- Paperback: 107 pages
- Publisher: Henry Regnery (1951)
- Language English
- ASIN: B0007ESO8O
- Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (34 customer reviews)
Relativity
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First Sentence
In your schooldays most of you who read this book made acquaintance with the noble building of Euclid's geometry, and you remember-perhaps with more respect than love-the magnificent structure, on the lofty staircase of which you were chased about for uncounted hours by conscientious teachers. Read the first page
Front Cover | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index
In your schooldays most of you who read this book made acquaintance with the noble building of Euclid's geometry, and you remember-perhaps with more respect than love-the magnificent structure, on the lofty staircase of which you were chased about for uncounted hours by conscientious teachers. Read the first page
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Concordance
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Front Cover | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
43 of 43 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This book is excellent, as for for the first time on any book I've read on the subject, it has lots of mathematics, BUT NO ROCKET SCIENCE! As a result, its an excellent read for someone who's done say A-level maths at school. It is unique as most books I've looked at are either for the complete mathematical layman with very few equations, e.g. Einsteins Universe by Nigel Calder, or are the sort geared towards mekon-headed NASA engineers with IQ's of 200... The discussion on General relativity is very sparse, with only the basic ideas outlined, but the reasoning behind special relativity is beautifully described, and for the first time out of any book I've erad on the subject I feel that I have started to understand it. The book also has an appendix with mathematical 'work-throughs' as to how the equations came about, which is very nice but unfortunately a small number of steps are left out which is annoying. The book is brief, but will inspire you to dig out and read more on the subject from different authors. And lastly, let's be honest here, this book is VERY inexpensive so one can hardly grumble at it's brevity. My advice: if you didn't understand this book, just read and re-read the initial chapters on the Lorentz transformation, which is the basic idea behind it all, and the penny will finally drop!
52 of 54 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
The reviewer of April 13 from Moscow, Idaho says this is not the book to read unless you already understand the theory. Maybe fair enough. It was written when Einstein had achieved youthful fame, though, not in his dotage, if he had such a thing. It may be a little more difficult for the translation, but not much. Contrary to some reviewers, it is not that easy to follow, and if it seems like an easy read, you probably haven't understood it. There are many books written since where it is probably easier to learn about special relativity, to say nothing of the basic ideas of general relativity. But once you have started to get the hang of things, this book is a masterpiece of exposition! It allows one to follow Einstein's actual thought process in arriving at these theories -- pretty much by a process of pure thought -- more or less in the steps he probably took himself. There is not a word in the exposition that was not carefully thought out. So, learn the theory somewhere else and then read this book -- you'll understand the theory better for reading Einstein's book -- or read this book first, keep going back to it 'til it starts to make sense, and maybe consult some other, more "user-friendly" textbook at the same time. Einstein claims his book allows a lay reader with only high school math to understand relativity. To which a friend of mine replied "Yeah, if you have an IQ of 800". To which I say, have patience, keep thinking about it and going back to it.
33 of 35 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Great for the young student of Physics
This is an excellent book, written in the “Master’s” own style and faithfully translated from the German by Robert Lawson. The translation dates to 1920 and new readers may find the English a little quaint, but for all that, it is a great effort at presenting in “plain speak”, the concepts of Relativity.
The book starts with a lucid explanation of the Train and Platform example of Galelian Relativity and then proceeds to highlight the incompatibility between the principle of relativity and the constancy of the speed of light. Without encumbering the reader with the Maths (found in the appendices) the ideas of time dilation and length contraction are discussed. The General Theory is developed via a fine example: that of an observer on a rotating disk.
This is a good complement to the overtly scientific/mathmatical books on the subject. Unfortunately,, despite its many qualities, just like many of the alternatives of this genre, Einstein’s book does not fully succeed in explaining the complex concepts to the lay reader. Rather, this is a nice little book that will be suitable for a good calibre Maths/Physics student in the sixth form/high school.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Relativity by its originator
There are many books that attempt to explain the theory of relativity to the layman, without mathematics, but this one is unique, because it was written by the creator of the... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Brian R. Martin
Einstein back in time
This copy of the original 1916 book written by Einstein himself takes you back into his mind and how straight forward it all was for Einstein. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Rupert Lance
A good priced copy of an essential for your bookshelf
It might not be the best edition of this essential for your bookshelf but it is good enough and the price makes it a bargain. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Ecosurfer
Good but....
not enough equations to mathematically understand, otherwise a strong book to get your head around basic concepts. Nice hard back cover
Published 5 months ago by Thomas J. C. Thomson
Straight from the horse's mouth.
Amongst all the books written by scientists about relativity, it's nice to read one written by the man himself: Einstein. Read more
Published 7 months ago by David B
Relativity
The book to buy for relativity. Clear explanations, simple mathematics so easy to understand in this sense. Read more
Published 9 months ago by Alex
Great for the young student of Physics
Great for the young student of Physics!
This is an excellent book, written in the "Master's" own style and faithfully translated from the German by Robert Lawson. Read more
This is an excellent book, written in the "Master's" own style and faithfully translated from the German by Robert Lawson. Read more
Published 10 months ago by Jay Jina
Enter the weird and wonderful world of clocks
I found this book fascinating and getting into the mind of Einstein an enjoyable and almost bizarre experience as you get that same mental switch on the way to view... Read more
Published 20 months ago by Charlie Strange-Quark
Eternal enjoyment
Every time I read the rlativity theory I get more enjoyment, more refreshing thoughts, and my brain starts working again. Even at the age of 65!!
Published 23 months ago by The Pharo
Great Book - Appallingly presented
Fascinating if dated book but I couldn't really enjoy it due to the appalling layout, proofing and typography. Read more
Published 23 months ago by Steve L
Listmania!
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