Special Relativity
From Einstein to Strings
Published on 25. March 2004
Book
Hardback
388 pages
978-0-521-81260-3 (ISBN)
Description
This book provides a thorough introduction to Einstein's special theory of relativity, suitable for anyone with a minimum of one year's university physics with calculus. It is divided into fundamental and advanced topics. The first section starts by recalling the Pythagorean rule and its relation to the geometry of space, then covers every aspect of special relativity, including the history. The second section covers the impact of relativity in quantum theory, with an introduction to relativistic quantum mechanics and quantum field theory. It also goes over the group theory of the Lorentz group, a simple introduction to supersymmetry, and ends with cutting-edge topics such as general relativity, the standard model of elementary particles and its extensions, superstring theory, and a survey of important unsolved problems. Each chapter comes with a set of exercises. The book is accompanied by a CD-ROM illustrating, through interactive animation, classic problems in relativity involving motion.
Reviews / Votes
'This well-written book will be extremely helpful for physics students who wish to go beyond what is most commonly taught and to delve more deeply into special relativity, for its own sake or as a starting point for understanding general relativity and gravitation. The authors treat many modern topics in addition to the classical material.' Professor Edward Witten, rinceton Institute for Advanced Study 'Patricia and John Schwarz have created an elegant book that uses special relativity to organize a sophisticated discussion of Maxwell theory, differential geometry, symmetry, and field dynamics. This book will reveal to the student the powerful tools that enhance our comprehension of physical theories.' Professor Barton Zwiebach, Massachusetts Institute of Technology ' ... the book is well structured and organized, each treatment of a particular topic flowing nicely into the next ... this is an ideal book for anyone wishing to obtain a good grounding in special relativity ...'. Mathematics Today 'What is particularly commendable is the hands-on exercises in the earlier chapters that try to instil an intuitive feeling for the difficult concepts. ... This book is ambitious in its scope to introduce concepts from differential geometry to a wide audience including second year undergraduates. ... The book is particularly readable and anyone keen on being introduced to the concepts that have been influenced by special relativity will find this valuable.' Contemporary PhysicsMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
Cambridge
United Kingdom
Target group
College/higher education
Illustrations
Worked examples or Exercises; 2 Tables, unspecified; 39 Line drawings, unspecified
Dimensions
Height: 250 mm
Width: 175 mm
Thickness: 25 mm
Weight
850 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-521-81260-3 (9780521812603)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
05/2006
1st Edition
Cambridge University Press
€73.99
Available for download
Book
Cambridge University Press
€16.67
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Previous edition
Book
Cambridge University Press
€16.67
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Persons
Patricia M. Schwarz received her BA from San Francisco State University and her PhD in theoretical physics from the California Institute of Technology. Her research specialty is spacetime geometry in general relativity and string theory. She is an expert in multimedia and online education technology. Her award-winning multimedia-rich web site at http://superstringtheory.com is popular with the public and is widely used as an educationalresource, hosting online physics courses with teachers and students from around the world. John H. Schwarz, the Harold Brown Professor of Theoretical Physics at the California Institute of Technology, is one of the founders of superstring theory. He coauthored a two-volume monograph 'Superstring Theory' with Michael Green and Edward Witten in 1987. He is a Mac Arthur Fellow and a member of the National Academy of Sciences. He has received the Dirac Medal from the International Center for Theoretical Physics and the Dannie Heineman Prize in Mathematical Physics from the American Physical Society.
Content
Preface; Part I. Fundamentals: 1. From Pythagoras to spacetime geometry; 2. Light surprises everyone; 3. Elements of spacetime geometry; 4. Mechanics in spacetime; 5. Spacetime physics of fields; 6. Causality and relativity; Part II. Advanced Topics: 7. When quantum mechanics and relativity collide; 8. Group theory and relativity; 9. Supersymmetry and superspace; 10. Looking onward; Appendix 1. Where do equations of motion come from?; Appendix 2. Basic group theory; Appendix 3. Lie groups and Lie algebras; Appendix 4. The structure of super Lie algebras; References; Index.