Greene, and others on the topic, none are more lucid as Einstein himself in describing relativity to the non-physicist.
Worthwhile Read.......2007-07-12
This is a very short book and is quick reading. I have read other books with better explainations of relativity. I didn't like the writing style -- it was translated by an Englishman in the early 20th century so the sentence structure doesn't flow like normal reading.
Readable, for the Science-Minded.......2007-06-05
This is a good, concise exposition of general and special relativity from the man who wrote the book. However, it will be above the heads of some... If you're interested in reading this book, I'd suggest looking for it in the library to see if it's really the book for you. Or even browse the text in a bookstore before you buy. If you think you'll need a course in Calculus, find a review of the theories that you can follow.
Not as good as the real thing.......2007-05-23
Having owned a 1968 paperback reprint of the genuine, 1954, Methuen, London, 15th edition publication, for many years, I was extremely disappointed to receive this Penguin out-of-copyright-rip-off replacement for my original (now falling apart) paperback copy. The vitally important (1956) fifth appendix is missing, as is the earlier 4th appendix. The reason for this is obvious. Penguin have merely re-published that part of the real thing which is now already more than 70 years old, and, therefore, out of copyright.
Even the quality of the employed paper is at, or below, newspaper standard. I now know why the Amazon price seemed cheap. As Einstein's definitive final word on this subject, this particular excuse for Einstein's popular exposition is, IMO, not even worth the paper it is written on.
Book Description
From the Commentary by Robert Geroch (The corresponding section of Einstein's text can be found below the comment. Please note that in the book, the Commentary is placed after the complete text of Relativity.)
Section 17. Space-Time
Minkowski's viewpoint represents a "geometrization" of relativity. These ideas have, over the years, come to the forefront: They reflect the perspective of the majority of physicists working in relativity today. Let us expand on this viewpoint. The fundamental notion is that of an event, which we think of as a physical occurrence having negligibly small extension in both space and time. That is, an event is "small and quick," such as the explosion of a firecracker or the snapping of your fingers. Now consider the collection of all possible events in the universe—all events that have ever happened, all that are happening now, and all that will ever happen; here and elsewhere. This collection is called space-time. It is the arena in which physics takes place in relativity. The idea is to recast all statements about goings-on in the physical world into geometrical structures within this space-time. In a similar vein, you might begin the study of plane geometry by introducing the notion of a point (analogous to an event) and assembling all possible points into the plane (analogous to space-time). This plane is the arena for plane geometry, and each statement that is part of plane geometry is to be cast as geometrical structure within this plane. This space-time is a once-and-for-all picture of the entire physical world. Nothing "happens" there; things just "are." A physical particle, for example, is described in the language of space-time by giving the locus of all events that occur "right at the particle." The result is a certain curve, or path, in space-time called the world-line of the particle. Don't think of the particle as "traversing" its world-line in the same sense that a train traverses its tracks. Rather, the world-line represents, once and for all, the entire life history of the particle, from its birth to its death. The collision of two particles, for example, would be represented geometrically by the intersection of their world-lines. The point of intersection—a point common to both curves; an event that is "right at" both particles—represents the event of their collision. In a similar way, more complicated physical goings-on—an experiment in particle physics, for example, or a football game—are incorporated into the fabric of space-time. One example of "physical goings-on" is the reference frame that Einstein uses in his discussion of special relativity. How is this incorporated into space-time? The individuals within a particular reference frame assign four numbers, labeled x, y, z, t, to each event in space-time. The first three give the spatial location of the event according to these observers, the last the time of the event. These numbers completely and uniquely characterize the event. In geometrical terms, a frame of reference gives rise to a coordinate system on space-time. In a similar vein, in plane geometry a coordinate system assigns two numbers, x and y, to each point of the plane. These numbers completely and uniquely characterize that point. The statement "the plane is two-dimensional" means nothing more and nothing less than that precisely two numbers are required to locate each point in the plane. Similarly, "space-time is four-dimensional" means nothing more and nothing less than that precisely four numbers are required to locate each event in space-time. That is all there is to it! You now understand "four-dimensional space-time" as well as any physicist. Note that the introduction of four-dimensional space-time does not say that space and time are "equivalent" or "indistinguishable." Clearly, space and time are subjectively different entities. But a rather subtle mixing of them occurs in special relativity, making it convenient to introduce this single entity, space-time. In plane geometry, we may change coordinates, i.e., relabel the points. It is the same plane described in a different way (in that a given point is now represented by different numbers), just as the land represented by a map stays the same whether you use latitude/longitude or GPS coordinates. We can now determine formulae expressing the new coordinate-values for each point of the plane in terms of the old coordinate-values. Similarly, we may change coordinates in space-time, i.e., change the reference frame therein. And, again, we can determine formulae relating the new coordinate-values for each space-time event to the old coordinate-values for that event. This, from Minkowski's geometrical viewpoint, is the substance of the Lorentz-transformation formulae in Section 11. A significant advantage of Minkowski's viewpoint is that it is particularly well-adapted also to the general theory of relativity. We shall return to this geometrical viewpoint in our discussion of Section 27.
