Simple relativity texts for beginners

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around recommendations for simple and accessible texts on relativity for beginners, focusing on works that explain fundamental concepts without heavy reliance on mathematics. Participants share various texts and resources, while also debating the necessity of mathematics in understanding relativity.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Debate/contested
  • Conceptual clarification

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants express a preference for the "Parable of the Apple" as an essential reading for understanding gravity in general relativity, comparing it favorably to Galileo's Ship.
  • Others mention Benjamin Crowell's works, particularly "Relativity for Poets," as valuable resources for beginners.
  • One participant suggests Einstein's "Relativity: The Special and General Theory" as a clear and beautiful text, although they acknowledge it may not be freely available.
  • There is a contention regarding the necessity of mathematics in explaining relativity, with some arguing that fundamental concepts cannot be conveyed without it, while others believe that accessible explanations can be provided with minimal math.
  • One participant highlights Max Born's "Einstein's Theory of Relativity" as a historically significant text that uses simple math to explain relativity.
  • Another participant points out that some popular-science books claim to avoid math but may still contain useful explanations.
  • There is a discussion about the balance between accessibility and the inclusion of mathematical concepts in texts aimed at beginners.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants do not reach a consensus on whether it is possible to explain relativity without mathematics. Some assert that math is essential, while others argue for the value of texts that minimize mathematical content.

Contextual Notes

Some participants express uncertainty about the availability of certain recommended texts and their accessibility to beginners. There is also a recognition that different readers may have varying levels of comfort with mathematical concepts.

m4r35n357
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pervect said:
I'm rather fond of the "Parable of the Apple", which explains gravity as geodesic deviation.
I would say that passage is essential reading for anyone contemplating GR for the first time, I had no idea it was publicly available (to some extent). IMO it is rivaled only by Galileo's Ship (for Galilean/Newtonian relativity) in terms of readability and prose.
I would like to see both recommended more to newbies, can anyone think of other brief and seminal texts (on relativity) to rival these?
 
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As I looked more into the "Parable of the Apple", I found this:
http://www1.kcn.ne.jp/~h-uchii/apple.html
It's in layman's terms and I understood it entirely. It’s a shame that I could hardly find anything else about the apple analogy.
 
jedishrfu said:
and I like apples (gala / macbooks).

Haha! That's funny. What about peaches? I don't know about m4r35n357, but I will definitely read these. Thanks for the links.
 
jedishrfu said:
http://www.lightandmatter.com/poets/
Very good point, I downloaded that a while ago, and I actually mentioned it (in the pub) to a friend who really is a poet (then forgot all about it). Think I'll try to persuade him to read it, then I'll have to! Only joking, I'll read it anyway, even if it fails the brevity clause ;)
 
Sorry my intention was not to promote amazon, the title is
''Relativity: The Special and General Theory''
the author: Albert Einstein

it is simple, clear and beautiful ...
 
Ssnow said:
Sorry my intention was not to promote amazon, the title is
''Relativity: The Special and General Theory''
the author: Albert Einstein

it is simple, clear and beautiful ...
OK, that may be . . . ;)
To bring things back on topic, what I'm really asking about is short freely available texts (with no mathematics) explaining fundamental concepts, like the examples in the OP.
 
There is no way to explain the fundamental concepts of relativity (or any other part of physics) without mathematics. You can read some popular-science textbook to get an idea what the science is about, but you can't get it really explained.
 
  • #10
vanhees71 said:
There is no way to explain the fundamental concepts of relativity (or any other part of physics) without mathematics. You can read some popular-science textbook to get an idea what the science is about, but you can't get it really explained.
Did you read the OP?
 
  • #11
m4r35n357 said:
Did you read the OP?
Yep, very nice, but that's math (and not too simple math, I'd say). Many popular-science books say on there cover that they don't use math. That's honest and very nice, because you don't need to waste you time reading them. What one should really do is to try to use as simple math as possible, say at the high-school level, to explain relativity, and that's possible. Already the first part of Einstein's famous paper of 1905 is entirely understandable with some high-school math. One of the best books ever written in this spirit is

Max Born, Einstein's Theory of Relativity, Dover Publications

It was written in the early 1920ies when Born was a professor of physics at the University of Frankfurt, and he donated all the income from this book to run his institute for theoretical physics in the bad times of hyperinflation!
 
  • #12
vanhees71 said:
Yep, very nice, but that's math (and not too simple math, I'd say).
Well now you have me a little puzzled as neither piece I mentioned contains any maths . . .
 
  • #13
Requiring "no math" is unnecessarily restrictive. There are a lot of very good books where the math is not essential, but some is there. I don't know if they are free though.
 

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