Relativity: A Very Short Introduction

This is the first book in the "A Very Short Introduction" series I have read. Slightly larger than seven inches by four inches, and a bit over 100 pages long, they are diminutive books for sure. This one on relativity, I found very interesting. Relativity is a topic I have always had difficulty wrapping my head around but Stannard does a pretty good job of making the subject sink in.The book is divided into two sections. In the first he covers special relativity, and, in the second, he covers general relativity. In the preface, he mentions some ideas about space, time, and matter that we might take for granted in our Newtonian world. In the first section he redefines five common sense ideas: we are all in the same three-dimensional space, time passes the same for everyone, the idea of simultaneity, there is no speed limit, and matter is conserved - it can neither be created nor destroyed. In addressing these topics, Stannard delves into time dilation, length contraction, the twin paradox, loss of simultaneity, space-time diagrams, four dimensionality, and the ultimate speed of the universe - whew! All interesting stuff for sure. I particularly enjoyed the section on the twin paradox - and Stannard's clear explanation - where one twin travels to another far away planet and back at near the speed of light, only to find that the other twin has aged considerably.Note that Stannard does use some formulas to demonstrate the concepts, but don't worry, if you have a basic background in algebra, it should all make sense to you. The formulas, I think, are necessary to convey a proper understanding of the material, but even if you are not up to par on your math, he does a good job of explaining the theory so you shouldn't have a problem here. He concludes with a discussion of various interstellar phenomena, such as quasars, pulsars, black holes, virtual particles, critical density, Hubble's law, and more.This book was well written in an explanatory fashion, so I think I will be checking some of the other titles in this series, of which there are many.

Well, yes, I did enjoy reading this publication. I am not a scientist, nor a mathematician, but a simple layman,trained as an accountant (worst luck), and it is from this background that I write this review.Since childhood, I have always wondered about the Universe, where did it all begin, where does it all end, how didit, and life, get there Etc. Etc.? (Shut up! God put it there - no need to ask stupid questions or you'll get a belting!). The properties of light and its speed through a vacuum as a universal constant, the concept of a warping or distortion, of time space (for want of a better description) caused by mass, evolution of stars, black holes, relativity, all fascinating subjects - entertainingly explained by Russell Stannard.Intuitively, perhaps, I have never felt comfortable with the Big Bang theory, which the Author takes as a given.I would like to refer, to him in particular, and others in general, a compelling alternative theory suggestedby renowned Plasma Scientist, Eric J Lerner, in his 1991 publication "the Big Bang Never Happened".The "red shift" observation has led to the "given" that the Universe is expanding, but is it really and truly expanding? Perhaps we need another genius of Einstein's ilk, to further think outside the square and come up witha more revealing explanation.For example, could it be that as a yet undiscovered property of photons, is that they lose energy with the passage of time ? Hence, over millions of years, a time caused energy loss could, to an observer, be revealedas a red shift. Alternatively, again over millions of years, photons could be affected by interactions with particles in space, and, or, gravitational influences, that also cause energy loss, revealing itself as "red shifts"Again, intuitively, i don't feel comfortable with the theory of dark matter and or dark energy - it is too muchlike an assertion of "we, the really clever people, who have studied astronomy and related subjects, know what we are talking about, so just shut up or you'll get a belting!Thinking back to Galileo Galilei (1564 to 1642), i hope i won't be prosecuted for heresy, daring to challenge theories of the "establishment".For a layman like me, I enjoyed the book, and, to you, the astronomers, please forgive me for daring to question enigmas relating to red shift, dark matter and dark energy.John Haneman - Sydney - Australia

Many years ago, Stannard was a tutor on my physics course and gave lectures on Special Relativity. He was very good, with an obvious love of his subject and a genuine desire to communicate the ideas to others.It's quite surprising how many physicists never go beyond the Special theory to get a firm grasp of the General theory. Stannard is a notable exception.Returning to the subject many years later, I naturally chose a book by him. And in any case, I'm gradually working my way through the entire VSI series.I really do think that this is the best book with which to start if you want to tackle Relativity, and an excellent refresher if you have already studied the subject. It clarified many things for me and introduced a few completely new ideas.The math is fairly simple, certainly nothing beyond high school level, although the square root symbol written as a V had me puzzled for a moment.The Amazon product description says the book has 144 pages. In fact it's 114, about par for this series.Also, the Look Inside feature here will reveal some typos, like the '3/5 = 0.67' error on page 7, pointed out by another reviewer. In the copy I bought (from Amazon) these errors are corrected.[PeterReeve]

I enjoyed this book. It explains the special and general relativity theories, and their implications, with simple mathematical formulas and many examples. It can be understood by non-physicists.

To understand what is relatively. It is one of the great book in my opinion.

I must first of all confess that this was not my first approximation to the topic so I do not know if someone with no experience with the subject will have the same experience than me. That said, I was not trained as a physicist, but I always was fascinated by it and its consequences on how we ought to understand the world around us.You can read this book in very little time (it took me 2 days, but then again I couldn't put the book down) but it is extremely informative. Professor Stannard managed to cover an enormous amount of material without *ever* making the text overly dense. Indeed, of all my approximations to the Theory of Relativity, this is by far the best. It really dissipated some questions I had on the topic that were not well addressed in other mediums. Some mathematics are indeed used but they are never exceedingly complex and, more importantly, truly help illuminate the concepts at hand rather than make it feel more confusing.

Ich habe jetzt endlich verstanden, wo und wann die Relativität zuschlägt.Die Zeitdilatation und die Längenkontraktion ist mir jetzt vertraut.Beweise für die Zeitdilatation sind ja vorhanden. Wie die Längenkontraktiondurch den Flugzeugtest und den Myonenversuch tangiert wird, wurde nicht erwähnt.

For people interested in Relativity, wanting a reliable descripion of what it is and the effect it has without going through the mathematics that Einstein used to support his theory, this is an excellent little book. Its very readable and packed with facts.I have two other volumes in the series, Particle Physics and Quantum Theory, and can recommend these also - an excellent series.