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Which math skills to learn for understanding relativity?
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[QUOTE="Dishsoap, post: 6121648, member: 500663"] When you say relativity, do you mean general or special relativity? Put simply, when you study special relativity, you'll learn all about length contraction and time dilation, which are some cool effects resulting from the speed of light being a constant. Some might disagree, but I think that some basic algebra and geometry skills (think high school level) are all that is needed to have a first-order understanding of how it works, and it's one of the most fun topics a physicist will ever encounter :) On the other hand, general relativity describes how gravity plays into the "relativity" picture, and is based on the premise that space and time are one and the same (sort of), and describes space-time curvature. The math that goes into GR is usually at a much higher level. For most physics curricula, students will usually be exposed to special relativity in their first or second year of undergrad (at a basic level), but general relativity is either an upperclassman course or one for graduate students. For an intro to the math of special relativity, any "intro to college physics"-type book will likely help you out, for instance those by Serway & Jewett or Halliday & Resnick. [/QUOTE]
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Which math skills to learn for understanding relativity?
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