Why Are Numerical Examples Rare in Relativity and Quantum Mechanics?

[kent davidge]

It's rare to encounter concrete, numerical examples of what is being taught about Relativity, Quantum Mechanics.. On the other hand there's plenty of numerical examples in the undergraduate general physics textbooks, for instance problems of mechanics.

As for General Relativity I did find only a few, and that was on Weinberg's book: tests of General Relativity (deflection of light by sun, etc...)

Is there a reason for this?

 

[kent davidge]

I guess one possibility is that GR QFT and QM textbooks are intended to experienced students, and if they want a numerical example they are capable of working out their own from what is being taught on the book as opposed to undergrad textbooks where students are not so smart.

Other possibility is that complicated differential equations and non standard integrals are typically involved in GR QFT and QM and actually getting results is difficult and would require a lot of space?

 

[George Jones]

I guess one possibility is that GR QFT and QM textbooks are intended to experienced students, and if they want a numerical example they are capable of working out their own from what is being taught on the book as opposed to undergrad textbooks where students are not so smart.

"Gravity: An Introduction to Einstein's General Relativity" by Hartle has quite a few end-of-chapter problems, e.g., in the three pages that I have attached, there are at least 14 numerical problems.[/QUOTE]

 

[TeethWhitener]

I've skimmed this one a couple of times, but I haven't really gone into it in-depth:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071J9CDC5/?tag=pfamazon01-20
It looks promising.

 

[sweet springs]

Mechanics including thermo-, fluid- , elastic-, statistical- , and electromagnetism are gone into the phase of application. Relativity and QM are following them.

 

[vanhees71]

You are contradicting yourself. If electromagnetism is applied then also relativity is applied since electromagnetism is the paradigmatic example of a relativistic field theory, and this was so even before even its discoverer, Maxwell and the rest of the physics community was aware of it ;-)). SCNR.