For the enthusiastic beginner selfpublished to keep the cost low through createspace 2017, 250 pages. It is the purpose of this book to provide an introduction to the special theory of relativity which is accessible to any student who has had an introduction to general physics and some slight acquaintance with the calculus. An introduction to the special theory of relativity by robert katz d. It is designed for people who have had intro physics only. This book presents special relativity from first principles and logically arrives at the conclusions. Kinematics and mechanics, waves and acoustics, thermodynamics, electricity and magnetism, optics and light, special relativity, and quantum mechanics which may or may not be done in that order and may have a brief superficial discussion of further topics like solidstate, nuclear, or particle physics. High school freshman physics is a broad survey of the fundamentals of physics. This book fills the gap and will be of relevance to many discussions in sci. The first chapter introduces the fundamental concepts behind special relativity. Suitable level for a smart high school senior to a bright college sophomore. Special relativity in a nutshell nova pbs nova pbs. How to teach special relativity to high school students.
Albert einstein is famous for his theory of relativity, and gps navigation. It is the purpose of this book to provide an introduction to the special theory of relativity which is accessible to any student who has had an introduction to general physics. Please continue to improve it and thanks for the great work so far. This book is written for high school and college students learning about special relativity. Taylor and wheeler is good, but not all that mathematical. The book will be of value for students seeking to understand the main concepts that form the basis of contemporary theoretical particle physics and also for engineers and lecturers. The lecture notes on special relativity have been put together in one pdf file here. In my opinion, some of the best expositions of special relativity are written by thomas a. Relativity and the priesthood of science lewrockwell. If you have hoped to understand the physics of lorentz contraction, time dilation, the twin paradox, and emc2, youre in the right place. This note is a survey of observational astronomy across the electromagnetic spectrum. Scitech book news judging from his book, helliwell must be a fine teacher. Ellis at the international school for advanced studies in trieste, italy. This is one of the best resources available for physics students.
Customers who whine that this book shows that einstein couldnt write english betray not only their own very low reading level and poor preparation the book requires nothing more than nonap high school math and physics, but also their foolishness in believing that einstein, rather than a native speaker of english, prepared the translation. As soon as you accelerate or curve or do anything that changes the nature of the motion in any way special relativity ceases to apply. Buy einsteins theory of relativity dover books on physics book online at best prices in india on. I have known about it for more than 25 years, but even so, whenever i quietly sit and think it. Before then, educated laymen were expected to and usually could understand new developments in science, at least in outline. Its basic equations and notions were already emerging in the writings of h. Much of the material is at a level suitable for high school students who have had advanced placement in physics and mathematics. There is an old book by max born, called einsteins theory of relativity which explains the special relativity in great detail without any advanced mathematics and a little bit of general relativity it is suitable for those who has not yet started to physics degree or will not, but would like to understand the theory in a deeper and mathematical manner. I explained the mm experiment and they found that comparatively easy, but. Jan 01, 2014 even though relativity is a topic ive been interested in since high school, i learned fascinating new facts from this book. Mar 30, 2017 the theory of special relativity was developed by albert einstein in 1905, and it forms part of the basis of modern physics. Special relativity includes only the special case hence the name where the motion is uniform.
My favourite books on special relativity, both advanced and with a strong geometric flavour, are. A small amount of calculus is helpful, but not strictly necessary. The equations involve nothing more complicated than highschool math. The classic introduction to all branches of physics. In their place stood a radically new view of the physical world, providing answers to many of the unsolved mysteries of preeinsteinian physics. Rindler is the classic intro to special relativity. Im teaching high school physics to korean kids and i want clear presentations to get the ideas across as well as easily understand derivations of the mathematics. Written by teachers for teachers and students, the physics classroom provides a wealth of resources that meets the varied needs of both students and teachers. Problems are solved under lorentztransformationsoflength,time,velocity,momentumandenergy,theinvariance of fourmomentum vector, transformation of angles and doppler effect and threshold of particle production. Nov 21, 2017 this book presents special relativity sr from first principles and logically arrives at the conclusions. Buy einsteins theory of relativity dover books on physics book. It is the purpose of this book to provide an introduction to the special theory of relativity which is accessible to any stu dent who has had an introduction to general physics and some slight acquaintance with the calculus. All the lectures on special relativity have been translated into german by christoph scholz, who teaches high school physics pupils aged 1019 in hagen, germany. High schoolfreshman physics is a broad survey of the fundamentals of physics.
