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Spacetime Physics
by Edwin F. Taylor and John Archibald Wheeler 312 pages Level: Introductory college Special Relativity as a form of Geometry with a brief introduction to General Relativity also |
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"Spacetime Physics" is the perfect example of what a scientific text book should be:
clear, interesting, bursting with idea and loaded with solved exercises.
In a few pages Taylor and Wheeler have managed to explain the basics of the Special Theory of relativity, as a GEOMETRIC theory. The authors accomplish this by an ingenious comparison of three dimensional Euclidean geometry with four dimensional Lorentz geometry. The illustrations are helpful and the text friendly. What makes "Spacetime Physics" so helpful is its use of exercises. Most relativity texts include exercises accompanied by a warning that unless the student actually solves them, he or she will not truly understand the material. This is fine for the very talented student who is able to solve all the exercises or at least has access to a teacher for guidance. But what about the reader who is using the book for self study? Not only does "Spacetime Physics" have a good number of exercises, but they are ALL solved in a enough detail, that even a reader who is left on his own will be able to get through and learn from them. The only prerequisites are a basic knowledge of algebra and geometry (especially Pythogrean's Theorem). The first chapter deal with space and time, while the second chapter expands on this to add energy and momentum. The third and final chapter, introduces General Relativity but without any accompanying mathematics. While the "Spacetime Physics" is aimed at the college undergraduate, a bright high school student will also get a great deal out of it. |
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| Review by Ed Ehrlich | |
| Table Of Contents | |
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Chapter 1. The Geometry of Spacetime 1. Parable of the Surveyors 2. The Intertial Reference Frame 3. The Principle of Relativity 4. The Coordinates of an Event 5. Invariance of the Interval 6. The Spacetime Diagram; World Lines 7. Regions of Spacetime 8. The Lorentz Transformation 9. The Velocity Parameter Exercises of Chapter 1: Introduction and Table of Contents A. The Spacetime Interval (Text sections 5,6,7) B. Thg Lorentz Transformation (Text sections 8 and 9) C. Puzzles And Paradoxes D. Background E. Approximations At Low Velocity F. Spacetime Physics: More Observations G. Geometric Interpretation H. Free-For-All! Chapter 2. Momentum and Energy 10. Introduction; Momentum and Energy in Units of Mass 11. Momentum 12. The Momentum-energy 4-vector 13. The Equivalence of Energy and Rest Mass Dialogue: Uses and Abuses of the Concept of Mass Exercises of Chapter 2: Introduction and Table of Contents A. General Problems B. Equivalence Of Energy And REst Mass C. Photons D. Doppler Shift E. Collisions F. Atomic Physics G. Interstellar Flight Chapter 3. The Physics of Curved Spacetime Dialogue: Outline of Physics as seen from the Spacetime Viewpoint Index Solutions To The Exercises |
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