
Functional Differential Geometry
Will Farr(Co-Author)
MIT Press
Published on 5. July 2013
Book
Hardback
248 pages
978-0-262-01934-7 (ISBN)
Description
An explanation of the mathematics needed as a foundation for a deep understanding of general relativity or quantum field theory.Physics is naturally expressed in mathematical language. Students new to the subject must simultaneously learn an idiomatic mathematical language and the content that is expressed in that language. It is as if they were asked to read Les Misérables while struggling with French grammar. This book offers an innovative way to learn the differential geometry needed as a foundation for a deep understanding of general relativity or quantum field theory as taught at the college level.The approach taken by the authors (and used in their classes at MIT for many years) differs from the conventional one in several ways, including an emphasis on the development of the covariant derivative and an avoidance of the use of traditional index notation for tensors in favor of a semantically richer language of vector fields and differential forms. But the biggest single difference is the authors' integration of computer programming into their explanations. By programming a computer to interpret a formula, the student soon learns whether or not a formula is correct. Students are led to improve their program, and as a result improve their understanding.
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Cambridge
United States
Publishing group
MIT Press Ltd
Target group
Interest Age: From 18 years
Product notice
Cloth over boards
Illustrations
8 s/w Abbildungen
8 b&w illus.
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 152 mm
Thickness: 17 mm
Weight
449 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-262-01934-7 (9780262019347)
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Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Gerald Jay Sussman is Panasonic (formerly Matsushita) Professor of Electrical Engineering in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at MIT and the coauthor (with Hal Abelson) of Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs (MIT Press).
Jack Wisdom is Professor of Planetary Science in the Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences at MIT. Sussman and Wisdom are the coauthors of Structure and Interpretation of Classical Mechanics (MIT Press).
Will Farr is a CIERA Fellow at Northwestern University.
Jack Wisdom is Professor of Planetary Science in the Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences at MIT. Sussman and Wisdom are the coauthors of Structure and Interpretation of Classical Mechanics (MIT Press).
Will Farr is a CIERA Fellow at Northwestern University.