Author : Norman Gray
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
Page : 231 pages
File Size : 25,22 MB
Release : 2022-02-03
Category : Science
ISBN : 1108834094
A compact yet informative exploration of Special Relativity and its core ideas, also providing a preparatory route into General Relativity.
Author : Norman Gray
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
Page : 166 pages
File Size : 14,9 MB
Release : 2019-01-03
Category : Science
ISBN : 1316873765
This compact guide presents the key features of general relativity, to support and supplement the presentation in mainstream, more comprehensive undergraduate textbooks, or as a re-cap of essentials for graduate students pursuing more advanced studies. It helps students plot a careful path to understanding the core ideas and basics of differential geometry, as applied to general relativity, without overwhelming them. While the guide doesn't shy away from necessary technicalities, it emphasises the essential simplicity of the main physical arguments. Presuming a familiarity with special relativity (with a brief account in an appendix), it describes how general covariance and the equivalence principle motivate Einstein's theory of gravitation. It then introduces differential geometry and the covariant derivative as the mathematical technology which allows us to understand Einstein's equations of general relativity. The book is supported by numerous worked exampled and problems, and important applications of general relativity are described in an appendix.
Author : Effrosyni Seitaridou
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
Page : 184 pages
File Size : 34,49 MB
Release : 2023-07-31
Category : Science
ISBN : 1009213318
Rotational motion is of fundamental importance in physics and engineering, and an essential topic for undergraduates to master. This accessible yet rigorous Student's Guide focuses on the underlying principles of rotational dynamics, providing the reader with an intuitive understanding of the physical concepts, and a firm grasp of the mathematics. Key concepts covered include torque, moment of inertia, angular momentum, work and energy, and the combination of translational and rotational motion. Each chapter presents one important aspect of the topic, with derivations and analysis of the fundamental equations supported by step-by-step examples and exercises demonstrating important applications. Much of the book is focused on scenarios in which point masses and rigid bodies rotate around fixed axes, while more advanced examples of rotational motion, including gyroscopic motion, are introduced in a final chapter.
Author : James S. Walker
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
Page : 226 pages
File Size : 39,56 MB
Release : 2023-04-30
Category : Science
ISBN : 1009115510
The Ising model provides a detailed mathematical description of ferromagnetism and is widely used in statistical physics and condensed matter physics. In this Student's Guide, the author demystifies the mathematical framework of the Ising model and provides students with a clear understanding of both its physical significance, and how to apply it successfully in their calculations. Key topics related to the Ising model are covered, including exact solutions of both finite and infinite systems, series expansions about high and low temperatures, mean-field approximation methods, and renormalization-group calculations. The book also incorporates plots, figures, and tables to highlight the significance of the results. Designed as a supplementary resource for undergraduate and graduate students, each chapter includes a selection of exercises intended to reinforce and extend important concepts, and solutions are also available for all exercises.
Author : Justin W. Garvin
Publisher :
Page : 238 pages
File Size : 10,9 MB
Release : 2023-03-13
Category : Mathematics
ISBN : 1009236121
The Navier-Stokes equations describe the motion of fluids and are an invaluable addition to the toolbox of every physicist, applied mathematician, and engineer. The equations arise from applying Newton's laws of motion to a moving fluid and are considered, when used in combination with mass and energy conservation rules, to be the fundamental governing equations of fluid motion. They are relevant across many disciplines, from astrophysics and oceanic sciences to aerospace engineering and materials science. This Student's Guide provides a clear and focused presentation of the derivation, significance and applications of the Navier-Stokes equations, along with the associated continuity and energy equations. Designed as a useful supplementary resource for undergraduate and graduate students, each chapter concludes with a selection of exercises intended to reinforce and extend important concepts. Video podcasts demonstrating the solutions in full are provided online, along with written solutions and other additional resources.
Author : Robert E Kennedy
Publisher : Oxford University Press
Page : 326 pages
File Size : 17,29 MB
Release : 2012-01-19
Category : Science
ISBN : 0199694036
In 1905 Albert Einstein produced breakthrough work in three major areas of physics (atoms and Brownian motion, quanta, and the special theory of relativity), followed, in 1916, by the general theory of relativity. This book develops the detail of the papers, including the mathematics, to guide the reader in working through them.
