Product Description

This book helps readers learn relativity at the speed of light! Now anyone can grasp Einstein's great theory of relativity - without formal training, unlimited time, or a genius IQ. In "Relativity Demystified", theoretical physicists (and student-savvy authors) David McMahon and Paul Ansing provide an effective, illuminating, and entertaining way to learn the essentials and formulas of Einstein's theories. With "Relativity Demystified", you master the subject one step at a time - at your own speed. This unique self-teaching guide offers problems at the end of each chapter and part to pinpoint weaknesses, and a 100-question final exam to reinforce the entire book.This fast and entertaining self-teaching course makes it much easier to: master theoretical physics at your own pace; learn the formulas and principles of special and general relativity from hundreds of worked examples; use practical mathematical tools for solving relativity problems; receive layperson's explanations for Schwarzhild spacetimes, black holes, gravitational radiation, and actual current research; perform better in one of the scariest courses of all; and, take a final exam and grade it yourself!Simple enough for beginners but challenging enough for those who already know something about relativity, "Relativity Demystified" is the best self-teaching tool or brush-up you can find!

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #112576 in Books
• Published on: 2006-01-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 344 pages

From the Back Cover
LEARN RELATIVITY AT THE SPEED OF LIGHT!

Now anyone can grasp Einstein's great theory of relativity -- without formal training, unlimited time, or a genius IQ. In Relativity Demystified, theoretical physicists (and student-savvy authors) David McMahon and Paul Ansing provide an effective, illuminating, and entertaining way to learn the essentials and formulas of Einstein's theories.

With Relativity Demystified, you master the subject one step at a time—at your own speed. This unique self-teaching guide offers problems at the end of each chapter and part to pinpoint weaknesses, and a 100-question final exam to reinforce the entire book.

This fast and entertaining self-teaching course makes it much easier to:

• Master theoretical physics at your own pace
• Learn the formulas and principles of special and general relativity from hundreds of worked examples
• Use practical mathematical tools for solving relativity problems
• Receive layperson's explanations for Schwarzhild spacetimes, black holes, gravitational radiation, and actual current research
• Perform better in one of the scariest courses of all
• Take a final exam and grade it yourself!

Simple enough for beginners but challenging enough for those who already know something about relativity, Relativity Demystified is the best self-teaching tool or brush-up you can find!

About the Author
David McMahon works as a researcher at Sandia National Laboratory, a Department of Energy facility. His research involves work on nuclear fusion and the design of nuclear-powered spacecraft. He has a master's degree in physics and a bachelor's in applied mathematics, both from the University of New Mexico at Albuquerque. He is currently pursuing a doctorate in theoretical physics in the areas of quantum field theory and the use of general relativity. Mr. McMahon is a published author. Previous work includes two books on computer programming: Rapid Application Development with Visual Basic 6 and Rapid Application Development with Visual C++. He also wrote Quantum Mechanics Demystified, and was a contributing writer to Ace the Technical Interview. All of his books are published by McGraw-Hill. He lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Customer Reviews

Delivers on its promise
I have read several relativity texts before, so I cannot judge how this book will work for absolute beginners in the field, but for me the book does exactly what it promises. I am one of those who read themselves into the field, which can be mystifying at times. This book clearly explains the math (which is not as daunting as many believe) taking small enough steps between equations for non-scientists, and, which is unusual, goes on to explain what the math mean in the physical world. The end result is as thorough as many other relativity books, albeit maybe not always quite as mathematically rigorous as some scientists would like to see. The examples and quizzes are also very useful and all bear relevance to the applications of relativity, such as cosmology.

One thing I did notice is that there are lots of typos in the formulas, but because the steps are small they are very easy to detect and 'demystify', and keep the reader on edge rather than throw them off track, so no reduction in stars for that.

After reading this book, I feel that I am really ready to read and understand some advanced texts on cosmology, which is exactly what I wanted from this book, but hadn't expected, especially not at this price!

Highly recommended for the autodidactically inclined.

Like Ronseal does exactly what it says on the tin
first off im not a physicist. molecular cell biology is my area, i just find physics interesting and wanted a book which would help me understand the maths behind it without reams of highly technical pages. this is precisely what i got.

essentially this is a book filled with calculations with the brief introductions, for each topic covered, providing an insight into the physical meaning. its clear, it provides the odd example question at the end of the topic.

note that those looking at the answers in the back for explanations of the examples will find nothing but the answer, and frankly it doesnt need to anyway. all calculations are laid out clearly and are simple enough to follow. often it will need a second (or third) look for it to sink in but noone says relativity was easy (ok some might but they hardly need this book do they mr hawking ;)).

this book is definitely not pretentious. it doesnt claim to be a masterful work on the 'ins and outs' of relativity theory, nor does is leave on a tangent (if youll excuse the mathematical pun).

simple put the title explains all. if you want to feel less in the dark over relativity, or need a simple revision text, then this book is a must have. yes there are more comprehensive textbooks around, but this is not the intention here, and for what it is, its hard not to give it 5 stars.

a word of caution if the cover art or title are misleading. this is NOT a laymans book. you will not understand it if you have not done maths at, at least a level (or similar), nor will you be able to read through it like a brief history of time. it IS challenging stuff, more so than its sister book i also picked up 'quantum mechanics demystified', at least mathematically speaking.

if youre a undergrad student of physics, however, and youre not oe of those gifted ones (weve all met one) then this is definitely recommended for your studies.

It's good there are books like this
In this field (and others), so you can get started. The book is almost comprehensive, but you have to go elsewhere to complete the math (Wikipedia is Ok for that), and also to get through some typos...

Be warned: General Relativity is a field based on very advanced math, so a lot of work is needed to get a grasp on it! The book has examples and exercises to help you advance.

Anyway I think is a very good book.