Relativity: The Special and General Theory

by Albert Einstein, Robert W. Lawson (Translator)

Overview

Following the validation of Einstein’s general and special theories on relativity during the solar eclipse of May 29, 1919, this edition, a translation of an earlier work published in Germany, was published by Methuen in the UK and Henry Holt in the US. Both it and the award of the 1921 Nobel Prize in Physics brought Einstein’s theories into more general public awareness.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781970184037
Publisher:	1828 Press
Publication date:	10/01/2021
Pages:	150
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.00(d)

About the Author

Albert Einstein (1879–1955) was born in Germany but moved to Zurich as a young man. In 1905, he was awarded his PhD and published several scientific papers, including his research into special relativity. In 1916, Einstein published his work on general relativity and its effects on gravity and was eventually awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics.

Table of Contents

Introduction     viii
Preface     xiii
The Special Theory of Relativity
Physical Meaning of Geometrical Propositions     15
The System of Co-ordinates     17
Space and Time in Classical Mechanics     20
The Galilean System of Co-ordinates     22
The Principle of Relativity in the Restricted Sense     23
The Theorem of the Addition of Velocities Employed in Classical Mechanics     25
The Apparent Incompatibility of the Law of Propagation of Light with the Principle of Relativity     26
On the Idea of Time in Physics     28
The Relativity of Simultaneity     31
On the Relativity of the Conception of Distance     33
The Lorentz Transformation     34
The Behaviour of Measuring-Rods and Clocks in Motion     38
Theorem of the Addition of Velocities. The Experiment of Fizeau     40
The Heuristic Value of the Theory of Relativity     43
General Results of the Theory     44
Experience and the Special Theory of Relativity     48
Minkowski's Four-Dimensional Space     52
The General Theory of Relativity
Special and General Principle of Relativity     55
The Gravitational Field     58
The Equality of Inertial andGravitational Mass as an Argument for the General Postulate of Relativity     60
In What Respects Are the Foundations of Classical Mechanics and of the Special Theory of Relativity Unsatisfactory?     63
A Few Inferences from the General Principle of Relativity     65
Behaviour of Clocks and Measuring-Rods on a Rotating Body of Reference     68
Euclidean and Non-Euclidean Continuum     71
Gaussian Co-ordinates     74
The Space-Time Continuum of the Special Theory of Relativity Considered as a Euclidean Continuum     77
The Space-Time Continuum of the General Theory of Relativity Is Not a Euclidean Continuum     79
Exact Formulation of the General Principle of Relativity     81
The Solution of the Problem of Gravitation on the Basis of the General Principle of Relativity     83
Considerations on the Universe as a Whole
Cosmological Difficulties of Newton's Theory     87
The Possibility of a "Finite" and yet "Unbounded" Universe     89
The Structure of Space According to the General Theory of Relativity     92
Appendixes
Simple Derivation of the Lorentz Transformation (Supplementary to Section 11)     95
Minkowski's Four-Dimensional Space ("World") (Supplementary to Section 17)     99
The Experimental Confirmation of the General Theory of Relativity     101

Editorial Reviews

He was unfathomably profound - the genius among geniuses who discovered, merely by thinking about it, that the universe was not as it seemed.

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