Description
Book SynopsisEinstein's general theory of relativity requires a curved space for the description of the physical world. This title comprises thirty-five compact chapters that takes the reader point-by-point through the necessary steps for understanding general relativity.
Trade Review"Seasoned physicists will appreciate the book as an elegant, well-organized introduction to the basic mathematics and physics of curved space."--Physics Today "Dirac was a man of few words, and this little book-with 35 sections spanning 69 pages-exhibits the concise, direct style that was his trademark. Seasoned physicists will appreciate the book as an elegant, well-organized introduction to the basic mathematics and physics of curved space."--R. Corby Hovis, Physics Today
Table of Contents1Special Relativity12Oblique Axes33Curvilinear Coordinates54Nontensors85Curved Space96Parallel Displacement107Christoffel Symbols128Geodesics149The Stationary Property of Geodesics1610Covariant Differentiation1711The Curvature Tensor2012The Condition for Flat Space2213The Bianchi Relations2314The Ricci Tensor2415Einstein's Law of Gravitation2516The Newtonian Approximation2617The Gravitational Red Shift2918The Schwarzchild Solution3019Black Holes3220Tensor Densities3621Gauss and Stokes Theorems3822Harmonic Coordinates4023The Electromagnetic Field4124Modification of the Einstein Equations by the Presence of Matter4325The Material Energy Tensor4526The Gravitational Action Principle4827The Action for a Continuous Distribution of Matter5028The Action for the Electromagnetic Field5429The Action for Charged Matter5530The Comprehensive Action Principle5831The Pseudo-Energy Tensor of the Gravitational Field6132Explicit Expression for the Pseudo-Tensor6333Gravitational Waves6434The Polarization of Gravitational Waves6635The Cosmological Term68Index71
