This 2004 textbook fills a gap in the literature on general relativity by providing the advanced student with practical tools for the computation of many physically interesting quantities. The context is provided by the mathematical theory of black holes, one of the most elegant, successful, and relevant applications of general relativity. Among the topics discussed are congruencies of timelike and null geodesics, the embedding of spacelike, timelike and null hypersurfaces in spacetime, and the Lagrangian and Hamiltonian formulations of general relativity. Although the book is self-contained, it is not meant to serve as an introduction to general relativity. Instead, it is meant to help the reader acquire advanced skills and become a competent researcher in relativity and gravitational physics. The primary readership consists of graduate students in gravitational physics. It will also be a useful reference for more seasoned researchers working in this field.

Physical Relativity explores the nature of the distinction at the heart of Einstein's 1905 formulation of his special theory of relativity: that between kinematics and dynamics. Einstein himself became increasingly uncomfortable with this distinction, and with the limitations of what he called the "principle theory" approach inspired by the logic of thermodynamics. A handful of physicists and philosophers have over the last century likewise expressed doubts about Einstein's treatment of the relativistic behavior of rigid bodies and clocks in motion in the kinematical part of his great paper, and suggested that the dynamical understanding of length contraction and time dilation intimated by the immediate precursors of Einstein is more fundamental. Harvey Brown both examines and extends these arguments (which support a more "constructive" approach to relativistic effects in Einstein's terminology), after giving a careful analysis of key features of the pre-history of relativity theory. He argues furthermore that the geometrization of the theory by Minkowski in 1908 brought illumination, but not a causal explanation of relativistic effects. Finally, Brown tries to show that the dynamical interpretation of special relativity defended in the book is consistent with the role this theory must play as a limiting case of Einstein's 1915 theory of gravity: the general theory of relativity.
Physical Relativity is an original, critical examination of the way Einstein formulated his theory. It also examines in detail certain specific historical and conceptual issues that have long given rise to debate in both special and general relativity theory, such as the conventionality of simultaneity, the principle of general covariance, and the consistency or otherwise of the special theory with quantum mechanics. Harvey Brown's new interpretation of relativity theory will interest anyone working on these central topics in modern physics.

The scalar-tensor theory of gravitation is one of the most popular alternatives to Einstein's theory of gravitation. This book provides a clear and concise introduction to the theoretical ideas and developments, exploring scalar fields and placing them in context with a discussion of Brans-Dicke theory. Topics covered include the cosmological constant problem, time variability of coupling constants, higher dimensional space-time, branes and conformal transformations. The authors emphasize the physical applications of the scalar-tensor theory and thus provide a pedagogical overview of the subject, keeping more mathematically detailed sections for the appendices. This book is suitable for graduate courses in cosmology, gravitation and relativity. It will also provide a valuable reference for researchers.

Hans Reichenbach, a philosopher of science who was one of five students in Einstein's first seminar on the general theory of relativity, became Einstein's bulldog, defending the theory against criticism from philosophers, physicists, and popular commentators. This book chronicles the development of Reichenbach's reconstruction of Einstein's theory in a way that clearly sets out all of its philosophical commitments and its physical predictions as well as the battles that Reichenbach fought on its behalf, in both the academic and popular press. The essays include reviews and responses to philosophical colleagues, such as Moritz Schlick and Hugo Dingler; polemical discussions with physicists Max Born and D. C. Miller; as well as popular articles meant to clarify aspects of Einstein's theories and set out their philosophical ramifications for the layperson. At a time when physics and philosophy were both undergoing revolutionary changes in content and method, this book is a window into the development of scientific philosophy and the role of the philosopher.

To see video demonstrations of key concepts from the book, please visit this website: http: //www.press.uchicago.edu/sites/timewarp.index.html.
Sci-fi makes it look so easy. Receive a distress call from Alpha Centauri? No problem: punch the warp drive and you're there in minutes. Facing a catastrophe that can't be averted? Just pop back in the timestream and stop it before it starts. But for those of us not lucky enough to live in a science-fictional universe, are these ideas merely flights of fancy--or could it really be possible to travel through time or take shortcuts between stars?
Cutting-edge physics may not be able to answer those questions yet, but it does offer up some tantalizing possibilities. In "Time Travel and Warp Drives," Allen Everett and Thomas A. Roman take readers on a clear, concise tour of our current understanding of the nature of time and space--and whether or not we might be able to bend them to our will. Using no math beyond high school algebra, the authors lay out an approachable explanation of Einstein's special relativity, then move through the fundamental differences between traveling forward and backward in time and the surprising theoretical connection between going back in time and traveling faster than the speed of light. They survey a variety of possible time machines and warp drives, including wormholes and warp bubbles, and, in a dizzyingly creative chapter, imagine the paradoxes that could plague a world where time travel was possible--killing your own grandfather is only one of them
Written with a light touch and an irrepressible love of the fun of sci-fi scenarios--but firmly rooted in the most up-to-date science, "Time Travel and Warp Drives "will be a delightful discovery for any science buff or armchair chrononaut.

