Relativity; the special and general theory PDF book by Albert Einstein (1920.)

Download Relativity; the special and general theory PDF book by Albert Einstein (1920.)

Relativity; the special and general theory -Albert Einstein

Excerpt from the introduction:

The present book is intended, as far as possible, to give an exact insight into the theory of Relativity to those readers who, from a general scientific and philosophical point of view, are interested in the theory, but who are not conversant with the mathematical apparatus ' of theoretical physics. 

The work presumes a standard of education corresponding to that of a university matriculation examination, and, despite the shortness of the book, a fair amount of patience and force of will on the part of the reader. 

Albert Einstein is the son of German- Jewish parents. He was bom in 1879. the town of Uhn, Wiirtemberg, Germany. His schooldays were spent in Munich, where he attended the Gymnasium until his sixteenth year. After leaving school at Munich, he accompanied his parents to Muan, whence he proceeded to Switzer- land six months later to continue his studies. From 1896 to 1900 Albert Einstein studied mathematics and physics at the Technical High School in Zurich, as he intended becoming a secondary school (Gymnasium) teacher. For some time afterwards, he was a private tutor and having meanwhile become naturalized, he obtained a post as an engineer in the Swiss Patent Office in 1902, which position he occupied till 1909. 

The main ideas involved in the most important of Einstein's theories date back to this period. Amongst these may be mentioned: The Special Theory of Relativity, Inertia of Energy, Theory of the Brownian Movement, and the Quantum-Law of the Emission and Absorption of Light (1905). These were followed some years later by the Theory of the Specific Heat of Solid Bodies, and the fundamental idea of the General Theory of Relativity. During the interval 1909 to 1911, he occupied the post of Professor extraordinarius at the University of Zurich, afterwards being appointed to the University of Prague, Bohemia, where he remained as Professor Ordinarius until 1912. 

Some contents of the book:

THE SPECIAL THEORY OF RELATIVITY,

• Physical Meaning of Geometrical Propositions I
• The System of Co-ordinates 5
•  Space and Time in Classical Mechanics . 9
• The GalUeian System of Co-ordinates . . 12
• The Principle of Relativity (in the Restricted Sense) 14
• The Theorem of the Addition of Velocities employed in Classical Mechanics ... 19
• The Apparent IncompatibiUty of the Law of Propagation of Light with the Principle of Relativity 21
• On the Idea of Time in Physics .... 25
• The Relativity of Simultaneity 30
• On the Relativity of the Conception of Distance 34
• The Lorentz Transformation 36
• The Behaviour of Measuring-Rods and Clocks in Motion 42

Author: Albert Einstein

Publication date: 1920.

Translator: Robert W Lawson

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