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 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.
Book Description
Special relativity is one of the high points of the undergraduate mathematical physics syllabus. Nick Woodhouse writes for those approaching the subject with a background in mathematics: he aims to build on their familiarity with the foundational material and the way of thinking taught in first-year mathematics courses, but not to assume an unreasonable degree of prior knowledge of traditional areas of physical applied mathematics, particularly electromagnetic theory. His book provides mathematics students with the tools they need to understand the physical basis of special relativity and leaves them with a confident mathematical understanding of Minkowski's picture of space-time. Special Relativity is loosely based on the tried and tested course at Oxford, where extensive tutorials and problem classes support the lecture course. This is reflected in the book in the large number of examples and exercises, ranging from the rather simple through to the more involved and challenging. The author has included material on acceleration and tensors, and has written the book with an emphasis on space-time diagrams. Written with the second year undergraduate in mind, the book will appeal to those studying the 'Special Relativity' option in their Mathematics or Mathematics and Physics course. However, a graduate or lecturer wanting a rapid introduction to special relativity would benefit from the concise and precise nature of the book.
Book Description
Albert Einstein's classic guide to the theory of relativity—with insights from today's leading experts
This new edition of Relativity—the first updated version in over fifty years—includes a wealth of original material written by some of today's foremost scientific authorities. Bestselling author and physicist Roger Penrose puts Einstein's work in historical context and details major developments in relativity theory over subsequent years. Relativity expert Robert Geroch provides commentary on key aspects of the special and general theories; and historian David Cassidy explores the profound impact of Einstein's ideas on our culture at large. Now, over ninety years after its first publication, this definitive edition brings a classic text into the new millennium. BACKCOVER: “The additions to the original text give considerable insight and are a valuable addition, particularly for anyone approaching the subject for the first time.”
—Choice
“It's as though you are sitting in his classroom, watching [Einstein] alternate between gesticulating and chalking equations onto the blackboard.”
—The Washington Post Book World
Download Description
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 withheld 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 the trees. May the book bring some one a few happy hours of suggestive thought!
Customer Reviews:
Harder than it needs to be.......2007-09-02
This Dodo Press edition is riddled with annoying typos -- even in some equations and variable names. In addition the section numbers referred to in the text are only found in the table of contents, making navigation cumbersome.
A classic like this deserves better. Look for another edition.
Bah!.......2007-08-11
No, Einstein's Relativity IS amazingly brilliant and eloquent, I assure you of this. My review, although, is a buyer beware scenario. I ordered this exact copy of the text and the one that arrived had all sorts of horrendous typos. One? Two? No, more like...a ton. In an example of this, the 'aether' where the character 'ae' is a single one, somehow in the process of printing it, the character got repaced by a space and question mark! So when Einstein talks about the 'process by which the? ther happens...' or some such example, I translate it as 'bad' and not 'aether'.
By all means, buy Einstein's copy of Relativity, but please be cautious when ordering from this particular publisher. I'm unaware of whether or not this problem is widespread, but to those who get the one with the maddening typos riddled all over it, just bear through it and appreciate Einstein's eloquence and not the translator or publisher's, in my own personal opinion, bad spellchecking.
Clear, concise, brilliant.......2007-01-06
You know, Albert Einstein was a genius.
I mean, he would have been a genius without ever communicating a single thought clearly to any other human being. But this book makes him, like, genius squared.
The first part of this book covers special relativity. It's about 62 pages. I've never read anything like it. I'm not exaggerating when I say special relativity is a difficult topic. Einstein's presentation is clearer than I would ever have thought possible, concise but never rushed.
Some pages may require many readings. But everything you need is there on the page.
I would appreciate a looser translation; in a few places Lawson's translation reads to me like German with English words. Nonetheless: 5 stars. One of the most enlightening science books you'll ever read.
Still the Best.......2006-07-22
The first edition of this book was published just after the original paper on the general theory of relativity. In the ensuing ninety years, no one has produced a better layman's introduction to the special and general theories.
The alert reader will achieve not only a clear intuitive understanding of the important physics but will learn much about the awesome intellect that produced it.
In the centenary of Einstein's annus mirabilis, a number of reprints of this classic have appeared, some adorned with introductions by such luminaries as Roger Penrose or with additional appendices added in later editions. I have a personal preference for the Dover version because it reproduces the type face of the orginal 1916 translation that was the first science text I read at age seven. And the cover phtograph alone is worth the price of the book.
Enthusiastically recommended.
