Description
Book SynopsisThis 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.
Trade ReviewFrom reviews of the first edition: 'This will be a really useful book for students for years, perhaps decades, to come.' Nature
'...Rindler's book should be a convenient and valuable (and affordable) addition to the advanced physics students's shelves' American Journal of Physics
'The author's pedagogic skills are apparent in his ability to underline and clearly explain the conceptual intricacies embodied in Einstein's postulates... giving lucid and illuminating accounts of the conventional basic topics' Physics Education
'The text of the first edition is refined and improved. Major changes concern the derivation of the Lorentz transformation and the development of continuum mechanics.' B. Wegner, Mathematics Abstracts, 781/94
Table of ContentsThe foundations of special relativity; Relativistic kinematics; Relativistic optics; Spacetime; Relativistic particle mechanics; Relativity and electromagnetism; Relativistic mechanics of continua; Appendices; Index.
