Relativistic cosmology has in recent years become one of the most exciting and active branches of current research. In conference after conference the view is expressed that cosmology today is where particle physics was forty years ago, with major discoveries just waiting to happen. Also gravitational wave detectors, presently under construction or in the testing phase, promise to open up an entirely novel field of physics.
It is to take into account such recent developments, as well as to improve the basic text, that this second edition has been undertaken. The most affected is the last part on cosmology, but there are smaller additions, corrections, and additional exercises throughout.
The books basic purpose is to make relativity come alive conceptually. Hence the emphasis on the foundations and the logical subtleties rather than on the mathematics or the detailed experiments per se. Aided by some 300 exercises, the book promotes a deep understanding and the confidence to tackle any fundamental relativistic problem.

This well known and widely used landmark text explores the universal spontaneous generation of magnetic fields in astronomical bodies and the agitation of the bodies by those fields. The general properties of magnetic fields, their appearance throughout the astronomical universe, and the havoc they wreak are described in simple physical terms so as to define the broad scientific problem presented by magnetic fields. Then, with the physical problems clearly in mind, the theoretical effects are demonstrated with formal mathematical illustrations from the basic electromagnetic equations. Oxford Classic Texts in the Physical Sciences From James Clerk Maxwell's towering achievement Treatise on electricity and magnetism, to today's ground-breaking research, Oxford University Press has often been regarded as the publisher of first choice for generations of scientists. The legacy of this long publishing tradition is an unrivalled catalogue of past publications, some of which have been unavailable from us for many years. By popular demand, Oxford University Press is now reissuing some of its most celebrated science classics in the Oxford Classic Texts series. The titles to be included have been selected not only for their historic significance, but also for their enduring eloquence and clarity of presentation. Individually, each book in this collection represents a milestone in the development of scientific thought and pedagogy; collectively these books amount to an unparalleled scientific library for the enjoyment of a new generation of readers.