While the theory of special relativity is often associated with the idea of traveling faster than light, this book shows that in all these cases subtle forces of nature conspire to prevent these motions being harnessed to send signals faster than the speed of light. The author tackles these topics both conceptually, with minimal or no mathematics, and quantitatively, making use of numerous illustrations to clarify the discussion. The result is a joy to read for both scientists familiar with the subject and laypeople wishing to understand something of special relativity.
"Even though most physicists believe that the speed of light is as fast as anyone can go, Einstein's theory of special relativity does not rule out faster-than-light (FTL) travel. On the contrary, it seems to indicate that certain superluminal or FTL effects would permit us to re-experience the past: time travel would become a reality, not science fiction. Through this crack in the cosmic egg steps Herbert, a Stanford physicist and author of Quantum Reality, who summarizes clearly current speculation and theory about faster-than-light travel. Along with space warps, black holes and tachyons (hypothetical FTL particles), he looks at the so-called 'quantum connection'—an alleged force said to instantaneously link any two subatomic particles long after they have bumped into each other. Free of the woolgathering that tints much writing on the 'new physics', this brave, exciting book should send scientists back to their drawing boards; for the nonspecialist reader, it reveals a world much stranger than Star Trek."—Publishers Weekly "Original, challenging, and audacious."—San Diego Magazine
Based on his successful work "Special Relativity and Motions Faster than Light", Moses Fayngold has written a thorough presentation of the special theory of relativity. The unique feature of the textbook is its two-leveled structure helping students to master the material more effectively: the first level presents a qualitative discussion of a problem, while the second one contains its rigorous treatment. Fayngold points out the connection between fundamental principles and known phenomena. In three new chapters on 'Relativity at Work' (Electromagnetism, Optics, Quantum Mechanics), he not only shows what relativity is, but also how it works. The scope of new material extends to include a chapter on Causality and on Applied Relativity, including astrophysical and accelerator topics. Backed throughout by numerous examples and exercises.
A renowned astrophysicist’s approachable introduction to Albert Einstein’s theory of relativity and its application in our daily lives. It is commonly assumed that if the Sun suddenly turned into a black hole, it would suck Earth and the rest of the planets into oblivion. Yet, as prominent author and astrophysicist Jeffrey Bennett points out, black holes don't suck. With that simple idea in mind, Bennett begins an entertaining introduction to Einstein's theories of relativity, describing the amazing phenomena readers would actually experience if they took a trip to a black hole. The theory of relativity reveals the speed of light as the cosmic speed limit, the mind-bending ideas of time dilation and curvature of spacetime, and what may be the most famous equation in history: E = mc2. Indeed, the theory of relativity shapes much of our modern understanding of the universe. It is not “just a theory”―every major prediction of relativity has been tested to exquisite precision, and its practical applications include the Global Positioning System (GPS). Amply illustrated and written in clear, accessible prose, Bennett's book proves anyone can grasp the basics of Einstein's ideas. His intuitive, nonmathematical approach gives a wide audience its first real taste of how relativity works and why it is so important to science and the way we view ourselves as human beings. “Well-written and uniquely readable . . . Bennett carefully avoids bombastic statements and “spectacularization” of the subject.” —Alberto Nicolis, Columbia University “I have read lots of introductions to relativity, but none is as clear and compelling as this one.” —Seth Shostak, Senior Astronomer, SETI Institute
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.
Written in an clear and informal style, this text explores the most accessible of the 20th century revolutions in physics. It allows readers to build up physical intuition for what is going on, before presenting concise mathematical descriptions. It contains many applications, ten appendices, and numerous illustrations, examples and problems.
While the theory of special relativity is often associated with the idea of traveling faster than light, this book shows that in all these cases subtle forces of nature conspire to prevent these motions being harnessed to send signals faster than the speed of light. The author tackles these topics both conceptually, with minimal or no mathematics, and quantitatively, making use of numerous illustrations to clarify the discussion. The result is a joy to read for both scientists familiar with the subject and laypeople wishing to understand something of special relativity.
Iconoclastic physics professor and artist Andrzej Dragan presents a unique feast of knowledge on special relativity in a straightforward, progressive manner that even a savvy high school student could follow. Encompassing the derivation of Lorentz transformations to Wigner rotations and Thomas precession; from non-inertial accelerated reference frames to event horizons, curved spacetime, and static black holes; and from the Doppler effect to relativistic structure of electromagnetism, Dragan peels back the enigmatic layers of modern physics to enable a deeper understanding of Einstein's groundbreaking theory.Comprehensive and elegantly written, full of insightful apparent paradoxes and riddles, but without any complicated math, Dragan's unique overview takes the reader well beyond the orthodox verses of standard Special Relativity to the bleeding edge of 'new-fangled' superluminal apocrypha and their relation to Quantum Theory. The book is based on a course on Special Relativity and acclaimed by students taught by Dragan who is a leader of a research group on Relativistic Quantum Information theory at the University of Warsaw and the National University of Singapore.Scan the QR code to access the author's collection of Youtube videos that explain the fundamental concepts of physics described in Unusually Special Relativity.
This book, first appearing in German in 2004 under the title Spezielle Relativittstheorie fr Studienanfnger, offers access to the special theory of relativity for readers with a background in mathematics and physics comparable to a high school honors degree. All mathematical and physical competence required beyond that level is gradually developed through the book, as more advanced topics are introduced. The full tensor formalism, however, is dispensed with as it would only be a burden for the problems to be dealt with. Eventually, a substantial and comprehensive treatise on special relativity emerges which, with its gray-shaded formulary, is an invaluable reference manual for students and scientists alike.Some crucial results are derived more than once with different approaches: the Lorentz transformation in one spatial direction three times, the Doppler formula four times, the Lorentz transformation in two directions twice; also twice the unification of electric and magnetic forces, the velocity addition formula, as well as the aberration formula. Beginners will be grateful to find several routes to the goal; moreover, for a theory like relativity, it is of fundamental importance to demonstrate that it is self-contained and without contradictions.Author's website: www.relativity.ch.