Author : Kerry Kuehn
Publisher : Springer
Page : 410 pages
File Size : 27,83 MB
Release : 2014-09-15
Category : Science
ISBN : 1493913603
This book provides a chronological introduction to the sciences of astronomy and cosmology based on the reading and analysis of significant selections from classic texts, such as Ptolemy’s The Almagest, Kepler’s Epitome of Copernican Astronomy, Shapley’s Galaxies and Lemaître’s The Primeval Atom. Each chapter begins with a short introduction followed by a reading selection. Carefully crafted study questions draw out key points in the text and focus the reader’s attention on the author’s methods, analysis, and conclusions. Numerical and observational exercises at the end of each chapter test the reader’s ability to understand and apply key concepts from the text. The Heavens and the Earth is the first of four volumes in A Student’s Guide Through the Great Physics Texts. This book grew out of a four-semester undergraduate physics curriculum designed to encourage a critical and circumspect approach to natural science, while at the same time preparing students for advanced coursework in physics. This book is particularly suitable as a college-level textbook for students of the natural sciences, history or philosophy. It also serves as a textbook for advanced high-school students, or as a thematically-organized source-book for scholars and motivated lay-readers. In studying the classic scientific texts included herein, the reader will be drawn toward a lifetime of contemplation.
Author : Johann Rafelski
Publisher : Springer Nature
Page : 466 pages
File Size : 11,15 MB
Release : 2022-03-07
Category : Science
ISBN : 3030543528
This book presents Special Relativity in a language accessible to students while avoiding the burdens of geometry, tensor calculus, space-time symmetries, and the introduction of four vectors. The search for clarity in the fundamental questions about Relativity, the discussion of historical developments before and after 1905, the strong connection to current research topics, many solved examples and problems, and illustrations of the material in colloquial discussions are the most significant and original assets of this book. Importantly for first-time students, Special Relativity is presented such that nothing needs to be called paradoxical or apparent; everything is explained. The content of this volume develops and builds on the book Relativity Matters (Springer, 2017). However, this presentation of Special Relativity does not require 4-vector tools. The relevant material has been extended and reformulated, with additional examples and clarifications. This introduction of Special Relativity offers conceptual insights reaching well beyond the usual method of teaching relativity. It considers relevant developments after the discovery of General Relativity (which itself is not presented), and advances the reader into contemporary research fields. This presentation of Special Relativity is connected to present day research topics in particle, nuclear, and high intensity pulsed laser physics and is complemented by the current cosmological perspective. The conceptual reach of Special Relativity today extends significantly further compared even to a few decades ago. As the book progresses, the qualitative and historical introduction turns into a textbook-style presentation with many detailed results derived in an explicit manner. The reader reaching the end of this text needs knowledge of classical mechanics, a good command of elementary algebra, basic knowledge of calculus, and introductory know-how of electromagnetism.
Author : Stephen M. Barr
Publisher : Simon and Schuster
Page : 88 pages
File Size : 48,33 MB
Release : 2006-07
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 1932236929
Physicist Stephen M. Barr’s lucid Student’s Guide to Natural Science gives students an understanding, in broad outline, of the nature, history, and great ideas of natural science from ancient times to the present, with a primary focus on physics. Barr discusses the contributions of the ancient Greeks, the medieval roots of the scientific revolution of the seventeenth century, the role religion played in fostering the idea of a lawful natural order, and the major theoretical breakthroughs of modern physics. Throughout this thoughtful guide, Barr draws his readers’ attention to the larger themes and trends of scientific history, including the increasing unification of our view of the physical world, in which the laws of nature appear increasingly to form a single harmonious mathematical edifice.
Author : Daniel A. Fleisch
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
Page : 208 pages
File Size : 12,11 MB
Release : 2011-09-22
Category : Science
ISBN : 1139503944
Vectors and tensors are among the most powerful problem-solving tools available, with applications ranging from mechanics and electromagnetics to general relativity. Understanding the nature and application of vectors and tensors is critically important to students of physics and engineering. Adopting the same approach used in his highly popular A Student's Guide to Maxwell's Equations, Fleisch explains vectors and tensors in plain language. Written for undergraduate and beginning graduate students, the book provides a thorough grounding in vectors and vector calculus before transitioning through contra and covariant components to tensors and their applications. Matrices and their algebra are reviewed on the book's supporting website, which also features interactive solutions to every problem in the text where students can work through a series of hints or choose to see the entire solution at once. Audio podcasts give students the opportunity to hear important concepts in the book explained by the author.