Download Description
"""It is remarkable that Einstein should have produced such an account for the lay public so soon after his general theory was completed. This view has now superbly survived the tests of time.... In this new edition we are fortunate in having the advantage of an excellent exposition of Einstein's foundational ideas on relativity from a more modern perspective in Robert Geroch's commentary.""
¿From the Introduction by Roger Penrose, author of The Emperor's New Mind and The Road To Reality.
""One good way to get a feeling for what relativity theory is all about is to read, in these pages, what the originator of the subject had to say. I have provided comments, attached to various sections of Einstein's book. The key to understanding relativity is to think about it for yourself.""
¿From the Commentary by Robert Geroch, Professor of Physics, University of Chicago.
""Relativity was a highly technical new theory that gave new meanings to familiar concepts and even to the nature of theory itself. The general public looked upon relativity as indicative of the seemingly incomprehensible modern era, educated non-scientists despaired of ever understanding what Einstein had done, and political ideologues used the new theory to exploit public fears and anxieties¿all of which opened a rift between science and the broader culture that continues to expand today.""
¿From the Historical Essay by David C. Cassidy, author of J. Robert Oppenheimer and the American Century, and Einstein and Our World.
""All religions, arts and sciences are branches of the same tree. All these aspirations are directed toward ennobling man's life, lifting it from the sphere of mere physical existence and leading the individual toward freedom.""
¿Albert Einstein
"
Customer Reviews:
Quite elevated language.......2006-03-09
It very difficult to critisize the man himself, but after all he was not a writer per se and was used to discussing relativity with other physicists. I can follow him. But thats only because I have read other books which make the subject much easier. Acually this was my first book on relativity which I bought years ago and threw it down in frustration. Then, recently I tried again with "Relativity Visualized" by L C Epstein. Now, finnaly I get it. It took a lot of intense concentration and re-reading, but I got it. And when it hit me my jaw dropped and all I could say was "WOW!" Of course, I lost it the next day and had to go thru it again. That's how difficult relativity is to comprehend and RETAIN. (Retaining it for more than a few minutes can seem as hard as learning it. Special Relativity is very evasive to the mind. And General Relativity is about ten times more difficult. But WHEN YOU GET IT, it's a feeling you never had before. It will change your life.)So I recommend the Epstein book. Lots of great "Thought Experiments" and a bit of neat "unique" (odd) humor, too. Einstein's book should be read, tho. After you've read other books about relativity and understand it at least "generaly" (pardon The Pun)If only to get a sense of the man. I read German quite well and still, I am sure I'd have problems reading the original, but someday I'll give it a shot.
Still not for the layman...............2005-09-15
Is is an awesome thing to be able to read in Einstein's own words his explanation of these ground breaking concepts. It is not an easy read however. His language is elaborate and eloquent, but to a person like me who is trying very hard to make mental images of the concepts, distracting. I read other sources to attempt to clarify my understanding and found sources on the internet to support the book. The expanations in the appendices did not help either; they were not quite at layman's level as well.
Still, it was exciting to read and have a view into the thoughts of the great man.
Book Description
The spectacular success of the book and audio versions of
Six Easy Pieces caused a worldwide clamor for more. The result is these six additional lectures, which the legendary teacher and Nobel physicist Richard P. Feyman gave in the early 1960's to freshman Caltech students. Though slightly more challenging than the first six, these additional lectures are more focused, delving into the most revolutionary discovery in twentieth-century physics: Einstein's Theory of Relativity.
