Simply Einstein: Relativity Demystified

Rating:
Summary: A thorough summary of SR
Review: If you want to know more about relativity, at Amazon.com you can purchase lots of books. But where do you start?

Perhaps you have heard about general relativity [GR]. You might think you first have to learn GR. And then special relativity [SR] treats the special, more difficult cases of GR. That's wrong. Start with the relatively easy SR and then try the far more difficult GR. There are several books that treat SR at a level any intelligent person can handle. Most of them avoid mathematics. That's a pity. Mathematics aren't difficult in SR.

My introduction to SR was as follows:

I started with Relativity Visualized [Lewis Carroll Epstein] to acquire some feeling with SR.

Then I jumped to Space and Time in Special Relativity [N. David Mermin] that introduces lots of logical examples and thought experiments, I liked very much. After reading this book you are able to make your own thought experiments, which makes you more critical when reading 'other' books. Mermin shows you the difference between relativistic effects and non-relativistic effects of light traveling. Most books forget about this.

The next book was Understanding Relativity [Leo Sartori] who did a very good job on explaining Lorentz transformation and the corresponding spacetime diagrams.

I also read The Elegant Universe [Brian Greene] which is probably the best science book ever for a non-scientist. After reading about Calabi-Yau spaces you wonder what is the problem with understanding SR. I also read parts of Spacetime Physics [Taylor Wheeler] and I must say, Richard Wolfson explains some details of this book in a better way.

So Simply Einstein [Richard Wolfson] is a book I think is suitable for the more experienced reader in SR. It might not be the book to start with. Try some other books first. This book provides a very thorough summary of SR when you get lost in the other books. But after reading this book I was sure. Something is missing in educating SR and GR.

In SR most authors try to avoid mathematics while authors of GR books think you know everything about tensor calculus. At this moment I do not understand GR yet. SR is four dimensional, but spacetime diagrams are mostly two dimensional for easier understanding. Why can't GR books treat the subject two dimensional to start with? If anyone knows a books that fills the gap between SR an GR I would be glad to know.

Back to Wolfson's book. Wolfson did very well by, e.g. explaining time dilation mathematically and telling you difference between sound waves and electromagnetic waves with respect to relativity. But, as far as I know, no book deals with time dilation in conjunction with length contraction. I developed my own thought experiments. I hope to find in one of the Amazon books the solution to the problem I created.

Imagine a train, with a length of 180 meter, moving at 0.6c. The train goes forward 180 meter every microsecond. That makes calculations easy. Ground observers measure the length of the train contracted, 144 meters. As far as I know no book deals with the fact how contraction takes place. If contraction happens symmetrically [which I can prove it should] then, an acceleration of the train of 0.2c in 0.2 microseconds will contract the train to 108 meters. The middle of the train will move on with an average speed of 0.7c or 42 meters in 0.2 microseconds. Due to the contraction the back end of the train will be positioned at 54 meter from the middle of the train. This means that the back end of the train has moved 42 meter [during the time of acceleration] plus [72-54 = 18 meter] while contracting = 60 meter in 0.2 microseconds. If this happens the back end of the train moves at the speed of light, as measured by the ground observers. That is not possible. So one way or another time must act differently when the train is accelerating. And that is just the theme of GR.

Which author handles this theme and can provide a bridge between SR and GR? Where can I find examples on accelerating trains and the warping of time? Maybe in Richard Wolfson's new book? I'm waiting for it.

Rating:
Summary: Perfect for the Interested Layman
Review: Simply Einstein is the best layman's (people such as me) guide to relativity that I have come across in my attempts to gain some understanding of the subject. I have been a science fiction fan since the early Star Trek days and assumed inter-stellar travel's certainty sometime in the near future. I was quite disappointed when a college friend became the bearer of bad news and told me that faster than light travel is impossible. Nearly as disappointing, as I learned more through the years, is the enormous difficulty of getting anywhere nears the speed of light. Since then I have been instantly attracted to any article that discusses ways of getting around relativity. Needless to say Einstein's theories have held a fascination for me despite my educational background lacking even a high school physics course and no math past second year algebra. I have enjoyed numerous PBS specials, which touched on the subject as well as books such as The Idiots Guide to Understanding Einstein and E=MC2. Both are excellent and deserve high reviews. My attempts to understand relativity has been an occasional intellectual exercise for me in the same way that others enjoy puzzles, but the success of my efforts has been limited and elusive as touching a cloud.

I purchased Simply Einstein at an Einstein exhibit that has been touring the country. Don't miss it if it comes to your area! Many of the exhibits seemed to be inspired by this book. The author in over approximately 300 pages builds the case for relativity with the aid of a series of analogies and diagrams. He also periodically sums up the main points needed to understand in a clear and concise manner and repeats himself many times to make it sink in and remind the reader. This eliminates the problem of many similar books in which the critical points are stated once or are in a forest difficult to see because of the trees. Understanding the material in Simply Einstein is not a breeze, but if the reader is willing to put in the time and carefully study the examples, a higher level of understanding will be the reward. I am a long way from true understanding, but the level of mystery has been significantly reduced. The success of this book to me is demonstrated by my having reread it twice since buying it a couple of months ago. Perhaps the most satisfying part is at the end when the author remarks that due to the limitations of the human mind, relativity is something he cannot fully understand and doubts Einstein did either.



Rating:
Summary: An excellent introduction to the relativity principle
Review: The author gives excellent examples from everyday life inorder to make one understand this great principle. Indeed he simplifies Einsteins way of thinking. The book takes the universe as seen from Copernicus, Newton, Galileo, before explaining what relativity is all about. Finally he convinces us that had we been travelling at velocities comparable with the speed of light, it would not have taken a genius to discover what is relativity.

Rating:
Summary: Good first relativity book
Review: The popular press Einstein relativity genre is certainly crowded. I don't think anyone should buy this book to add to a collection in the genre but it is certainly worth a look as a first book. With the obligatory "denial of math" in the preface, I'll never figure out why physicists have to be literate in the humanities but non-physicists don't have to be literate in math and science, we are taken through chapters that seem to be based on the good teacher technique of teaching from student misconceptions rather than just presenting facts. I was introduced to Wolfson as a great teacher in his Teaching Company course and was not let down with this book.

There are few inconsistancies and a lot of good science stuff here so don't be afraid to be demystified.

Rating:
Summary: Good first relativity book
Review: The popular press Einstein relativity genre is certainly crowded. I don't think anyone should buy this book to add to a collection in the genre but it is certainly worth a look as a first book. With the obligatory "denial of math" in the preface, I'll never figure out why physicists have to be literate in the humanities but non-physicists don't have to be literate in math and science, we are taken through chapters that seem to be based on the good teacher technique of teaching from student misconceptions rather than just presenting facts. I was introduced to Wolfson as a great teacher in his Teaching Company course and was not let down with this book.

There are few inconsistancies and a lot of good science stuff here so don't be afraid to be demystified.

Rating:
Summary: Worth reading twice
Review: This is the best book I've read on Relativity. I think I understood all of it. The author emphasizes that the terminology you use can confuse people --- clocks don't really run slow, for example, it's just that your frame of reference is different so it seems that way.

The author does a good job explaining that gravity is a curve in spacetime. The book is full of helpful diagrams. I'm glad I found this one. Understanding Relativity is not easy, and even the smartest scientists have trouble explaining it. Wolfson got it right.