RELATIVITY: THE SPECIAL AND GENERAL THEORY.......2005-03-27
PROFESSOR EINSTEIN PRESENTS HIS THEORY IN A VERY STRAIGHTFORWARD DISCUSSION, USING SIMPLE GEOMETRIC ANALOGIES, QUITE CONDUCIVE TO UNDERSTANDING THE BASIC CONCEPTS. HE LEAVES NO "GAPS" IN HIS STEP-BY-STEP EXPLANATION OF THIS OTHERWISE-INTIMIDATING THEORY. I BELIEVE A CHILD CAN NATURALLY UNDERSTAND SOME OF IT BECAUSE OF HIS PATIENT AND CLEAR PRESENTATION. THIS KIND GENIUS SENT ME HIS BOOK IN 1951, AUTOGRAPHED AND WITH A LETTER TO ME AT AGE 17. HE DID, HOWEVER, SAY THAT THE BOOK IS NOT SIMPLE. TOO OFTEN WE ARE AFRAID TO OPEN OR BUY A BOOK BECAUSE THE SUBJECT SOUNDS SCARY. A FINE BOOK FOR YOUNG OR OLD AND A REAL CONFIDENCE-BUILDER. YOU MAY BE SURPRISED AT WHAT YOU LEARN AND UNDERSTAND!
Book Description
To celebrate the 100th anniversary of Einstein’s miracle year of discoveries, a new edition of the bestselling “biography” of his famous equation
Generations have grown up knowing that the equation E=mc2 changed the shape of our world, but never understanding what it actually means, why it was so significant, and how it informs our daily lives today--governing, as it does, everything from the atomic bomb to a television's cathode ray tube to the carbon dating of prehistoric paintings. In this book, David Bodanis writes the "biography" of one of the greatest scientific discoveries in history--that the realms of energy and matter are inescapably linked--and, through his skill as a writer and teacher, he turns a seemingly impenetrable theory into a dramatic human achievement and an uncommonly good story.
Customer Reviews:
Fascinating!.......2006-03-27
Even though I like math & science subjects, I do not normally put math, science and fascinating all together in the same sentence. E = MC2 is such an interesting story, mostly because it brings "life" into the process. The analytical work was well described for each of the respective persons, along with their human side.
Excellent! I will read more by this author!
Good Book, Good TV show........2005-10-18
I first heard of this book from the TV show of the same name. The show, presented on PBS by Nova on October 11, 2005 was one of the highlights of the year so far. Asuming that the book would be better than the show I immediately went out and bought it. I was not disappointed. The show was great. The book is great. The show brings out the essense of the book in an extremely easy way. The book backs up the show with greater detail. The show will undoubtedly be repeated watch for it, go buy the book now.
Basically this book/show talks about each term in the famous equasion. What is energy, where/when did we start to think of it? And what's mass? And of course c, the speed limit of the universe. This book uses these terms as the starting point to explain how each of these terms were developed. And then Einstein put them together.
The way the book/show treats Lise Meitner is supurb. She was at the cutting edge of nuclear physics for 55 years. In 1992 the 109th element was named Meitnerium (Mt) in her honor (Einsteinium is number 99). One point not mentioned, at the time when she was developing the basic theory of radioactivity as depicted in the show, she was sixty years old, not the young actress playing her part. Einstein called her 'The German Madame Curie.'
In one scene in the show Einstein is talking to his first wife Mileva Maric. He is explaining the equasion. His wife asks if he would like her to check his mathematics. Mileva Maric was no dummy. Largely forgotten until the recent publication of the love letters Einstein wrote to her, she provided enough input into Einstein's theories that she probably should have been listed as a co-developer, but in those days women just couldn't do those things. Further, the show didn't quite bring out that the famous equasion had a very rigorous mathematical background based on the then newly developed tensor calculus.
Enough writing: Get the book, when it comes out buy the DVD of the show, buy the DVD of the PBS show 'Einstein's Wife.' They cannot be recommended too highly.
A different take on Einstein and relativity.......2004-08-18
Because so much has been written about Einstein, it's not easy to come up with a fresh approach to him and his work. But that's what Bodanis has done, by tracing the history of each of the five symbols in the equation E = mc(2). Then Bodanis traces some of the implications of Einstein's work, from the Bomb to Black Holes.
Readers who are primarily interested in the personalities and dramas of science may like this book better than those interested in the science itself. Bodanis made a deliberate decision to keep the scientific content of the main part of the book light (too light for my taste), but then to put more meat into his extensive notes and web site. Call me old fashioned, but I don't want to have to go to an author's web site to get the full story.
Still, for anyone interested in Einstein and relativity, it's a worthwhile read.
Robert Adler, author of Science Firsts: From the Creation of Science to the Science of Creation; and Medical Firsts: From Hippocrates to the Human Genome
Average customer rating:
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Cosmological Relativity: The Special and General Theories of the Structure of the Universe
Moshe Carmeli
Manufacturer: World Scientific Publishing Company
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Book Description
"The influence of Einstein's contributions on so many branches of physics is such that if one wanted to describe its full extent, it would be hard to know where to begin. His work and discoveries...are so fundamental that each achievement alone would have guaranteed him a prominent place in the history of physics. But what brought him unprecedented fame outside his own discipline is undoubtedly his theory of relativity, which revolutionized the old, established Newtonian picture of space, time, and gravitation."—Professor Hanoch Gutfreund, from the Introduction
This volume, an abridged version of our cloth, slipcased edition, presents one of the most influential scientific documents of the twentieth century: Albert Einstein's exposition of the theory of relativity. Each of the seventy-two handwritten pages are reproduced and are accompanied by an English translation of the original German text.