Customer Reviews:
From A Great Teacher.......2004-07-29
Though the title implies it, this book is not really a sequal to the Six Easy Pieces. They can be read seperately. It treats some of the concepts centered around Special and General Relativity that revolutionized physics near the turn of the century. It would be impossible to find another book that can dive so deeply into topics such as symmetry and space-time, while bypassing formalism and exposing the fundemental ideas and signficance in every-day terms. The delivery is in lecture form, and while that makes it more authentic and real, the fact that this is a book and the reader is not really in a lecture, makes it a little awkward. One often gets the feeling that one had to be there to get the full benefit. There is little attempt at explaining the historical context and other niceties and focus is solely on the concepts themselves. One needs to have at least college level math background to follow the derivations. Feynman has done a phenomenal job in reducing such complex concepts into digestable pieces of conversation. There is no abstraction, everything is quantified. I especially enjoyed the chapter Curved Space, as I had never seen it treated so intimately. The self consistency of all these topics and how they are interrelated is elegantly presented.
Great lectures, though a bit out of place.......2004-05-31
Six not so Easy Pieses is a small anthology of six pieces taken from Feynman's great classic, The Feynman Lectures on Physics, which were delivered to Caltech freshman. I would not recommend buying this book unless you have an excellent backround in calculus and how it relates to physics. I have read the first volume of the Lectures, and i will tell you it is nice having this to accompany it, since some of the chapters such as on Relativity merit to be read twice and since the Lectures is so bulky and heavy. There is no way someone can read understand what he's saying without knowing a good amount of math. Its like reading a book in which all the concepts are expressed in Greek. Also, these lectures were given during the middle of course, and he often mentions things which were discussed in previous lectures. The reason it gets a four is because the lectures are great (many great lectures were ommitted though), but it is too short and is out of place. This is NOT a great sequel to Six Easy Lectures, they have practically nothing to do with each other. The perfect sequal to Six Easy Lectures is the whole first volume of the Lectures.
Six More Elegantly Explained Concepts.......2003-04-05
Six Not-So-Easy Pieces is the sequel to the book Six Easy Pieces. The first book is a collection of six of the easier lectures from Feynman's freshman and sophomore physics classes at CalTech. Six Not-So-Easy Pieces are some of the more difficult lectures from those classes. In contrast to the first book, these lessons are much more mathematical. Freshman calculus is definitely a prerequisite to reading this book. Courses in vector calculus and differential equations will help the reader to more completely understand the works, but they are not absolutely necessary. However, without much mathematical knowledge, one can just take Feynman at his word for all the equations, reading mainly the conceptual explanations, but one will invariably miss out on some of the points. For anyone reading the book, Feynman's teaching style is something that can be enjoyed. He explains the concepts in a comprehensive and not-too-difficult manner and seems to have a full understanding of what the student in the lecture hall is thinking. The six topics (chapters) covered in this book are: Vectors, Symmetry in Physical Laws, The Special Theory of Relativity, Relativistic Energy and Motion, Space-Time, and Curved Space. This book is in no way a survey of physics. It is more of a sampling of Feynman's teaching. However, the common thread that runs through the six pieces is that they all relate to understanding relativity. For the layman who has a mathematical background and wants to understand the concept of relativity, this book is an excellent help. I would suggest reading Six Easy Pieces before reading this book, but it is not necessary. If you enjoyed reading the first book, I would highly recommend this one and vice versa.
NOT for the beginner........2002-12-31
If you've got a fair background in beginning Calculus and elementary physics, you may find this book very worthwhile. I wouldn't know.
Don't be fooled, however, by reviewers who claim that Feynman explains things in such a way that even without those basic tools, the book isn't incomprehensible. I've HAD basic calculus, albeit a LONG time ago, and I'm a tad rusty. And I have even less grounding in physics. But I'm far from mathematically illiterate, or incapable. And it isn't true that I got nothing out of my reading of this book; the sixth chapter did, in fact, answer the question that I'd hoped to have answered when I bought it. But by and large, the book was close to impenetrable. Now, clearly, this may well be due to my lack of preparation in the prerequisites for understanding it. But it definitely is NOT the first step in the process of understanding physics, as one reviewer actually called it and others implied. Read "Six Easy Pieces" first, and brush up on first-year Calculus. THEN consider tackling this book.
An adventure.......2002-03-18
Though I'm not very excellent in Physic,I can understand what he wants to say easily. In the prosses of reading this book, you may find interesting for he never tells you the answer but guids you to find it by yourself. It's just like an adventure. In addition, if you are not satisfied with what you had learned, you can learn Feynman how to explain a thing more clearly and easily to people.
