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 | | Relativity: The Special and the General Theory (Penguin Classics) by Albert Einstein, Nigel Calder (Introduction) ISBN-10: 9780143039822 ISBN-10: 0-14-303982-2 ISBN-13: 9780143039822 ISBN-13: 978-0-14-303982-2 Paperback 2006-07-25 Penguin Classics Find Lowest Price |
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Product Description The Nobel Prize-winning scientist’s presentation of his landmark theory According to Einstein himself, this book is intended "to give an exact insight into the theory of Relativity to those readers who, from a general scientific and philosophical point of view, are interested in the theory, but who are not conversant with the mathematical apparatus of theoretical physics." When he wrote the book in 1916, Einstein’s name was scarcely known outside the physics institutes. Having just completed his masterpiece, The General Theory of Relativity—which provided a brand-new theory of gravity and promised a new perspective on the cosmos as a whole—he set out at once to share his excitement with as wide a public as possible in this popular and accessible book. | ||
Amazon.com Review 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. | ||
Reviews | ||
Relativity Explained by the Master Himself Professor Einstein wrote this book for the general audience who had an education "comparable to that of a university matriculation examination", as he felt there was a great need of introducing the idea to the public; however, the original papers were too technical. He did warn that reading the book would require the reader to exert some effort, and I certainly did. However, I derived some solace from the fact that out of all the books on relativity in the (university) library, this book is one of the few that is comprehensible to me! He first sets out conventional thinking of the day on relative motion and invites us to consider the "truth" carefully. He reviewed the concept of reference frame (i.e. coordinate system) and the use of Euclidean geometry to describe relative motion, including the 'intuitive' addition of velocity. Then he reveals that this line of thought is problematic. At this point it is worth digressing into the means which he presents the theory of relativity. His presentation is elegant - not in the linguistic sense, but in the structure of his argument. Normally, one can start with a set of empirical data and try to work out a pattern, from there on, a theory. One can also formulate questions, let imagination and reasoning suggest a hypothesis, then find experimental data to test the hypothesis. Einstein did it another way still, at least in this book. His general pattern is to explore some thought experiments and to see their implications. From there, he formulates the postulates and work out a coherent theory from the postulates. Experiments only come much later in his style of presentation. In particular, he postulates that (i) the speed of light is constant for all observers and (ii) physical laws are the same for observers in all reference frames. He then conducts a thought experiment, the now-famous train/lightning experiment. The two lightning bolts appear to reach the stationary observer "at the same time", but not so for the observer on the train - the notion of "simultaneity" is in doubt. He gives credit to Lorentz - for his work of Lorentz Transformation - and incorporates it into his Special Theory of Relativity. Relative motion is no longer a simple additive relation but a more complicated one - though still manageable. Only then he mentions the Michelson-Morley experiment but in a way that makes it appear to be peripheral to the development of his theory. He also introduces Minkowski's (his teacher) spacetime quite late, in spite of the fact that the idea is central to Special Theory of Relativity from a physics and mathematics point of view. To put it simply, it is the Pythagorean Theorem with an additional dimension of time (albeit with a form much more complicated than the 3D theorem). He introduces the General Theory of Relativity by highlighting that the conditions which the Special Theory is valid - i.e. constant velocities - severely restrict its descriptive power. Mathematically, Euclidean geometry does not work when a given region of space is not "equally dense," as in the case above. He introduces Gaussian Coordinates, which is the generalization of geometrical continua, with Euclidean geometry being a special case. Special Relativity and General Relativity are different because spacetime is "equally dense" (i.e. flat) in Special Relativity, since only constant velocity cases are considered; but this is not so in General Relativity. The Gaussian coordinate system is necessary to describe them. GR can then be formulated as "All Gaussian coordinate systems are essentially equivalent for the formulation of the general laws of nature." He concluded by considering the application of GR in cosmology, with such implications as perihelion of Mercury and unbounded yet finite universe. By this point (that is, if you had patiently read this far), you might question my addition of the precis of the book here. "Couldn't I just google it?" But chances are that introductions to Special and General Relativity are similar elsewhere, and this is how Professor Einstein did it. If you had read Walter Issacson's Einstein: His Life and Universe or Abraham Pais's Subtle Is the Lord: The Science and the Life of Albert Einstein (the latter is even more technical), this book should also demonstrate how Einstein thinks - idea first, mathematics second! True, the theories are not something simple to grasp; but I am doing economics yet enjoy reading it - not to mention I am able to get the idea! The style of English is admittedly a little archaic but that is a relatively (no pun intended) small impediment of appreciating this great work. I would recommend that you set apart some moments in a quiet surrounding so that you could concentrate on following his arguments - that's the best way of reading the book IMHO! | ||
Relativity -- authored by A. Einstein I thought it interesting to read a book authored by Einstein himself and get a sense of how he thought about it. The book was a fairly quick read, about 4 commuter train rides. He was able to introduce Special Relativity without the use of math; although I'm glad he does shows the Lorentz transformation and has an appendix to hint at the derivation. On the other hand I was disappointed with the material on General Relativity and had hoped to see more depth of discussion. The GR is the barest of an introduction. | ||
Exactly as promised! The book was in perfect condition when it arrived. I couldn't be more happy with it! | ||
Layman's explanation of relativity by Einstein himself This is relativity explained by Einstein himself, without using math. There might have been a plain English explanation that is slightly more crisp, however, would you not want to read it from the master himself? The special relativity section is especially clear, and detailed. Almost all the important ideas were explained well there. The section on general relativity is rather brief, and gives you the sense that it is just a flavor, not the full story. Yet it gives you enough to be very interested. The English translation from German could be better, but it really does not make it inexplicable. Those who complain that the translation could not be understood probably would not understand the book even if it is translated better. All in all, I would recommend reading it after some other exposition on the subject. After that, this is an excellent piece of food for thought. | ||
Missing Parts!!!! Appendix 4 & 5 are missing!!! The book's copyright has expired, it is available on project Gutenberg for free. The only part still subject to copyright is appendix 5, that Einstein added at a later date. This edition is missing both appendix 4 and 5. | ||