Understanding Einstein's Theories of Relativity Man's New Perspective on the Cosmos

by Gibilisco, Stan

• ISBN13: 9780486266596
• ISBN10: 0486266591
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1991-04-01
• Publisher: Dover Publications

Summary

Clear, concise exposition of both the special and general theories of relativity, intended for nonscientific readers with a knowledge of high school math. Topics include simultaneity, time dilation, length contraction, the possibility of travel to a distant star, non-Euclidean geometries, black holes, and the structure of the universe. 158 illustrations.

Table of Contents

 The Speed of Light Is the Speed of Time
1 The Fundamental Axiom of Relativity
   Reference Frames
   Light Speed
   Ether Theory
   Indirect Observations
   Theoretically Faster than Light
   Seeing Back in Time
   What is Light?
   Particle Theory
   Wave Theory
   Matter is Energy
2 "What Does "Simultaneous" Mean?"
   Time is Distance
   Time Stations
   Clocks in Space
   Very Far Ago
   The Effect of Motion
   Motion of a Viewer
   Moving light Sources
   Red and Blue Shift
   Expanding Space
3 Time Distortion
   Cosmic Time
   Time Distortion as a Result of Motion
   A Light-Beam Clock: Special Relativity
   Point of View
   Calculating the Time-Distortion Factor
   The General Case
   The Twin Paradox
   The Rotation Paradox
   Standards of Motion
   The General Theory
   Addition of Velocities
4 Distortion of Space and Mass
   Time Dimensions
   Velocity-Corrected Space-Time
   Moving Rods
   Moving Disks
   Three Spatial Dimensions
   Mesons
   Inertial Mass
   In Motion
   Conservation of Momentum
   A Contradiction
5 Journeys to the Stars
   Mass Versus Velocity
   Space Ship Design for High Speed
   A Trip to Alpha Centauri
   Time Travel
   Backward Time Travel
   Difficulties with Interstellar Travel
   Telecommunications
   Star Hopping
   Have We Been Visited?
   Close Encounters
   Project Ozma
6 Dimensions and Hyperspace "Hyperspace" Communication
   What is a Dimension?
   The Cartesian System
   Polar Coordinates
   Two Space
   The Distance Formula for Plane Geometry
   Euclidean or Non-Euclidean?
   Euclidean and Non-Euclidean Three-Space
   The Hypersphere
   The Four Cube
   Time as the Fourth Dimension
   Escaping from a Cell
   Intersecting Spaces
   How We See Lesser Spaces
   More than Four Dimension
   Interior Angles of a Triangle
   Refraction
   Geodetic Lines
   "Coordinates in "Spherical Universes"
   "Coordinates in "Non-Spherical" Universes"
7 The Theory of General Relativity
   Distance Through Progressively More Dimensions
   Centrifugal Force
   Alone in the Universe
   A Universe of Two
   Acceleration and Gravitation
   Inside the Ball
   Distortion of Time and Space Caused by Acceleration
   Resolving the Twin Paradox
   The Rotational Acceleration Field
   Rotating Coordinates
   All Points of View Are Equally Valid
   One-to-One Correspondences
   Acceleration Distorts Space
   Deflection of a Photon with Circular Motion
   The Principal of Equivalence
   Light from the Stars
   The Perihelion of Mercury
   Red Shift Caused by Gravitation
   Gravity Waves
   The Unified Field Theory
8 Anomalies in Space
   Is Space Really Curved?
   The Death of a Star
   Gravitational Collapse
   An Outside View
   Gravitational Radius Versus Mass
   How Common Are Black Holes?
   Gravitational Shock Waves
   Strange Binary Stars
   Quasi-Stellar Radio Sources
   Collapsars and Space Travel
   Collapsars and Time Travel
   Black-Hole Universes
9 The Structure and Evolution of the Universe
   Is Our Universe a Black Hole?
   The Universe of Ptolemy
   "Coperrnicus, Tycho and Kepler"
   Galileo and Newton
   Orbital Geometry
   According to Newton
   Newton's Absolute Space and Time
   The Advent of Modern Cosmology
   Distance Measurements in the Cosmos
   "Slipherm de Sitter, and Hubble"
   The Steady-State Theory
   The Beginning of Time
   The End of Time