Average customer rating:
- Very well written
- Relativity in the style of Feynman's Lectures
- subtle approach to SR and GR
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Essential Relativity: Special, General, and Cosmological (Theoretical and Mathematical Physics)
W. Rindler
Manufacturer: Springer
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ASIN: 354007970X |
Customer Reviews:
Very well written.......2002-02-16
As a modern textbook in the theory of relativity, this book is rare, in that its goal is to give the reader a conceptual introduction to the theory, and not just mathematical formalism. The author also does not hesitate to include some philosophical argumentation wherever needed. It is written for the advanced undergraduate, and will prepare such a reader for more advanced reading in the subject.
The first chapter of the book is the best, for it is a comprehensive discussion of the origins of the theory of relativity as one that rejected the assertion that space and time were absolute. The author also gives an interesting historical discussion of Lorentz's ether theory, wherein Lorentz hypothesized that bodies moving through the ether undergo a contraction, and he discovered a time transformation that implied that clocks moving through the ether run slow. As the author points out, Lorentz thought such considerations were purely mathematical, and not important physically. In addition, in the section on Mach's principle, the author discusses briefly the work of Dennis Sciama who showed that the 1872 gravitational theory of F. Tisserand included Mach's principle. I was not aware of this work, and it motivated me to do further reading on the subject. The author also gives several examples to show that Mach's principle is not physically vacuous, but has observational consequences.
Chapter two overviews the kinematic consequences of the special theory of relativity. The most interesting part of this discussion was the section on the formulation of special relativity without assuming the invariance of the speed of light. The author shows that the principle of relativity implies that either all inertial frames are related by Galilean transformations, or all are related by Lorentz transformations with the same (postive) velocity (squared).
A discussion of optical effects follows in chapter 3. One unexpected and interesting result in this chapter is that a moving sphere has a circular outline to all observers because of length contraction.
Some of the mathematical formalism needed in special relativity is overviewed in chapter four. The class of four-vectors and four-tensors is defined, and the light cone geometry discussed in detail.
The relativistic mechanics of point particles is covered in chapter five. Such a theory is cast in the language of four-vectors, and the author explains nicely the mass-energy equivalence, analyzes scattering from a relativistic standpoint in the center of momentum frame, and shows how Newtonian mechanics is altered in the relativistic realm. He also spends a little time on relativistic continuum mechanics, via the energy tensor of the simplest continua: dust.
The connection between relativity and electrodynamics is outlined in chapter six. The material is standard and found in most books on relativity.
The author begins the study of general relativity in chapter seven with some elementary considerations of the differential geometry of curved surfaces and also Riemannian spaces. The author endeavors, rightfully, to explain the mathematics in a way that is intuitive as possible, rather than hitting the reader with highly abstract formalism.
He then presents the mathematica foundations of general relativity in chapter eight. After a brief review of tensor calculus, the author considers the gravitational field equations in a vacuum, emphasizing their nonlinearity. This is followed by a detailed discussion of the famous Schwarzschild solution. In addition, he considers a particular exact solution of the Einstein field equations in a vacuum, namely a plane-fronted gravitational wave. Although not physical, this solution illustrates some important properties of general gravitational radiation.
The author ends the book with a fairly detailed overview of cosmology. The difficulties in the pre-relativistic cosmology are discussed, one of the more interesting being the consideration of the Newtonian gravitational field inside a cavity resulting from the removal of a finite sphere from a static universe. Recognizing that Poisson's equation does not have a constant solution led to the alteration of the Newtonian potential and thus a modification of the Poisson equation. As the author observes, this move to get a static Newtonian universe is formally the same as what Einstein did via the introduction of the cosmological constant in his field equations (also to get a static universe). The author also considers the Robertson-Walker, Milne, and Friedman universe, and compares these to what is known observationally.
Relativity in the style of Feynman's Lectures.......1998-07-19
This is a wonderful book, very amusing and thought provoking. Without trying to be comprehensive, it sheds much light on the basics of the theory, as well as of the mathematics. His discussion of Mach's principle is brilliant, and ends with a proposal of an experiment to test it with satellites! Very good at computations too, boasting tables for computing the curvature tensor from the metric tensor which are very useful.
subtle approach to SR and GR.......1997-07-15
Although not the most comprehesive text on
the subject (see Thorne's tome, Gravitation),
Essential Relativity is perhaps the most
fulfilling book from which to learn both special and general relativity on a graduate school level.
Flipping through the pages, one cannot help
but notice that it often reads like a novel.
For the student or the adventurous, a wide
variety of problems are found in an appendix.
The author's background in differential geometry
is very evident in his excellent explanations
of difficult concepts.