A tribute to Einstein's genius, Einstein's 1912 Manuscript on the Special Theory of Relativity opens with a brief essay by Hanoch Gutfreund, a chronology of Einstein's life, a selection of quotes by Einstein, and, to introduce the manuscript, a detailed description of the manuscript, its contents, publication history, and provenance. The manuscript pages themselves then follow, reproduced in full color, with the English translation facing each page.
Subtle variations in paper and ink are clearly visible in the excellent reproductions, indicating where and when Einstein drafted certain parts. Because the manuscript shows extensive reworking, it reveals Einstein's thought processes more than any other of his handwritten works.
Providing a glimpse into one of the greatest minds of the last century, Einstein's 1912 Manuscript is for anyone fascinated by Einstein and the impact of his revolutionary theory. 72 color pages.
Customer Reviews:
Einstein's notes.......2005-03-07
There are many beautiful elements fot hsi book:
1. The opening of the book has qotations of life observed from Einstein that have nothing to do with physics or math. They are priceless.
2. The layout is such that on the right --you have the actual notebook ledger in Einstein's handwriting. On the right, there is typed text, clearly defining what the text is.
The large layout of this book is done very well and is a treat to anyone who wants to see the details of this man's mind in action.
A very nice gift.......2000-12-18
This book contains a facsimile of the hand written draft of the original relativity paper by Albert Einstein. The quality of the facsimile is great, and it is quite interesting to see the corrections made by A.E. to the draft.
The paper itself is surprisingly readable as the mathematical notation used is still very much current. Reading the paper requires first-year calculus and physics, so this book is definitely not for everybody.
The left side of the page contains a translation in English of the facsimile of the original in German, which appears on the right side of the page.
Book Description
This mathematically rigorous treatment examines Zeeman's characterization of the causal automorphisms of Minkowski spacetime and the Penrose theorem concerning the apparent shape of a relativistically moving sphere. Other topics include the construction of a geometric theory of the electromagnetic field; the theory of spinors; and more. 1992 edition. 43 figures.
Customer Reviews:
Special Relativity for the graduate student........2007-01-18
This book is NOT for the pop science buff or the novice with little understanding of Special Relativity.
This book is designed for graduate level students in mathematics or physics who want a deeper understanding of Minkowski space. It presupposes a solid foundation in SR.
Having said this, the book is phenomenal. It brings out startling relationship between mathematics and physics explaining esoteric phenomena in SR.
For example:
1) The author shows how Lorentz transformations can be realized as fractional linear transformations of the Riemann sphere. By doing so we can use the full power of complex analysis to derive far reaching results. One property of such tranforms is that they map circles to circles thus explaining why an observer at rest who sees a circle ( say lit by lights ) will also see a circle, NOT ellipse from length contraction, when he moves relative to the circle.
2) Using a simple example ( scissors, chair and rubber band ) the author shows how a 360 degree rotation may not leave a system in the same state requiring the need of a new mathematical object ( spinor ) to describe this transformation.
3) The author clearly develops the mathematics of spinors. In fact this is the best introduction to spinors I have read. He develops the notion of spin vectors and realizes spinors as multi-linear functionals with inputs as spin vectors, their duals, their conjugate, and the conjugate duals. He then lays out the transformation properties of the spinors and shows that certain spinors have exactly the transformation properties needed to model particles with spin.
4) There is a great section on the relationship of SL (2,C) to the lorentz group. The author shows how Minkowski space can be represented by certain combinations of 2x2 complex matrices and shows how SL ( 2,C) can then operate on these. This operation is actually equivalent to a lorentz transformation thus giving a mapping between the two groups. He then shows that we can easily analyze SL (2,C) by breaking it down into irreducible representations ( which are known ) and that to each of these representations there exist a unique representation of the Lorentz group ( provided certain conditions are imposed ). If that condition is not met the representation leads to the all familiar 2-valued representation of the Lorentz group one hears so much about. Thus by studying SL ( 2,C ) which we know alot about we can represent the Lorentz group which is generally harder to study but of the most relevance in physics.
The books is filled with such insights and I would recommend it to anyone who wishes to understand particle physics or relativity.
Fascinating but not for the general reader.......2006-06-29
Starting with a quick overview of certain structures from linear algebra (bilinear forms) the book moves to discussing Minkowski spacetime. Unfortunately for many, the text is highly esoteric without even a single descriptive section that doesn't make use of some fairly advanced mathematics.
The level of mathematical maturity required is comparable to a fourth year mathematics major at any decent university. The relationship between the mathematics involved and the special theory of relativity is fully explained.
A solid introduction to special relativity for the earnest mathematician.
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