Best book for an understanding

Texag

Hello, I am a low level university student, and ever since my Electromagnetism class where we derived the wave equations and my professor gave us a brief sample on what implications they had on the way things are in the world, I've been trying to get a true understanding of the topic of relativity. I have picked up "Brief History of Time" and it was great, it showed the effects of everything but did not do such a good job in my opinion in explaining why. Now I know this might be a case of my brain needing that one special example to get it to click or it might need a complicated derivation of some kind. What I would like help on is finding a book that can give me an understanding of the topic, not just be able to predict its effects.

edit: i have done some looking on the internet, but I find that I cannot read extensive things off a computer screen, however printing something out to read would be a possibility.

George Jones

If you've taken multivariable calculus, then I suggest that you take a look at Gravity: An Introduction to Einstein's General Relativity by James Hartle.

Read the customer reviews.

It's probably a good idea to use your university library to first take a look at the book.

robphy

Texag,
Schutz's A First Course in General Relativity might be useful... and it is used by Fulling ( http://www.math.tamu.edu/~fulling/ ), who seems to be local to you [based on your earlier posts and your username]. Fulling also makes reference to some notes that available at your bookstore.

I'd also suggest

• Geroch's General Relativity from A to B and this chapter on Minkowski spacetime from Geroch's Mathematical Physics,
• Ellis and Williams' Flat and Curved Spacetimes
• the maroon Taylor and Wheeler's 1966 Spacetime Physics (see Ch 1)
• notes and books on Relativity by Woodhouse

which emphasize geometric reasoning with spacetime diagrams.

Texag

I went out earlier and got "Demystifying relativity" from a B&N, and I am having to detour and learn the operators used, since the physics classes I took only used the integral form of maxwell's equations. Thanks for the suggestions, I think I might have to check out the Schutz, since I'm considering a physics minor or major at A&M.

Daverz

If you mean Relativity Demystified by David McMahon and Paul M. Alsing, I think that's a rather shallow book, more like a set of notes. I second the recommendation of Hartle for GR, though for SR I still think working through the problems in the first red paperback edition of Spacetime Physics is the best way to get a solid grounding. Rindler's books are also very good and go further with 4-vectors, though his coverage of GR is probably too eccentric for a general recommendation. Then if you want a little more of the math of SR after that, read the 2 SR chapters in Jackson.

Texag

Yes, its the one by McMahon. I read through the first chapter, and after I noticed a few mistakes (he switched current density and charge density at one point) I am deciding to try to return the book, also It only had a small review on SR, which I have yet to grasp. I will be returning to the store today with your recommendation in mind to see what I can find. Thanks.

Daverz

Note that the red (or maroon as Robphy sees it) paperback 1st edition of Spacetime Physics is preferable to the second edition. It includes all the solutions for one thing, and the second edition dropped the use of rapidity for some supposed pedagogical reason.