Book Description
This engaging text takes the reader along the trail of light from Newton's particles to Einstein's relativity. Like the best detective stories, it presents clues and encourages the reader to draw conclusions before the answers are revealed. The first seven chapters cover the behavior of light, Newton's particle theory, waves and an electromagnetic wave theory of light, the photon, and wave-particle duality. Baierlein goes on to develop the special theory of relativity, showing how time dilation and length contraction are consequences of the two simple principles underlying the theory. An extensive chapter derives the equation E = mc2 clearly from first principles and then explores its consequences.
Customer Reviews:
Good book on modern physics for the layman.......2000-04-02
This book is clear and very interesting. It teaches the general idea of light and modern physics. It can be too simplistic at times for technically minded people.
Book Description
The Final Theory presents the first truly comprehensive and viable alternative to mainstream scientific beliefs, showing how a simple overlooked principle in nature finally explains and resolves many of the mysteries and paradoxes in today's science. Expand and liberate your mind with simple, sensible explanations for the most perplexing problems in physics today - without having to be a science scholar. What actually is gravity and how does it operate - is it a force, warped space-time, or something else entirely? Is anti-gravity possible? Is the speed of light truly a limit? Is faster-than-light communication possible? Does light truly have a dual wave-particle nature or has it simply been misunderstood? What does Einstein's E = mc2 equation actually mean? What is the true nature of energy? Are the new additions of "dark matter" and "dark energy" to our science really proper, and do they solve anything or just deepen the mysteries? The new scientific perspective in this easy-to-read book takes the reader through a wealth of compelling answers to the many unresolved questions that still plague mainstream science today.
Customer Reviews:
A Revolutionary and Unifying Theory of Matter!.......2007-08-31
I am astounded that I did not discover this remarkable book sooner. Though I am not really a zealous follower of theoretical science, I have always been fascinated by the possibility that a "theory of everything" might resolve some of the fundamental mysteries of our universe.
For example, although our current theory of gravity is that it is simply one of the four fundamental forces in nature, it is clear that we have little understanding of the physical foundations of gravity; that is why we have all the divergent hypotheses being put forward: gravity waves, gravity particles, warping of space-time, etc. Plus, there is a good argument that the earth's gravity, as is is modeled in Newtonian terms, does in fact do real work in "pulling" objects (though this is rarely openly acknowledged), including the moon, from an otherwise straight-line motion and into a circular orbit; doing this for millions of years with no known energy source to power this work. That concern is often obscured by what seems to me a bogus use of the "work function." Where does the energy come from to divert the moon, or any orbiting object, from its straight-line momentum? And if we go with relativity theory, why do objects in space create a warping of "space-time"? Isn't that just an ad hoc theoretical position to hide the gaps of knowledge without offering any real explanatory value?
This book addresses these and so many other stubborn gaps and contradictions in current theory.
There is much to recommend this book. It provides a unique alternative to today's inadequate jumble of theories. It provides a theory that might well completely unify our understanding of basic physical phenomena. Although it might be argued that to call this theory the "final theory" is premature, and I agree that that is so, the claim is (to my surprise) actually plausible once you reflect carefully the ideas presented.
Of course skepticism is always in order in any aspect of theory construction. But skepticism is a two edged sword. It is just as foolish to "will to believe" the status quo as it is to be a naive true believer of a new theory. Open mindedness does not mean that everything that comes along is plausible. But it does mean that new ideas are considered with sincerity and not dismissed or ridiculed simply because they are startling or because they completely overturn our current understanding. The ideas in The Final Theory are quite revolutionary and startling. But it is not surprising that an idea to make sense of what is now so mysterious would indeed to be revolutionary and startling.
As with any revolutionary new theory this theory will likely be fiercely resisted by many who have invested their careers and reputations in the current array of theoretical approaches. But I believe that there will inevitably be serious consideration of this theory by very qualified scientists. It will take time before we will see much evidence of it, however. Scientists must be very cautious. They have families to support, just as the rest of us. To prematurely voice support for a theory this revolutionary will be a great risk to both aspiring and established scientists. This theory is far more fundamentally revolutionary than the new theories we see every few years in cosmology.
The book is extremely well written. The concepts are carefully explained, often with the aid of helpful diagrams, so that the reader can easily grasp the concepts. I often have trouble with advanced mathematical treatments, but in this book the mathematics is tightly argued but easily comprehended even by the mathematically impaired. The author has put in a considerable effort to help the reader understand every step of the reasoning process and the evidence marshalled to support the theory.
I have commuicated with the author and I am convinced of his complete sincerity and his deep thirst for understanding. He seems to be the kind of person who I most admire for his curiosity, his integrity, and his courgage.
