A Student's Guide to Special Relativity
£18.99
Part of Student's Guides
- Author: Norman Gray, University of Glasgow
- Date Published: February 2022
- availability: Available
- format: Paperback
- isbn: 9781108995634
£
18.99
Paperback
Other available formats:
Hardback, eBook
Looking for an inspection copy?
This title is not currently available on inspection
-
This compact yet informative Guide presents an accessible route through Special Relativity, taking a modern axiomatic and geometrical approach. It begins by explaining key concepts and introducing Einstein's postulates. The consequences of the postulates – length contraction and time dilation – are unravelled qualitatively and then quantitatively. These strands are then tied together using the mathematical framework of the Lorentz transformation, before applying these ideas to kinematics and dynamics. This volume demonstrates the essential simplicity of the core ideas of Special Relativity, while acknowledging the challenges of developing new intuitions and dealing with the apparent paradoxes that arise. A valuable supplementary resource for intermediate undergraduates, as well as independent learners with some technical background, the Guide includes numerous exercises with hints and notes provided online. It lays the foundations for further study in General Relativity, which is introduced briefly in an appendix.
Read more- Provides a 'start to finish' journey through Special Relativity, assisting students preparing for exams or helping strengthen the reader's understanding of core ideas and varied approaches
- A complementary prelude to the author's A Student's Guide to General Relativity (ISBN 9781316634790), as well as other mainstream course texts, informed by the author's teaching
- Offers a compact yet precise introduction to Special Relativity while pointing to the wide variety of routes into the subject and emphasising the multiplicity of resources available
Reviews & endorsements
'… this is a well-written, thorough account of Special Relativity (SR) with an introduction to General Relativity (GR) … Gray has taught courses on relativity for a couple of decades, and it shows. I think that this book is a very good description of SR … It succeeds in its goal of being both comprehensive and accessible … I recommend the book to all interested in Special Relativity. Those new to it can learn it thoroughly from the ground up without being overloaded with maths. Those familiar with it might gain new insights and/or ideas for teaching the topic.' Philip Helbig, The Observatory
See more reviews'Professor Gray writes with humor and precision, and persistent readers will be rewarded. The book is heavily annotated with many helpful references … Highly recommended.' J. F. Burkhart, Choice
Customer reviews
Not yet reviewed
Be the first to review
Review was not posted due to profanity
×Product details
- Date Published: February 2022
- format: Paperback
- isbn: 9781108995634
- length: 170 pages
- dimensions: 230 x 151 x 11 mm
- weight: 0.34kg
- availability: Available
Table of Contents
Preface. Table of Aims. 1. Introduction
2. The axioms
3. Length contraction and time dilation
4. Spacetime and geometry
5. The Lorentz transformation
6. Vectors and kinematics
7. Dynamics
A. An overview of general relativity
B. Relativity's contact with experimental fact
C. Maths revision
D. How to do calculations – a recipe. Bibliography. Index.
Sorry, this resource is locked
Please register or sign in to request access. If you are having problems accessing these resources please email [email protected]
Register Sign in» Proceed
You are now leaving the Cambridge University Press website. Your eBook purchase and download will be completed by our partner www.ebooks.com. Please see the permission section of the www.ebooks.com catalogue page for details of the print & copy limits on our eBooks.
Continue ×Are you sure you want to delete your account?
This cannot be undone.
Thank you for your feedback which will help us improve our service.
If you requested a response, we will make sure to get back to you shortly.
×