Relativity: The Special and General Theory
Author(s): Albert Einstein, Robert W. Lawson
Genre(s): Astronomy, Physics & Mechanics
Narrators: Featherheadfop, Linda Leu, Peter Eastman, David Barnes, Laurie Anne Walden, Annie Coleman Rothenberg, Meredith Hughes, ML Cohen
Number of Chapters: 13
Length: 3 hours and 39 minutes
Language: English
This is an introduction to Einstein’s space-bending, time-stretching theory of Relativity, written by the master himself. Special and General relativity explain the structure of space time and provide a theory of gravitation, respectively. Einstein’s theories shocked the world with their counterintuitive results, including the dissolution of absolute time. In this book he brings a simplified form of his profound understanding of the subject to the layperson. In the words of Einstein: “The present book is intended, as far as possible, to give an exact insight into the theory of Relativity to those readers who, from a general scientific and philosophical point of view, are interested in the theory, but who are not conversant with the mathematical apparatus of theoretical physics.” The book is challenging at times but, when approached patiently, proves itself one of the most lucid explanations of Relativity to be found anywhere. [Due to transcription or optical character recognition errors in creating online texts, and because of less-than-clear fonts in some printed texts, the variables as read in some of the equations here are not as Einstein intended. For example, the numeral ‘one’ has frequently been printed and read as the letter ‘I.’ In addition, some equations do not translate well into the spoken word. If you require completely accurate renditions of Einstein’s mathematical formulas, we suggest that you consult a published text.] — Summary written by Kelly Bescherer [and Laurie Anne Walden]
01. Physical Meaning of Geometrical Propositions
02. The System of Co-ordinates
03. Space and Time in Classical Mechanics (featherheadfop)
05. The Principle of Relativity (in the Restricted Sense)
06. The Theorem of the Addition of Velocities employed in Classical Mechanics (Linda Leu)
08. On the Idea of Time in Physics
09. The Relativity of Simultaneity (Peter Eastman)
11. The Lorentz Transformation
12. The Behaviour of Measuring-Rods and Clocks in Motion (David Barnes)
14. The Hueristic Value of the Theory of Relativity
15. General Results of the Theory (Linda Leu)
17. Minkowski's Four-dimensial Space (featherheadfop)
18. Special and General Principle of Relativity
19. The Gravitational Field
20. The Equality of Inertial and Gravitational Mass as an Argument for the General Postulate of Relativity (Laurie Anne Walden)
22. A Few Inferences from the General Principle of Relativity
23. Behaviour of Clocks and Measuring-Rods on a Rotating Body of Reference (Annie Coleman Rothenberg)
25. Gaussian Co-ordinates
26. The Space-Time Continuum of the Speical Theory of Relativity (Meredith Hughes)
28. Exact Formulation of the General Principle of Relativity
29. The Solution of the Problem of Gravitation on the Basis of the (David Barnes)