If you are open-minded, yet healthily skeptical, and have a taste for the intrepid and relentless pursuit of truth, I think you will not be disappointed with this book. It is one of the most intriguing books I have ever read.
A Fresh Look At Physics.......2007-08-18
This book offers some stimulating non-mainstream ideas on many subjects in physics that are fun to read and thought provoking. The author also does a great job itemizing the fundamental inadequacies, failures and physical law violations of the standard model of physics. That alone is worth the price of the book.
It is clear a great deal of thought and effort went into writing this book. The author really seems to have put his heart and soul into this work. He goes to great pains trying to explain his ideas in a clear logical fashion.
It is a shame the author did not spend more time working out the details of his core theory of gravity before trying to use it as a jumping off point to try and explain most of the rest of physics. The heart of "The Final Theory" of gravitation contains a logical contradiction that invalidates everything that logically follows. The theory claims that the gravity of a planet or object is directly proportional to its size, not its mass. On page 93, the theory also claims that all objects in our universe double in size every 19 minutes due to universal atomic expansion. Assuming both these claims are true, the earths gravity would have to double every 19 minutes. While we may not be able to percieve the doubling in size due to universal atomic expansion, we could certainly percieve a doubling in gravitational force every 19 minutes.
Instead of relying solely on thought experiments and logic the author could have done a simple physics experiment to validate his theory. One could prove or disprove The Final Theory simply by placing a moderately sensitive (say 0.1 gram) scale measuring a small fixed mass of about 1 Kg in a transparent sealed container. Measure the weight at the base of a tall skyscraper. Then take the elevator to the top floor and measure the weight again. If "The Final Theory" is correct the weight would increase (by about 0.5 gram assuming the skyscraper was 1200 feet tall) due to the increase in distance from the earths center of mass. If Newtons Law of Gravity is correct the weight should decrease by about 1.2 grams over the same height difference due to the inverse square law decrease in gravitational force with increasing distance from the center of the earth.
While this may not be "The Final Theory" of everything, it does offer some fresh and thought provoking ideas. Its refreshing to read fresh ideas from a young mind not overly constrained by better established theories of physics. At least the author tried to explain how and why things work the way they do. He may not have succeeded in the particulars, but I applaud and appreciate his sincere efforts. With a little more formal training in physics he may make a great physicist some day.
A must read.......2007-07-24
There seems to be a lot of debate about whether or not this book provides any sound science. Our science is based upon mental models of the world; if our mental models are incorrect then how sound is our "sound science"? Instead, I would encourage you to not even bother with such a debate. Regardless of whether or not this book provides a truthful view of the world is actually irrelevant. The beauty of this book -- and why it is a must read -- is that it will take you on a mental journey (and challenge your current mental models) like none other. From this perspective, even if you take this book merely as a mental exercise you will thoroughly enjoy it. And, if perhaps, you stick with his arguments and persist to understand them (email the author if necessary; it really helped me) you may find more than what you bargained for. What more could you ask for in a book?
Final Theory - ALMOST final.......2007-07-24
An excellent book - quite articulate and well worth the price for the fresh look at physics.
It gave great solutions to supposed mysteries and weirdness of both Einstein's Relativity and Quantum Mechanics - blew them both out of the water. The answers given made you kind of slap yourself upside the head and say, why couldn't I think of that?
The one caveat: the author left things incomplete in the section of how the universe began AND that of the nature of time itself. It isn't to say that his theory of matter expansion is wrong. I don't believe he thought things through carefully enough with regards especially to the time dimension.
Other than that, it was quite excellent - and I hope Mr McCutcheon does reconsider and re-evaluate the time dimensional concept in his theory.
Theory is worth further review!!!.......2007-07-02
I am not a physicist or a scientist, but I loved this book!!!
I am an educated healthcare professional who seeks a deeper meaning and an understanding of our world and universe. McCutcheon's theory deserves at the very least, some detailed mathmatical investigations (which I would have liked to see in the text of his book!!!) He raises some profound insights into electromagnetism that seem very plausible.
I have been looking for more information about this theory and have instead found mostly blogs bashing him and this theory. Why can't we read some real discussion and analysis of the Geometry and math (particularly with regard to orbital dynamics)?
Read ALL of the book. Form an opinion. Open a dialog about the theory and work some proofs for people to check.
Mark McCutcheon....please rewrite this book and co-write it with a mathematician and something more substantial with which the scientists out there can wrestle.
