The Geometry of Spacetime

An Introduction to Special and General Relativity
2000
ISBN: 978-0-387-98641-8
Verlag: Springer

Buch, Englisch, 454 Seiten, HC runder Rücken kaschiert, Format (B × H): 183 mm x 241 mm, Gewicht: 1018 g

Reihe: Undergraduate Texts in Mathematics

In 1905, Albert Einstein offered a revolutionary theory - special relativity - to explain some of the most troubling problems in current physics concerning electromagnetism and motion. Soon afterwards, Hermann Minkowski recast special relativity essentially as a new geometric structure for spacetime. These ideas are the subject of the first part of the book. The second part develops the main implications of Einstein's general relativity as a theory of gravity rooted in the differential geometry of surfaces. The author explores the way an individual observer views the world and how a pair of observers collaborates to gain objective knowledge of the world. He has tried to encompass both the general and special theory by using the geometry of spacetime as the unifying theme of the book. To read it, one needs only a first course in linear algebra and multivariable calculus and familiarity with the physical applications of calculus.

Zielgruppe

Lower undergraduate

Autoren/Hrsg.

Callahan, James J.

Fachgebiete

• Mathematik | Informatik Mathematik Geometrie Geometrie der modernen Physik
• Naturwissenschaften Physik Quantenphysik Relativität, Gravitation
• Mathematik | Informatik Mathematik Numerik und Wissenschaftliches Rechnen Angewandte Mathematik, Mathematische Modelle
• Naturwissenschaften Physik Physik Allgemein Theoretische Physik, Mathematische Physik, Computerphysik

Inhaltsverzeichnis

1 Relativity Before 1905.- 2 Special Relativity-Kinematics.- 3 Special Relativity-Kinetics.- 4 Arbitrary Frames.- 5 Surfaces and Curvature.- 6 Intrinsic Geometry.- 7 General Relativity.- 8 Consequences.