Understanding Relativity

by Sartori, Leo

• ISBN13: 9780520200296
• ISBN10: 0520200292
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1996-06-01
• Publisher: Univ of California Pr

Summary

Nonspecialists with no prior knowledge of physics and only reasonable proficiency with algebra can now understand Einstein's special theory of relativity. Effectively diagrammed and with an emphasis on logical structure, Leo Sartori's rigorous but simple presentation will guide interested readers through concepts of relative time and relative space. Sartori covers general relativity and cosmology, but focuses on Einstein's theory. He tracks its history and implications. He explores illuminating paradoxes, including the famous twin paradox, the "pole-in-the-barn" paradox, and the Loedel diagram, which is an accessible, graphic approach to relativity. Students of the history and philosophy of science will welcome this concise introduction to the central concept of modern physics.

Table of Contents

Preface	xi
Acknowledgments	xiii
Galilean Relativity	1	(25)
Relativity and Common Sense	1	(4)
Events, Observers, and Frames of Reference	5	(3)
The Principle of Relativity and Inertial Frames	8	(4)
The Galilean Transformation	12	(5)
Stellar Aberration	17	(2)
The Covariance of Physical Laws	19	(2)
The Conservation of Momentum	21	(5)
Problems	24	(2)
The Michelson-Morley Experiment	26	(22)
The Ether	26	(1)
Prelude to Michelson-Morley	27	(2)
The Experiment	29	(10)
Attempts to Salvage the Ether	39	(9)
Problems	46	(2)
The Postulates of Relativity and Their Implications	48	(49)
The Postulates	48	(3)
The Role of the Michelson-Morley Experiment in the Genesis of Relativity	51	(3)
The Relativity of Time: Simultaneity	54	(6)
The Synchronization of Clocks	60	(8)
Time Dilation	68	(11)
The Decay of Muons	79	(4)
Length Contraction	83	(5)
Transverse Lengths	88	(5)
Summary	93	(4)
Problems	94	(3)
The Lorentz Transformation	97	(42)
Introduction	97	(1)
The Transformation Equations	98	(5)
Some Consequences of the Transformation Equations	103	(4)
The Transformation of Velocity	107	(4)
Fizeau's Experiment	111	(3)
The Transformation of Direction and Relativistic Aberration	114	(2)
Acceleration in Special Relativity	116	(1)
The Doppler Effect	117	(5)
The Role of Lorentz and Poincare in the Birth of Relativity	122	(17)
Appendix. The Low-Velocity Approximation	134	(1)
Problems	135	(4)
Space-Time Diagrams	139	(27)
World Lines	139	(3)
The Light Cone	142	(2)
Relativity and Causality	144	(6)
Timelike and Spacelike Intervals	150	(1)
The Loedel Diagram	151	(5)
Applications of the Loedel Diagram	156	(4)
The Doppler Effect Revisited	160	(6)
Appendix 5A. Mathematical Basis for the Loedel Diagram	162	(1)
Appendix 5B. The Doppler Formula	163	(1)
Problems	164	(2)
Paradoxes of Relativity	166	(36)
Introduction	166	(1)
The ``Pole and Barn'' Paradox	166	(7)
What If the Pole Stops?	173	(12)
Other Length Paradoxes	185	(7)
The Paradox of the Twins	192	(10)
Problems	200	(2)
Relativistic Mechanics	202	(41)
The Equivalence of Mass and Energy	202	(6)
Kinetic Energy and Total Energy	208	(5)
Relativistic Momentum	213	(6)
Relativity in Nuclear and Particle Physics	219	(6)
Beta Decay and the Neutrino	225	(2)
The Transformation Law for Energy and Momentum; Four-vectors	227	(2)
Photons	229	(6)
Tachyons	235	(8)
Appendix. Transformation of Momentum and Energy	237	(2)
Problems	239	(4)
General Relativity	243	(50)
Introduction	243	(3)
The Principle of Equivalence	246	(9)
The Gravitational Red Shift	255	(8)
Bending of Light in a Gravitational Field	263	(4)
Curved Space	267	(10)
General Relativity: Gravity as Geometry	277	(16)
Appendix. Curvature of a Spherical Space	289	(2)
Problems	291	(2)
Cosmology	293	(64)
Basic Facts: The Cosmological Principle	293	(4)
Hubble's Law and the Expansion of the Universe	297	(13)
The Big Bang	310	(3)
The Hubble Sphere and Horizons	313	(2)
Cosmological Models: Friedmann Universes	315	(12)
The Steady-State Universe	327	(5)
Observational Tests	332	(5)
The History of the Universe	337	(15)
Did the Big Bang Really Happen?	352	(5)
Problems	354	(3)
Index	357