Book Description
A classic of elementary relativistic pedagogy! This straight- forward book introduces readers to the conceptually tricky subject of relativity in understandable terms. The writing is crisp and clearly written by someone who is aware of the conceptual difficulties that nonscientists have in coming to grips with relativity.
Customer Reviews:
A classic.......2007-06-16
For anyone who wants to understand special relativity, even those who may not be particularly adept at physics or higher math, this is the book. I spent months searching for a clear resolution of the "twin paradox" (aka, "clock paradox") without success. This is the *only* book I've ever found that accomplishes it, no other physics text I could find (and I examined 23 of them at the UCSD S&E library) provided a comprehensible explanation.
This is nothing short of a spectacular piece of work. There is no way to go wrong with this book if you have any interest in the topic at all. I'm confident that even well-experienced professional physicists could find a good many new and useful insights in it. And the best part is, this book is easily accessible by practically anyone having even entry level scientific awareness. It's a genuine classic.
Unquestionably the best intro to Special Relativity I've read.......2006-04-16
And that includes Epstein's "Relativity Visualized" and Wolfson's "Simply Einstein". My impression is that Mermin is truly intelligent and a good teacher. I found some of the other books talked down to me or spent time explaining how Michelson (or was it Morley) was abused as a child instead of sticking to the subject. I intend to buy Mermin's other book on the subject "It's About Time".
I highly recommend this book to anyone who has a reasonably technical mind and wants to get a firm grasp on this subject.
also good for "specialists"-to-be too.......2001-02-08
I'm writing this review based on my impressions of this book when I read it 9 years ago as an undergraduate physics major at Berkeley. We used it in an honors sophmore-level physics class for physics majors. I'm know a physics grad-student at UCSB. I want to dissavow the impression you might have that this is just a light-weight, pop-science book. This book is very axiomatic and it really tries to "prove" relativity to the reader. The beginning chapters will motivate the postulates of special relativity (eg: "the speed of light is the same in all reference-frames"), and you will learn how to DERIVE the Lorentz transformations from them. (...which is the major thrust of the book. On a side note: topics like why E=mc^2 aren't discussed until the end.) This is why we used it in our class. The students taking the regular Berkeley physics class only memorized the Lorentz transformations and plugged them in blindly. I felt we learned a great deal more than they did. I think this book is billed as a descriptive introduction to relativity for non-specialists because it's clear and easy to read (although perhaps a bit verbose), and because doesn't use any fancy math, just basic geometry (right-triangles, the pythagorean theorem). This doesn't mean it should be shuned by specialists-to-be. This was my first introduction to relativity and at the time, I felt completely satisfied with my understanding of the material after reading it.
An Essential Guide to Modern Physics.......2000-02-07
This book was astounding. I had my share of knowledge in physics: Newtonian Mechanics, Electrodynamics and Magnetism, Optics, etc. This book took my preconceived ideas of how the Universe worked and all but threw them out the window.
Mermin's description of why the old physical model is inadequate was very descriptive and informative - even for someone with a highschool physics background. Numerous examples and analogies bring to understanding many difficult and abstract concepts. As for the skeptic . . . well, he deals with them in the later part of the book (I was one of them).
This book reads like a Science Fiction novel. Yet the topics presented could not be more real.
We have Einstein to thank for the Principles and Theories of Special Relativity, and Mermin to thank for communicating them to the general population.
I recommend this book to everybody; physicist or not. You cannot fool youself into thinking you have an understanding of the universe until you read and comprehend the topics covered in this book.
Enjoy!
Great for starters.......2000-01-16
have to thank Dr. Mermin for being able to interpret and discuss such, in a sense, complex matters effectively and efficiently; great for beginners, like myself, to have a philosophical approach. some of the problems presented are, in fact, not easy.
Average customer rating:
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Einstein's Annalen Papers: The Complete Collection 1901 - 1922
Manufacturer: Wiley-VCH
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ASIN: 352740564X |
Book Description
In 1905, Einstein's Annus Mirabilis, Albert Einstein made three discoveries concerning the foundations of nature which form the basis of his fame as a physicist. These revolutionary papers on the light-quantum hypothesis, Brownian motion, and special relativity, were published in the journal "Annalen der Physik". All three are now established as pillars of modern science and its applications in technology and are an indispensable part of the modern world.
This volume presents some of the most significant original papers which Albert Einstein ever wrote. It includes the facsimiles of the three revolutionary papers of 1905. In addition it contains papers which show the consequences of the ground-breaking ideas of these seminal papers from E=mc² to the quantum theory of specific heats. It also features Einstein's first exposition of his new general theory of relativity.
