Relativity Demystified

Features

• Cover Type: Paperback with 344 pages
• Published by: McGraw-Hill Professional
• Edition: 1st Edition December 2, 2005
• Written in: English
• ISBN 10 Number: 0071455450
• ISBN 13 Number: 978-0071455459
• Book Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.3 x 1 inches
• Weighs: 1.4 pounds

Product Description
Finally, someone is going to explain Einstein’s theory of relativity in layman’s terms, without getting mired in overly heavy discussion or formal mathematics. In Relativity Demystified, key definitions, examples, and results join the trusted exercises that have made the Demystified series so successful in all subject areas.

Back Cover Copy
LEARN RELATIVITY AT THE SPEED OF LIGHT!

Now anyone can grasp Einstein's great theory of relativity -- without formal training, unlimited time, or a genius IQ. In Relativity Demystified, theoretical physicists (and student-savvy authors) David McMahon and Paul Ansing provide an effective, illuminating, and entertaining way to learn the essentials and formulas of Einstein's theories.

With Relativity Demystified, you master the subject one step at a time—at your own speed. This unique self-teaching guide offers problems at the end of each chapter and part to pinpoint weaknesses, and a 100-question final exam to reinforce the entire book.

This fast and entertaining self-teaching course makes it much easier to:

• Master theoretical physics at your own pace
• Learn the formulas and principles of special and general relativity from hundreds of worked examples
• Use practical mathematical tools for solving relativity problems
• Receive layperson's explanations for Schwarzhild spacetimes, black holes, gravitational radiation, and actual current research
• Perform better in one of the scariest courses of all
• Take a final exam and grade it yourself!

Simple enough for beginners but challenging enough for those who already know something about relativity, Relativity Demystified is the best self-teaching tool or brush-up you can find!

Reader Reviews
The five stars are for the CLARITY and EXPLICITNESS of this book, for what the author intends and accomplishes, as opposed to a comparison with other GR books that have different goals. If you are self-studying GR, this is the book to have, even if you own others. If you are taking a GR course and don't find GR trivially easy or straightforward then this book will HELP. While this may not be the very best GR book it is certainly the best for those readers lacking the math skills (or who have forgotten the math) to jump into a 'graduate level textbook.' [I am also reading "Gravitation" by Misner, Thorne, and Wheeler, along with several other GR books, and "Relativity Demystied" is helping to make that 1300+ page book and others much more readable.] This book takes the reader step by step through the tensor analysis required to build up the Einstein Field Equations. Numerous examples are worked in explicit detail, and (doable) excerizes are offered with most chapters. Exercise answers are provided in an appendix. If you want to go beyond popular accounts of Relativity but don't have the math background for a 'graduate level textbook' then thi s is almost certainly the answer. This book is also MUCH less expensive than almost every other useful GR textbook so it is tremendous value, even as a supplement to more advanced texts. Does it make GR easy? No. Does it make GR POSSIBLE to understand? Absolutely. As Einstein himself reportedly said, "As simple as possible, and no simpler."