Dieses Buch bietet eine klassische, immer noch aktuelle Einfuhrung in die Probleme und die Entwicklung der Relativitatstheorie anhand von gesammelten Originalarbeiten von Albert Einstein, Hendrik Antoon Lorentz, Hermann Minkowski und Hermann Weyl. Der 100. Geburtstag der Allgemeinen Relativitatstheorie im November 2015 diente als Anlass zur Herausgabe der um neun weitere Artikel erganzten Neuauflage dieses Klassikers. In der vorliegenden Neuauflage wurden jetzt auch Einsteins fruhe Arbeiten uber Gravitationswellen aufgenommen, deren erster direkter Nachweis 2017 den Nobelpreis fur Physik erhalten hat. Das Werk "Das Relativitatsprinzip" wurde erstmals 1913 von dem Mathematiker Otto Blumenthal herausgegeben. Das Buch erlebte mehrere Auflagen und umfasste die wesentlichen Arbeiten zur Relativitatstheorie bis zum Jahr 1923. Die Absicht ist es, den Gedankengang Albert Einsteins von der Speziellen Relativitatstheorie, uber die Allgemeine Relativitatstheorie, bis hin zu Einsteins Versuch einer Einheitlichen Feldtheorie von Elektromagnetismus und Gravitation, darzustellen. Das Buch liefert somit nicht nur dem an der Entwicklung der Relativitatstheorie interessierten Physiker und Mathematiker, sondern auch dem an Physik, Mathematik und deren historische Entwicklung interessierten Laien eine wertvolle Quellensammlung.

Highlighting main issues and controversies, this book brings together current philosophical discussions of symmetry in physics to provide an introduction to the subject for physicists and philosophers. The contributors cover all the fundamental symmetries of modern physics, such as CPT and permutation symmetry, as well as discussing symmetry-breaking and general interpretational issues. Classic texts are followed by new review articles and shorter commentaries for each topic. Suitable for courses on the foundations of physics, philosophy of physics and philosophy of science, the volume is a valuable reference for students and researchers.

The scalar-tensor theory of gravitation moved into the limelight in recent years due to developments in string theory, M-theory and "brane world" constructions. This book introduces the subject at a level suitable for both graduate students and researchers. It explores scalar fields, placing them in context with a discussion of Brans-Dicke theory, covering the cosmological constant problem, higher dimensional space-time, branes and conformal transformations.

This book is a considerable amplification and modernisation of the authors' earlier Essential Relativity. It aims to bring the challenge and excitement of modern relativity and cosmology at rigorous mathematical level within reach of advanced undergraduates and beginning graduates, while containing enough new material to interest the experienced lecturer.

Here is a self-contained exposition of the theory of gravitational solitons and provides a comprehensive review of exact soliton solutions to Einstein's equations. The text begins with a detailed discussion of the extension of the Inverse Scattering Method to the theory of gravitation, starting with pure gravity and then extending it to the coupling of gravity with the electromagnetic field. There follows a systematic review of the gravitational soliton solutions based on their symmetries. These solutions include some of the most interesting in gravitational physics such as those describing inhomogeneous cosmological models, cylindrical waves, the collision of exact gravity waves, and the Schwarzschild and Kerr black holes.

The greatest challenge in fundamental physics attempts to reconcile quantum mechanics and general relativity in a theory of "quantum gravity." The project suggests a profound revision of the notions of space, time and matter. It has become a key topic of debate and collaboration between physicists and philosophers. This volume collects classic and original contributions from leading experts in both fields for a provocative discussion of the issues. It contains accessible introductions to the main and less-well-known known approaches to quantum gravity. It includes exciting topics such as the fate of spacetime in various theories, the so-called "problem of time" in canonical quantum gravity, black hole thermodynamics, and the relationship between the interpretation of quantum theory and quantum gravity. This book will be essential reading for anyone interested in the profound implications of trying to marry the two most important theories in physics.

The internationally renowned physicist Harald Fritzsch deftly explains the meaning and far-flung implications of the general theory of relativity and other mysteries of modern physics by presenting an imaginary conversation among Newton, Einstein, and a fictitious contemporary particle physicist named Adrian Haller -- the same device Fritzsch employed to great acclaim in his earlier book An Equation That Changed the World, which focused on the special theory of relativity.