In 1905, albert einstein published the theory of special relativity, which explains how to interpret motion between different inertial frames of reference that is, places that are moving at constant speeds relative to each other. Unlike other books on the subject, the current status of the experimental foundations of special relativity is accurately reported and the experiments explained. This book, first appearing in german in 2004 under the title spezielle relativitatstheorie fur studienanfanger, offers access to the special theory of relativity for readers with a background in mathematics and physics comparable to a high school honors degree. The scientific approach to budgetcuts a major turning point in the publics understanding of science came about a century ago, with the introduction of einsteins special and general theories of relativity. This book offers an essential bridge between collegelevel introductions and advanced graduatelevel books on special relativity. Where to start on learning special theory of relativity. The author made incredibly complex and counterintuitive concepts this is a primer on the basic ideas of relativity. Special relativity is a featured book on wikibooks because it contains substantial content, it is wellformatted, and the wikibooks community has decided to feature it on the main page or in other places. Apr 12, 2009 i am tutoring a couple of students in high school physics and have for the first time come across the problem of how to teach high school students the basic concepts of relativity.
This book is written for anybody who is curious about nature and motion. Einstein basically did a pile driver on all our brains when he came up with his theory of special relativity. There are simple diagrams and some thought experiments. Special relativity and classical field theory not even wrong. An introduction to the special theory of relativity. The 17 best special relativity books recommended by phil plait, such as. Knuteson wishes to acknowledge that this course was originally designed and taught by prof. Although the final form of the theory came to use minkowski spaces and metric tensors, it is possible to discuss.
The two postulates of relativity, especially the second postulatewhich is a direct consequence of electromagnetic theoryare. Introduction to special relativity quantum physics. If you have any comments or questions on these lecture notes, please email them to takeuchiatvtdotedu. Orbits and light, spectroscopy, telescopes, solar system, planetary system formation, the sun, properties of stars, interstellar medium, star formation, stellar evolution. Postulates of special relativity high school physics draft. There will be simple diagrams and some thought experiments. If you want a somewhat easier special relativity book, i recommend the beautiful a travelers guide to spacetime. So 2016 is surely the year when newtonian physics was consigned to the history books, to be replaced by. Free physics books download ebooks online textbooks tutorials. This book presents special relativity sr from first principles and logically arrives at the conclusions. An introduction to the special theory of relativity by.
Special relativity such as introductory concepts, time dilation, length contraction, simultaneity, energy and momentum, fourvectors. We will probably have a lecture or two to introduce his general theory as well, but the principal focus will be on special relativity, which we will study in quite a bit of detail. This book is written for high school and college students learning about special relativity for the first time. Much of the material is at a level suitable for high school students who have had advanced placement in physics and. Special relativity in a nutshell the relativity of space and of time is a startling conclusion. From particles to astrophysics graduate texts in physics eric gourgoulhon, which doesnt just focus on inertial observers, and treats things like the thomas precession, and sagnac effect in an easy manner. Chapters 7 and 8 are concerned with problems in low energy nuclear physics. Eventually, a substantial and comprehensive treatise on special relativity. Which is the best special relativity book with proper.
An appendix on some special relativity effects is added. It is an intuitive introduction to relativity of simultaneity and length contraction. His presentation is lively and interspersed with historical, philosophical and special. The theory of special relativity was developed by albert einstein in 1905, and it forms part of the basis of modern physics. Naber, the geometry of minkowski spacetime, springer, 2010. With the publication of albert einsteins special and general theories of relativity, however, traditional approaches to solving the riddles of space and time crumbled. Special relativity should be easily within your grasp as a high school student with a good knowledge of basic algebra. Introduction to special relativity dover books on physics. The motion it explains is only if youre traveling in a straight line at a constant speed. This section contains free ebooks and guides on physics, some of the resources in this section can be viewed online and some of them can be downloadable. Introduction to special relativity physics mit opencourseware. Everything has some degree of motion but when we judge motion, we need to judge it next to the standard of complete stillness.
