Introduction to special relativity
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Bibliographic Information
Introduction to special relativity
Clarendon Press , Oxford University Press, 1991
2nd ed
- : pbk
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Includes index
Description and Table of Contents
- Volume
-
: pbk ISBN 9780198539520
Description
This book is intended for undergraduates taking an introductory course on special relativity which is rather more conceptually and mathematically than experimentally orientated. A suitably prepared reader could use it for self-study. It assumes no prior knowledge of relativity. Thus it elaborates the underlying logic, dwells on the subleties and apparent paradoxes, and also contains a large collection of problems which should just about cover all the basic modes of
thinking and calculating in special relativity. Much emphasis has been laid on developing the student's intuition for space-time geometry and four-tensor calculus; but the approach is not so dogmatically four-dimensional that three-dimensional methods are rejected our of hand when they yield a result
more directly.
This updated new edition contains additional examples and problems, and the chapter on relativistic mechanics of continua has been substantially rewritten.
Table of Contents
- The foundations of special relativity
- Relativistic kinematics
- Relativistic optics
- Spacetime
- Relativistic particle mechanics
- Relativity and electromagnetism
- Relativistic mechanics of continua
- Appendices
- Index.
- Volume
-
ISBN 9780198539537
Description
This is a second edition of this book intended for undergraduates taking an introductory course on special relativity which is mainly conceptually and mathematically oriented. A suitably prepared reader could also use it for self-study. It assumes no prior knowledge of relativity. It elaborates the underlying logic, and dwells on the subtleties and apparent paradoxes, and contains many problems which cover all the basic modes of thinking and calculating in special relativity. Much emphasis has been laid on developing the reader's understanding of space-time geometry and 4 -tensor calculus, but 4-dimensional methods are readily abandoned when a 3-dimensional approach gives more direct results. This updated edition contains additional examples and problems, and the chapter on relativistic mechanics of continua has been substantially rewritten. It is intended for university students, undergraduates and graduates, both in physics and applied mathematics, university and college teachers of special relativity courses, engineers and professors.
Table of Contents
- Part 1 The foundations of special relativity: schematic account of the Michelson - Morley experiment
- inertial frames in special relativity
- Einstein's two axioms for special relativity
- coordinates - the relativity of time
- derivation of the Lorentz transformation
- properties of the Lorentz transformation. Part 2 Relativistic kinematics: length contraction
- the length contraction paradox
- time dilation
- the twin paradox
- velocity transformation. Part 3 Relativistic optics: the drag effect
- the Doppler effect
- aberration and the visual appearance of moving objects. Part 4 Spacetime: spacetime and 4-tensors
- the Minkowski map of spacetime
- rules for the manipulation of 4-tensors
- 4-velocity and 4-acceleration
- wave motion. Part 5 Relativistic particle mechanics: the conservation of 4-momentum
- the equivalence of mass and energy
- some 4-momentum identities
- relativistic billiards
- the centre of momentum frame
- threshold energies
- De Broglie waves
- photons
- the angular momentum 4-tensor
- 3-force and 4-force
- relativistic analytic mechanics. Part 6 Relativity and electromagnetism: the formal structure of Maxwell's theory
- transformation of "e" and "b" - the deal field
- potential and field of an arbitrarily moving charge
- field of a uniformly moving charge
- the electromagnetic energy tensor
- electromagnetic waves. Part 7 Relativistic mechanics of continua: preliminaries external and internal forces
- the augmented momentum and mass densities
- the equations of continuity and of motion
- the mechanical energy tensor
- perfect fluids and incoherent fluids
- integral conservation laws. Appendix - tensors for special relativity.
by "Nielsen BookData"