Relativity: The Special and General Theory Book 9789394791534 ISBN, Prints Publications

Relativity: The Special and General Theory

Author: Albert Einstein

Publisher: Prints Publications Pvt Ltd

Availability: Available

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Publisher	Prints Publications Pvt Ltd
Publication Year	2023
ISBN-13	9789394791534
Binding	Paper back
Number of Pages	109 Pages
Language	English
Edition	1st
Dimension (Inches)	5.5"*8.5"
Weight (Grams)	152
Subject	Classic Fiction
Category	Fiction

‘When you are courting a nice girl an hour seems like a second. When you sit on a red-hot cinder a second seems like an hour. That’s relativity.’ Dealing with the theory of relativity— special relativity and general relativity—and the considerations on the universe as a whole, this book gives an insight into the scientific theory about the relationship between space and time, the theory of gravitation and the universe. A Nobel laureate, Einstein’s research and theories changed the world. First published in 1916, Relativity: The Special and the General Theory is regarded as the most significant work in modern physics. It continues to remain popular and highly influential.

Albert Einstein

Regarded as the founder of modern physics, Albert Einstein was born in 1879, in Ulm, Kingdom of Württemberg, German Empire. He completed his Ph.D. from the University of Zürich in 1905 and published four papers in the scientific journal named Annalen der Physik. These papers on photoelectric effect, Brownian motion, special relativity and mass-energy equivalence (E = mc2) were significant contributors to the foundation of modern physics. In the next few years, Einstein came to be recognized as a major scientist. He developed the general theory of relativity between 1907 and 1915. It was published in 1915. In 1916, Einstein published Relativity: The Special and the General Theory in German. Its first English translation was published in 1920. In 1921, Einstein was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics “for his services to Theoretical Physics and especially for his discovery of the law of the photoelectric effect.” He published numerous scientific and non-scientific works. Einstein died on 18 April 1955, aged 76, in Princeton, New Jersey.

CONTENTS

Preface.............................................................................................. 5

Part I. The Special Theory of Relativity............................................ 6

Physical Meaning of Geometrical Propositions......................... 7
The System of Co-ordinates.................................................... 9
Space and Time in Classical Mechanics................................. 12
The Galileian System of Co-ordinates.................................... 14
The Principle of Relativity in the Restricted Sense.................. 15
The Theorem of the Addition of Velocities Employed in
Classical Mechanics............................................................. 18
The Apparent Incompatibility of the Law of Propagation of
Light with the Principle of Relativity..................................... 19
On the Idea of Time in Physics.............................................. 22
The Relativity of Simultaneity............................................... 25
On the Relativity of the Conception of Distance...................... 27
The Lorentz Transformation.................................................. 28
The Behaviour of Measuring-Rods and Clocks in Motion........ 32
Theorem of the Addition of Velocities. The Experiment
of Fizeau............................................................................. 35
The Heuristic Value of the Theory of Relativity...................... 38
General Results of the Theory............................................... 39
Experience and the Special Theory of Relativity..................... 43
Minkowski’s Four-Dimensional Space................................... 47

Part II. The General Theory of Relativity....................................... 50

Special and General Principle of Relativity............................ 51
The Gravitational Field........................................................ 54
The Equality of Inertial and Gravitational Mass as
an Argument for the General Postulate of Relativity............... 56

In What Respects Are the Foundations of Classical
Mechanics and of the Special Theory of Relativity Unsatisfactory?... 59

A Few Inferences from the General Principle of Relativity..... 61
Behaviour of Clocks and Measuring-Rods on a Rotating

Body of Reference................................................................ 64

Euclidean and Non-Euclidean Continuum........................... 67
Gaussian Co-Ordinates....................................................... 70
The Space-Time Continuum of the Special Theory of

Relativity Considered as a Euclidean Continuum.................. 73

The Space-Time Continuum of the General Theory of

Relativity is Not a Euclidean Continuum.............................. 75

Exact Formulation of the General Principle of Relativity....... 78
The Solution of the Problem of Gravitation on the Basis of
the General Principle of Relativity....................................... 81

Part III. Considerations on the Universe as a Whole........................ 84

Cosmological Difficulties of Newton’s Theory........................ 85
The Possibility of a “Finite” and yet “Unbounded” Universe... 87
The Structure of Space According to the General
Theory of Relativity............................................................. 91

Appendix I. Simple Derivation of the Lorentz Transformation [Supplementary to Section XI] 93

Appendix II. Minkowski’s Four-Dimensional Space (“World”) [Supplementary to Section XVII] 98

Appendix III. The Experimental Confirmation of the General
Theory of Relativity..................................................... 100

1. Motion of the Perihelion of Mercury....................... 101
2. Deflection of Light by a Gravitational Field............. 102
3. Displacement of Spectral Lines Towards the Red...... 104

Appendix IV. The Structure of Space According to the General Theory
of Relativity [Supplementary to Section XXXII].............. 108