Einstein's theory of gravitation, his general theory of relativity, touches on basic questions of our existence. Matter, according to Einstein, has no existence independent of space and time. It is even capable of bending the structure of space and changing the course of time -- it introduces a "curvature." Gravity emerges not as an actual physical force but as a consequence of space-time geometry. Even the apple that drops from the tree follows the curvature of time and space.

In this entertaining and involving account of relativity, Newton serves as the skeptic and asks the questions a modern reader might ask. Einstein himself does the explaining, while Haller explains the new developments that have occurred since the general theory was proposed. The result is an intellectual roller-coaster ride in which concepts that have entered the vernacular become clear for the first time: the Big Bang, "black holes," elementary particles, and much more.

Many people know that Einstein invented the theory of relativity, but only few have more than a superficial idea of its content. This book aims to explain the basic features of relativity in detail, emphasising the geometrical aspects by using a large number of diagrams, and assuming no knowledge of higher level mathematics.

2013 Reprint of 1923 Edition. Exact facsimile of the original edition, not reproduced with Optical Recognition Software. Sir Arthur Stanley Eddington was a British astrophysicist of the early 20th century. He was also a philosopher of science and a popularizer of science. The Eddington limit, the natural limit to the luminosity of stars, or the radiation generated by accretion onto a compact object, is named in his honor. He is also famous for his work regarding the theory of relativity. He wrote a number of articles which announced and explained Einstein's theory of general relativity to the English-speaking world. World War I severed many lines of scientific communication and new developments in German science were not well known in England, and vice versa. He also conducted an expedition to observe the Solar eclipse of 29 May 1919 that provided one of the earliest confirmations of relativity, and he became known for his popular expositions and interpretations of the theory.

To those of us who are not mathematicians or physicists, Einstein's theory of relativity often seems incomprehensible, exotic, and of little real-world use. None of this is true. Daniel F. Styer's introduction to the topic not only shows us why these beliefs are mistaken but also shines a bright light on the subject so that any curious-minded person with an understanding of algebra and geometry can both grasp and apply the theory.

Styer starts off slowly and proceeds carefully, explaining the concepts undergirding relativity in language comprehensible to nonscientists yet precise and accurate enough to satisfy the most demanding professional. He demonstrates how the theory applies to various real-life situations with easy equations and simple, clear diagrams. Styer's classroom-tested method of conveying the core ideas of relativity--the relationship among and between time, space, and motion and the behavior of light--encourages questions and shows the way to finding the answers. Each of the book's four parts builds on the sections that come before, leading the reader by turn through an overview of foundational ideas such as frames of reference, revelatory examples of time dilation and its attendant principles, an example-based exploration of relativity, and explanations of how and why gravity and spacetime are linked. By demonstrating relativity with practical applications, Styer teaches us to truly understand and appreciate its importance, beauty, and usefulness.

Featuring worked and end-of-chapter problems and illustrated, nontechnical explanations of core concepts, while dotted throughout with questions and answers, puzzles, and paradoxes, "Relativity for the Questioning Mind" is an enjoyable-to-read, complete, concise introduction to one of the most important scientific theories yet discovered. The appendixes provide helpful hints, basic answers to the sample problems, and materials to stimulate further exploration.

2012 Reprint of 1955 Edition. Exact facsimile of the original edition, not reproduced with Optical Recognition Software. Dirac is widely regarded as one of the world's greatest physicists. He was one of the founders of quantum mechanics and quantum electrodynamics. His early contributions include the modern operator calculus for quantum mechanics, which he called transformation theory, and an early version of the path integral. His relativistic wave equation for the electron was the first successful attack on the problem of relativistic quantum mechanics. Dirac founded quantum field theory with his reinterpretation of the Dirac equation as a many-body equation, which predicted the existence of antimatter and matter-antimatter annihilation. He was the first to formulate quantum electrodynamics, although he could not calculate arbitrary quantities because the short distance limit requires renormalization. Dirac discovered the magnetic monopole solutions, the first topological configuration in physics, and used them to give the modern explanation of charge quantization. He developed constrained quantization in the 1960s, identifying the general quantum rules for arbitrary classical systems. These lectures were given delivered and published during his tenure at Princeton's Institute for Advanced Study in the 1930's.

Part of the reissued Oxford Classic Texts in the Physical Sciences series, this book was first published in 1983, and has swiftly become one of the great modern classics of relativity theory. It represents a personal testament to the work of the author, who spent several years writing and working-out the entire subject matter.

The theory of black holes is the most simple and beautiful consequence of Einstein's relativity theory. At the time of writing there was no physical evidence for the existence of these objects, therefore all that Professor Chandrasekhar used for their construction were modern mathematical concepts of space and time. Since that time a growing body of evidence has pointed to the truth of Professor Chandrasekhar's findings, and the wisdom contained in this book has become fully evident.