Customers who whine that this book shows that einstein couldnt write english betray not only their own very low reading level and poor preparation the book requires nothing more than nonap highschool math and physics, but also their foolishness in believing that einstein, rather than a native speaker of english, prepared the translation. Professor resnick presents a fundamental and unified development of the subject with unusually clear discussions of the aspects that usually trouble beginners. What is a suitable book to learn general relativity for. What is a suitable book to learn general relativity for high. The physics classroom serves students, teachers and classrooms by providing classroomready resources that utilize an easytounderstand language that makes learning interactive and multidimensional. Einsteins special theory of relativity is a superb place to begin a serious study of physics. Special relativity wikibooks, open books for an open world. It will appeal to the reader who has a healthy level of enthusiasm for understanding how and why the various results of special relativity come about. Special relativity einstein 1905 based on two postulates. Magnetism,electromagnetic waves and optics, special relativity. For instance, the derivation of the standard kinematic results starting from einstein s postulates is outstandingly clear. Chapter 6 deals with the special theory of relativity. This book, first appearing in german in 2004 under the title spezielle relativit tstheorie f r studienanf nger, offers access to the special theory of relativity for readers with a background in mathematics and physics comparable to a high school honors degree. I am tutoring a couple of students in high school physics and have for the first time come across the problem of how to teach high school students the basic concepts of relativity.
Unfortunately, if you know all the math a high school senior should know, and nothing beyond high school math, you wont find a really good book on general relativity the part of einsteins theory where gravitation is considered. If youre seeing this message, it means were having trouble loading external resources on our website. Syllabus introduction to special relativity physics mit. The classical description of a particle, hilbert space. This book, first appearing in german in 2004 under the title spezielle. In physics, special relativity also known as the special theory of relativity is the generally accepted and experimentally confirmed physical theory regarding the relationship between space and time. He includes, for example, a section on the common sense of relativity. Special relativityintroduction wikibooks, open books for. What is relativity an intuitive introduction to einsteins. They both require a nonbasic knowledge of linear algebra. One postulate of special relativity theory is that the laws of physics are the same in all. The equations did away with newtons theory of gravity and replaced it with curved. Galileos work, oftentimes referred to as galilean relativity or classical mechanics, would remain the foundation of physics for nearly 200 years.
Today, newtons laws of motion and the heliocentric theory are taught to children in grade school. From special relativity to feynman diagrams a course in. The special and the general theory by albert einstein. Special relativity and its experimental foundations yuan zhong zhang special relativity is so well established that its experimental foundation is often ignored.
This book will appeal to anyone wanting a introduction to the subject, as well as being background reading for students beginning a course in physics. The aim of this book is to introduce people without a strong physics or even scientific background to the special and general theories of relativity and now i want to read other similar scientific books. The most famous work of einsteins life also dates from 1905 a busy year for him, when he applied the ideas of his relativity paper to come up with the equation emc2 that represents the relationship between mass m and energy e in a nutshell, einstein found that as an object approached the speed of light, c, the mass of the object increased. Special relativity should be easily within your grasp as a highschool student with a good knowledge of basic algebra. After finishing his work in special relativity, einstein spent a decade. Get free, curated resources for this textbook here. What is relativity an intuitive introduction to einstein. When we talk about the motion of a ball we assume that the earth is standing still when, in fact, it is not. A lively romp through one of the great theories of modern physics, how to teach relativity to your dog will teach you everything you ever wanted to know about space, time, and anything else you might have slept through in high school physics class. In albert einsteins original pedagogical treatment, it is based on two postulates. Free physics books download ebooks online textbooks. In the study of motion physics special and general relativity form two important building blocks. Even though relativity is a topic ive been interested in since high school, i learned fascinating new facts from this book. Jul 05, 2011 i used the above book to teach myself special relativity.
This course introduces the basic ideas and equations of einsteins special theory of relativity. I explained the mm experiment and they found that comparatively easy, but upon getting to time dilation they started to get confused. Another interesting book on special relativity is special relativity in general frames. The mechanical universe high school adaptation muhsa series is a collection of awardwinning physics videos. Special relativity practice problems a textbook based on this website is now available from cambridge university press. This book gives an excellent introduction to the theory of special relativity. Documents and settingsphilip harrismy documentsteaching. This volume presents the best of them in the domains of relativity and cosmology. Please continue to improve it and thanks for the great work. Einsteins theories of relativity underpin our understanding of the universe, yet theyre not taught in high school. Although the final form of the theory came to use minkowski spaces and metric tensors, it is possible to discuss sr using nothing more than high school algebra. I used the above book to teach myself special relativity. Prospective physics teachers understanding of the speed of light.
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