The present book is intended, as far as possible, 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. The author has spared himself no pains in his endeavor to present the main ideas in the simplest and most intelligible form, and on the whole, in the sequence and connection in which they actually originated.
Even the youngest science enthusiasts know the name “Einstein.” To them, it represents intelligence and ingenuity. But they may not know much about Albert Einstein as a man and why his fame reached such great heights. In this comprehensive biography, which draws on new research and personal documents, accessible text tells the fascinating story of Einstein’s life, including his early years in Germany, his achievements that led to the Nobel Prize, and his role in the development of the atomic bomb. Plentiful photographs, explanatory diagrams, and illuminating sidebars add to the reader’s experience, helping to reveal the person and the genius behind the name.
"Albert Einstein challenged what people believed about the laws of physics. This graphic biography covers Einstein's theories about light, motion, and more, as well as his time in Germany, Switzerland, and the United States"--
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
Writing a new book on the classic subject of Special Relativity, on which numerous important physicists have contributed and many books have already been written, can be like adding another epicycle to the Ptolemaic cosmology. Furthermore, it is our belief that if a book has no new elements, but simply repeats what is written in the existing literature, perhaps with a different style, then this is not enough to justify its publication. However, after having spent a number of years, both in class and research with relativity, I have come to the conclusion that there exists a place for a new book. Since it appears that somewhere along the way, mathem- ics may have obscured and prevailed to the degree that we tend to teach relativity (and I believe, theoretical physics) simply using “heavier” mathematics without the inspiration and the mastery of the classic physicists of the last century. Moreover current trends encourage the application of techniques in producing quick results and not tedious conceptual approaches resulting in long-lasting reasoning. On the other hand, physics cannot be done a ́ la carte stripped from philosophy, or, to put it in a simple but dramatic context A building is not an accumulation of stones! As a result of the above, a major aim in the writing of this book has been the distinction between the mathematics of Minkowski space and the physics of r- ativity.
Understand how Einstein came to write the most famous equation in history and see how the world was changed forever.Broken into 10 bite-sized chapters, this step-by-step journey through Einstein's mind takes his original manuscripts and makes them accessible to budding scientists everywhere.
The theory of relativity, explained by the greatest mind of the 20th century. Albert Einstein discusses the special and general theories of relativity, and the core concepts of modern cosmology, including time dilation, the spacetime continuum, and the energy-mass relationship, in simple non-mathematical terms.
Updated with the latest archaeological research new chapters on the most influential yet widely unrecognised people of the British isles, In Search of the Dark Ages illuminates the fascinating and mysterious centuries between the Romans and the Norman Conquest of 1066. In this new edition, Michael Wood vividly conjures some of the most important people in British history such as Hadrian, a Libyan refugee from the Arab conquests and arguably the most important person of African origin in British history, to Queen Boadicea, the leader of a terrible war of resistance against the Romans. Here too, warts and all, are the Saxon, Viking and Norman kings who laid the political foundations of England: Offa of Mercia, Alfred the Great, Athelstan, and William the Conqueror, whose victory at Hastings in 1066 marked the end of Anglo-Saxon England. Reflecting the latest historical, textual and archaeological research, this revised and updated edition of Michael Wood's classic book overturns preconceptions of the Dark Ages as a shadowy and brutal era, showing them to be a richly exciting and formative period in the history of Britain.
An analysis of one of the three great papers Einstein published in 1905, each of which was to alter forever the field it dealt with. The second of these papers, "On the Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies", established what Einstein sometimes referred to as the "so-called Theory of Relativity". Miller uses the paper to provide a window on the intense intellectual struggles of physicists in the first decade of the 20th century: the interplay between physical theory and empirical data; the fiercely held notions that could not be articulated clearly or verified experimentally; the great intellectual investment in existing theories, data, and interpretations - and associated intellectual inertia - and the drive to the long-sought-for unification of the sciences. Since its original publication, this book has become a standard reference and sourcebook for the history and philosophy of science; however, it can equally well serve as a text on twentieth-century philosophy.