Re: Proof about impossibility of experimental verification on relativity theory

Jang Jin Hong wrote:
On Feb 26, 12:35 am, Sam Wormley <sworml...@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Physics FAQ: What is the experimental basis of Special Relativity?
http://edu-observatory.org/physics-faq/Relativity/SR/experiments.html

Verification and acceptance are different one.
Those experiments can be the basis of acceptance,
but those can not be the basis of verification.

Many observations can be made with very modest equipment.

Physics FAQ: Are There Any Good Books on Relativity Theory?
http://math.ucr.edu/home/baez/physics/Administrivia/rel_booklist.html

I have some unpleasant feeling about that kind of books.
relativity is too exaggerated by the press and media.

Fear not--These are mostly seasoned textbooks of the highest quality.




Introductory Textbooks on STR

I particularly recommend the first of the following books.

Edwin F. Taylor and John Archibald Wheeler,
Spacetime Physics: Introduction to Special Relativity, 2nd ed.
W. H. Freeman & Company, 1992.
In print, ISBN 0-7167-2326-3, list price $26.00 (hardcover)
This classic undergraduate textbook is simply the best introduction I know. It might look a bit hokey, but it's full of fabulous insights.

Wolfgang Rindler,
Introduction to Special Relativity, 2nd ed.
Oxford University Press, 1991.
In print, ISBN 0-19-853952-5; list price $32.95 (paperback)
Another reputable textbook, which I am not familiar with but which other posters have recommended in the past.

Anadijiban Das,
The Special Theory of Relativity: A Mathematical Approach.
Springer-Verlag, 1996.
In print, ISBN 0-387-94042-1; list price $39.95 (hardcover)
I am not familiar with this book, but it seems to be a concise but reasonably comprehensive and modern introduction, covering among other things the connection between Moebius transformations and the Lorentz group.

George F. Ellis and Ruth M. Williams,
Flat and Curved Space-Times
Oxford University Press, 1988
In print, ISBN 0-19-851169-8; list price $45.00 (paperback)
This book is notable for making a serious attempt to provide an introduction to both SR and GR, using only basic algebra and calculus (no tensors). It does treat some aspects of some exact solutions in GR but does not adequately cover the field equations and thus cannot be considered a suitable GR text. However, it may be helpful to the timorous reader attempting to make the transition from SR to GR.

Gregory L. Naber,
The Geometry of Minkowski Spacetime: An Introduction to the Mathematics of the Special Theory of Relativity.
Springer-Verlag, 1992.
In print, ISBN 0-387-97848-8; list price $65.95 (hardcover)
This book is devoted to a rigorous mathematical treatment of the flat Minkowski spacetime of special relativity. It pays particular attention to the Lorentz group and the causal structure of the theory, but also treats the electromagnetic field tensor, spinors, and the topology of Minkowski spacetime. This book won't teach you much physics, but is useful if you want to see special relativity put on a firm mathematical basis, or examine some of the more intricate technical implications of Lorentz transformations or SR causality.

I would not recommend the Dover reprint by Aharoni (outdated, poorly written, clumsy notation). I am not familiar with the Dover reprint by Shadowitz.




Introductory Textbooks on GTR

Now we are starting to get to the really good stuff! I label each of the following six textbooks with short codes and follow a brief review of each with a table comparing the topics they cover.

(DINV)
Ray A. d'Inverno,
Introducing Einstein's Relativity
Oxford University Press, 1992
In print, ISBN 0-19-859686-3; list price $42.95 (paperback).
A beautifully illustrated, clearly and concisely written introduction to GR (the first few chapters, on SR, are too sketchy to be valuable except as a review). On balance, I think this is probably the best introduction for the average undergraduate student at present. It features a particularly well balanced selection of topics.

(SCH)
Bernard F. Schutz,
A First Course in General Relativity
Cambridge University Press, 1985.
In print, ISBN 0-521-27703-5; list price $34.95 (paperback).
This book covers fewer topics than d'Inverno but in greater depth, and at a comparable level. In places I find it a bit more turgid than some other texts, but Schutz's discussion of the geometric nature of tensors in general and the matter tensor in particular is outstanding.

(STEP)
Hans Stephani,
General Relativity: An Introduction to the Theory of the Gravitational Field, 2nd ed.
Cambridge University Press, 1990.
In print, ISBN 0-521-37941-5, $39.95 (paperback).
Probably a bit more demanding than d'Inverno, this is probably the best organized GR textbook yet to appear. Clearly written (and well translated from the original German), featuring a well balanced selection of topics, and full of useful insight.