Introducing the original German papers the science historians Jürgen Renn (MPI for the History of Science, Berlin), David C. Cassidy (Hofstra University, Hempstead), Michel Janssen (University of Minnesota), and Robert Rynasiewicz (John Hopkins University) complement and comment the collection with topical articles.
Customer Reviews:
Great!.......2006-07-25
This book was in good condition, and is very easy to follow. Recommended for anyone wanting to learn university level modern physics but not wanting to go cross-eyed or get lost!
A Classic.......2006-06-03
I purchased this classic work at MIT, circa 1972, and have referenced it too times to remember. When I bought it, the book was part of the M.I.T. INTRODUCTORY PHYSICS SERIES. It contains about everything one could wish for on the subject matter. The derived transformations for acceleration and force (i.e. of d(mv)/dt) have been especially useful, and are not often included in other books. It is truly a gem, created by a world class physics instructor at the top of his game. G.R.Dixon.
The only book you need to learn special relativity.......2006-04-30
"Special relativity" is discussed in many classical mechanics, electromagnetism and quantum / modern physics textbooks. You may learn different aspects of this subject from these books.
This book is specifically designed and written for those who want to learn special relativity comprehensively from one single source.
The book starts with the basics of the theories behind special relativity with simple arguments and plain language. In the first 5 chapters, you learn the mechanical fundamentals of special relativity. The examples and end-of-chapter problems are very useful and instructive. Furthermore, the answers to all problems are given in back of the book as well, which enables you to check your answers. Starting from chapter 6, more advanced topics are introduced, like momentum, energy, basic electromagnetism and so forth. Again, the problems should be solved by students in order to gain a thorough comprehension of the subject matter. The diagrams and pictures in the book are also very helpful to understand the concepts.
The bibliography at the end of the book can be used to consult for further discussions, because special relativity has many applications in various areas of physics.
To sum up, this book, all by itself, can be used to learn and understand special relativity very well in a short period of time, because it is concise, simple, effective, pedagogically well-prepared and very suitable for self-study. You do not need any other fancy, expensive book. A.P. French does an excellent job in laying out the principles of special relativity with illustrative examples and problems. It deserves every penny you paid.
comprehensive treatment and historical perspective.......2003-08-22
If you are looking for the fastest way to learn and use special relativity (this is not about general relativity as the previous reviewer says), this is not the best book to use.
After an introductory chapter 1, which quickly previews much of the later material, French systematically analyzes the many observations and contradictions (the Michelson-Morley experiment just one of them), astronomical and laboratory, about the behavior of light that fitted neither an ether-wave model or a particle model. We are thus lead to a deeper appreciation for Einstein's insight and genius in his creation of the special theory of relativity; it was much more than just an extension of the Lorentz-transformations.
French is a master at his subject, and his systematic elucidation will reward the reader with a deep understanding. His problems are very well designed, and he provides answers which is always very helpful in learning.
If you have some time, and would like also to gain historical perspective about what it was like to struggle for a consistent theory in a mass of contradictory observations from the world view of Newtonian mechanics, I highly recommend this book.
Simple introduction to a very complicated subject.......2002-07-17
This book was extremely helpful when I was taking a class on special relativity. The author introduces new concepts and rules in a very logical order, and the examples clearly illustrate the material. The book is written very clearly, especially for such a complicated subject. The problems in the back of every chapter allow you to test yourself and make sure you have grasped the material, since some of them have answers in the back of the book. Overall, a great book to either teach special relativity to yourself, or as a companion for a special relativity class.
Books:
- Small Worlds: The Dynamics of Networks between Order and Randomness (Princeton Studies in Complexity)
- Soft Computing and Intelligent Systems Design: Theory, Tools and Applications
- Spectral Methods: Fundamentals in Single Domains (Scientific Computation)
- Survival Analysis Using SAS: A Practical Guide
- Symplectic Geometry and Quantum Mechanics (Operator Theory: Advances and Applications / Advances in Partial Differential Equations)
- The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, Facilitator's Guide
- The Little SAS Book: A Primer, Third Edition
- The Shape of Space (Pure and Applied Mathematics)
- The Shape of Space (Pure and Applied Mathematics)
- The Singularity Is Near: When Humans Transcend Biology
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Six Ideas That Shaped Physics: Unit C: Conservation Laws Constrain Interactions
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Understanding Physics, Student Solutions Manual