Basic to the entire theory and applications of black hole physics Global Aspects in Gravitation and Cosmology covers the topics needed to understand the current key issues in gravitation theory: cosmology and black holes. Emphasized is the basic theme that the very nature of the gravitational field is such that global features of space-time inevitably come into play whenever we try to understand and interpret this force in detail. After discussing the fundamental role played by global considerations in gravity and general relativity, Joshi points out the significant problems that remain. The key problem of which been the issue of quantum effects in strong gravity fields, an understanding of which is essential to formulate any quantum theory of gravity. This book will be beneficial to mathematicians and physicists.

In the world about us, the past is distinctly different from the future. More precisely, we say that the processes going on in the world about us are asymmetric in time or display an arrow of time. Yet this manifest fact of our experience is particularly difficult to explain in terms of the fundamental laws of physics. Newton's laws, quantum mechanics, electromagnetism, Einstein's theory of gravity, etc., make no distinction between past and future - they are time-symmetric. Reconciliation of these profoundly conflicting facts is the topic of this volume. It is an interdisciplinary survey of the variety of interconnected phenomena defining arrows of time, and their possible explanations in terms of underlying time-symmetric laws of physics.

This book shows how modern cosmology and astronomy have led to the need to introduce dark matter in the universe to account for mass. Some of this dark matter is in the familiar form of protons, electrons and neutrons, but most of it must have a more exotic form. The favored, but not the only, possibility is neutrinos of non-zero rest mass, pair-created in the hot big bang and surviving to the present day. After a review of modern cosmology, this book gives a detailed account of the author's recent theory in which these neutrinos decay into photons that are the main ionizing agents in hydrogen and nitrogen in the interstellar and intergalactic medium. This theory, though speculative, explains a number of rather different puzzling phenomena in astronomy and cosmology in a unified way and predicts values of various important quantities such as the mass of the decaying neutrino and the Hubble constant.

A modern self-contained introduction to key topics in advanced general relativity. The opening chapter reviews the subject, with strong emphasis on the geometric structures underlying the theory. The next chapter discusses 2-component spinor theory, its usefulness for describing zero-mass fields, its practical application via Newman-Penrose formalism, together with examples and applications. The subsequent chapter is an account of the asymptotic theory far from a strong gravitational source, describing the mathematical theory by which measurements of the far-field and gravitational radiation emanating from a source can be used to describe the source itself. The final chapter describes the natural characteristic initial value problem, first in general terms, and then with particular emphasis for relativity, concluding with its relation to Arnold's singularity theory. Exercises are included.

This is a self-contained exposition of general relativity with emphasis given to tetrad and spinor structures and physical measurements on curved manifolds. General relativity is now essential to the understanding of modern physics, but the power of the theory cannot be fully explained without a detailed knowledge of its mathematical structure. The aim of this book is to introduce this structure, and then to use it to develop those applications that have been central to the growth of the theory. An overview of differential geometry is provided and properties of a tetrad field are then extensively analysed. These are used to introduce spinors, to describe the geometry of congruences and define the physical measurements on a curved manifold. The coupling of fields and geometry is investigated in terms of Lagrangeans and a detailed discussion of some exact solutions of the Einstein equations are provided.

There is little doubt that Einstein's theory of relativity captures the imagination. Not only has it radically altered the way we view the universe, but the theory also has a considerable number of surprises in store. This is especially so in the three main topics of current interest that this book reaches, namely: black holes, gravitational waves, and cosmology. The main aim of this textbook is to provide students with a sound mathematical introduction coupled to an understanding of the physical insights needed to explore the subject. Indeed, the book follows Einstein in that it introduces the theory very much from a physical point of view. After introducing the special theory of relativity, the basic field equations of gravitation are derived and discussed carefully as a prelude to first solving them in simple cases and then exploring the three main areas of application. This new edition contains a substantial extension content that considers new and updated developments in the field. Topics include coverage of the advancement of observational cosmology, the detection of gravitational waves from colliding black holes and neutron stars, and advancements in modern cosmology. Einstein's theory of relativity is undoubtedly one of the greatest achievements of the human mind. Yet, in this book, the author makes it possible for students with a wide range of abilities to deal confidently with the subject. Based on both authors' experience teaching the subject this is achieved by breaking down the main arguments into a series of simple logical steps. Full details are provided in the text and the numerous exercises while additional insight is provided through the numerous diagrams. As a result this book makes an excellent course for any reader coming to the subject for the first time while providing a thorough understanding for any student wanting to go on to study the subject in depth