(HT)
L. Hughston and K. P. Tod,
Introduction to General Relativity
Cambridge University Press, 1991
In print, ISBN 0-521-33943-X; list price $23.95 (paperback).
One of the most concise introductions available. Covers much less than Stephani or d'Inverno, but clear and well written. Advanced undergraduate to beginning gradate level.

(WALD)
Robert M. Wald,
General Relativity,
University of Chicago Press, 1984.
In print, ISBN 0-226-87033-2; list price $34.00 (paperback).
The textbook of choice for the discerning graduate student. Well written, with a good selection of topics, including careful discussions of tensor formalism, the basic singularity, stability, and uniqueness theorems, as well as black hole thermodynamics.

(MTW)
Charles W. Misner, Kip S. Thorne, and John A. Wheeler,
Gravitation,
W. H. Freeman & Company, 1973.
In print, ISBN 0-7167-0344-0; list price $63.95 (paperback).
This huge (44 chapter), sprawling book is IMHO one of the great scientific books of all time, but may not the best ``first book'' on GR for most students, in part because by offering so much it is liable to overwhelm a newcomer. However, I think every serious student must own this at least as a supplementary text and dip into it on a regular basis. MTW was the first "modern" GR textbook, and has inspired two generations of students. While in many respects it is now rather out of date, and in a few places is pretty darn confusing, this beautifully illustrated book features fascinating insights found nowhere else on almost every one of its 1200-odd pages.

All of these books have exercises; DINV is particular well suited for self study since it also has solutions in the back. DINV and STEP give particularly good brief surveys of GR.

Overall, for timid readers, I'd recommend DINV, for bolder ones, STEP, for penurious students I'd recommend HT, for mathematically minded students I'd recommend WALD. And I'd recommend MTW to anyone, anywhere, any time. For really serious students, both WALD and MTW are probably essential references.

For the convenience of the rank beginner who wants to purchase one or more of these textbooks, here is a very rough guide to the coverage: all of these books introduce tensors, including the matter and Riemann and Ricci tensors. All discuss geodesics, connections and covariant derivatives. All discuss the Equivalence Principle, weak field theory, and at least one interpretation of the field equations. All discuss the classic predictions such as light bending, perihelion advance, gravitational redshift. Among the exact solutions, all discuss in some detail the "usual suspects" (Schwarzschild vacuum and Friedmann dust). All discuss the linearized theory of gravitational waves and Cartan's method of curvature forms.

Five of the six textbooks also discuss at length various of the following important topics: spinors, algebraic symmetries of tensors, the variational principle formulation of GR, the initial value formulation of GR, the Petrov classification of curvature types, EXACT gravitational wave solutions, the singularity theorems, Penrose diagrams (conformal compactification), Hawking radiation, and thermodynamics of black holes.
.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Proof about impossibility of experimental verification on relativity theory
    ... Introductory Textbooks on STR ... Introduction to Special Relativity, ... using only basic algebra and calculus (no tensors). ... MTW was the first "modern" GR textbook, and has inspired two generations of students. ...
    (sci.physics)
  • Re: Proof about impossibility of experimental verification on relativity theory
    ... Introductory Textbooks on STR ... Introduction to Special Relativity, ... using only basic algebra and calculus (no tensors). ... MTW was the first "modern" GR textbook, and has inspired two generations of students. ...
    (sci.physics)
  • Re: Proof about impossibility of experimental verification on relativity theory
    ... Fear not--These are mostly seasoned textbooks of the highest quality. ... Introduction to Special Relativity, ... General Relativity: An Introduction to the Theory of the Gravitational Field, ... MTW was the first "modern" GR textbook, and has inspired two generations of students. ...
    (sci.physics)
  • Re: Is physics a science?
    ... DOESN'T MATTER where the second postulate came from". ... what a professor's role is in teaching students. ... In FIRST semester physics, students are taught a number of things and ... The discussion is quite specifically regarding relativity. ...
    (sci.physics.relativity)
  • Re: Is physics a science?
    ... DOESN'T MATTER where the second postulate came from". ... what a professor's role is in teaching students. ... In FIRST semester physics, students are taught a number of things and ... The discussion is quite specifically regarding relativity. ...
    (sci.physics.relativity)
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