This book unfolds the subject of Relativity for undergraduate students of physics. It fills a gap between introductory descriptions and texts for researchers. Assuming almost no prior knowledge, it allows the student to handle all the Relativity needed for a university course, with explanations as simple, thorough, and engaging as possible.

Understanding Einstein’s Creative Genius Not since Isaac Newton had anyone conceived the universe in such a revolutionary, startling new way. Given the fervent renewed appreciation for the contributions Albert Einstein has bestowed on humanity, physicist and popular science writer Barry Parker dedicates a book to explaining in the clearest possible terms to the broadest possible audience the meaning and beauty of Einstein’s theories. While tracing the story of Einstein’s life, Parker seizes on the crucial groundbreaking theories that Einstein envisioned. Through Parker's eloquence, eye for detail, and clever use of Einsteinian cartoons and vivid illustrations, he enables the reader to see and appreciate for perhaps the first time the full meaning and scope of Einstein’s Special Theory of Relativity and General Theory of Relativity. Parker then guides the reader to the next step in Einstein's revelations: the possibility of time travel. Parker’s incomparable gift for language captures Einstein’s uniqueness, singular brilliance, and stunning theories. The clarity of the writing coupled with the many illustrations will drive home the point why so many consider Einstein to be the greatest scientist who ever lived and Time magazine named Albert Einstein “Person of the Century.” BARRY PARKER (Pocatello, ID) is an award-winning science writer and the author of 27 highly acclaimed popular science books. He is professor emeritus of physics at Idaho State University.

Following on from a previous volume on Special Relativity, Andrew Steane's second volume on General Relativity and Cosmology is aimed at advanced undergraduate or graduate students undertaking a physics course, and encourages them to expand their knowledge of Special Relativity. Beginning with a survey of the main ideas, the textbook goes on to give the methodological foundations to enable a working understanding of astronomy and gravitational waves (linearized approximation, differential geometry, covariant differentiation, physics in curved spacetime). It covers the generic properties of horizons and black holes, including Hawking radiation, introduces the key concepts in cosmology and gives a grounding in classical field theory, including spinors and the Dirac equation, and a Lagrangian approach to General Relativity. The textbook is designed for self-study and is aimed throughout at clarity, physical insight, and simplicity, presenting explanations and derivations in full, and providing many explicit examples.

This book provides a lively and visual introduction to Einstein's theory of relativity. It begins by introducing spacetime, in the familiar context of low velocities. It then shows how Einstein's theory forces us to understand time in a new way. Paradoxes and puzzles are introduced and resolved, and the book culminates in a thorough unfolding of the relation between mass and energy.

Presents a step-by-step explanation of Einstein's Special Theory of Relativity through a series of diagrams rather than equations.

'Outstanding Academic Title for 2014' by CHOICEEinstein Relatively Simple brings together for the first time an exceptionally clear explanation of both special and general relativity. It is for people who always wanted to understand Einstein's ideas but never thought they could.Told with humor, enthusiasm, and rare clarity, this entertaining book reveals how a former high school drop-out revolutionized our understanding of space and time. From E=mc2 and everyday time travel to black holes and the big bang, Einstein Relatively Simple takes us all, regardless of our scientific backgrounds, on a mind-boggling journey through the depths of Einstein's universe. Along the way, we track Einstein through the perils and triumphs of his life — follow his thinking, his logic, and his insights — and chronicle the audacity, imagination, and sheer genius of the man recognized as the greatest scientist of the modern era.In Part I on special relativity we learn how time slows and space shrinks with motion, and how mass and energy are equivalent. Part II on general relativity reveals a cosmos where black holes trap light and stop time, where wormholes form gravitational time machines, where space itself is continually expanding, and where some 13.7 billion years ago our universe was born in the ultimate cosmic event — the Big Bang.

Relativity Made Relatively Easy presents an extensive study of Special Relativity and a gentle (but exact) introduction to General Relativity for undergraduate students of physics. Assuming almost no prior knowledge, it allows the student to handle all the Relativity needed for a university course, with explanations as simple, thorough, and engaging as possible. The aim is to make manageable what would otherwise be regarded as hard; to make derivations as simple as possible and physical ideas as transparent as possible. Lorentz invariants and four-vectors are introduced early on, but tensor notation is postponed until needed. In addition to the more basic ideas such as Doppler effect and collisions, the text introduces more advanced material such as radiation from accelerating charges, Lagrangian methods, the stress-energy tensor, and introductory General Relativity, including Gaussian curvature, the Schwarzschild solution, gravitational lensing, and black holes. A second volume will extend the treatment of General Relativity somewhat more thoroughly, and also introduce Cosmology, spinors, and some field theory.

By the year 1900, most of physics seemed to be encompassed in the two great theories of Newtonian mechanics and Maxwell's theory of electromagnetism. Unfortunately, there were inconsistencies between the two theories that seemed irreconcilable. Although many physicists struggled with the problem, it took the genius of Einstein to see that the inconsistencies were concerned not merely with mechanics and electromagnetism, but with our most elementary ideas of space and time. In the special theory of relativity, Einstein resolved these difficulties and profoundly altered our conception of the physical universe. Readers looking for a concise, well-written explanation of one of the most important theories in modern physics need search no further than this lucid undergraduate-level text. Replete with examples that make it especially suitable for self-study, the book assumes only a knowledge of algebra. Topics include classical relativity and the relativity postulate, time dilation, the twin paradox, momentum and energy, particles of zero mass, electric and magnetic fields and forces, and more.

The role of thermodynamics in modern physics is not just to provide an approximate treatment of large thermal systems, but, more importantly, to provide an organising set of ideas. Thermodynamics: A complete undergraduate course presents thermodynamics as a self-contained and elegant set of ideas and methods. It unfolds thermodynamics for undergraduate students of physics, chemistry or engineering, beginning at first year level. The book introduces the necessary mathematical methods, assuming almost no prior knowledge, and explains concepts such as entropy and free energy at length, with many examples. This book aims to convey the style and power of thermodynamic reasoning, along with applications such as Joule-Kelvin expansion, the gas turbine, magnetic cooling, solids at high pressure, chemical equilibrium, radiative heat exchange and global warming, to name a few. It mentions but does not pursue statistical mechanics, in order to keep the logic clear.

Everyone talks to their pets; Chad Orzel tells his about relativity.