The Geometry of Spacetime: An Introduction to Special and General Relativity

Callahan, James J.

ISBN 10: 0387986413 / ISBN 13: 9780387986418

Published by New York, NY : Springer, 2000

About this Item

Original boards, illustrated with numerous equations, graphs and diagrams, 8vo. Seller Inventory # 352809-ZC6

Bibliographic Details

Title: The Geometry of Spacetime: An Introduction ...

Publisher: New York, NY : Springer

Publication Date: 2000

Binding: Hardcover

Condition: Good

About this title

Synopsis:

Hermann Minkowski recast special relativity as essentially a new geometric structure for spacetime. This book looks at the ideas of both Einstein and Minkowski, and then introduces the theory of frames, surfaces and intrinsic geometry, developing the main implications of Einstein's general relativity theory.

Synopsis:

In 1905, Albert Einstein offered a revolutionary theory - special relativity - to explain some of the most troubling problems in current physics concerning electromagnetism and motion. Soon afterwards, Hermann Minkowski recast special relativity essentially as a new geometric structure for spacetime. These ideas are the subject of the first part of the book. The second part develops the main implications of Einstein's general relativity as a theory of gravity rooted in the differential geometry of surfaces. The author explores the way an individual observer views the world and how a pair of observers collaborate to gain objective knowledge of the world. To encompass both the general and special theory, he uses the geometry of spacetime as the unifying theme of the book. To read it, one needs only a first course in linear algebra and multivariable calculus and familiarity with the physical applications of calculus.