Rating:
(10 reviews)
Author: Ta-Pei Cheng
ISBN : 0199573638
New from $88.18
Format: PDF
Download electronic versions of selected books Free Relativity, Gravitation and Cosmology: A Basic Introduction for everyone book with Mediafire Link Download Link
Einstein's general theory of relativity is introduced in this advanced undergraduate and beginning graduate level textbook. Topics include special relativity, in the formalism of Minkowski's four-dimensional space-time, the principle of equivalence, Riemannian geometry and tensor analysis, Einstein field equation, as well as many modern cosmological subjects, from primordial inflation and cosmic microwave anisotropy to the dark energy that propels an accelerating universe.
The author presents the subject with an emphasis on physical examples and simple applications without the full tensor apparatus. The reader first learns how to describe curved spacetime. At this mathematically more accessible level, the reader can already study the many interesting phenomena such as gravitational lensing, precession of Mercury's perihelion, black holes, and cosmology. The full tensor formulation is presented later, when the Einstein equation is solved for a few symmetric cases. Many modern topics in cosmology are discussed in this book: from inflation, cosmic microwave anisotropy to the "dark energy" that propels an accelerating universe.
Mathematical accessibility, together with the various pedagogical devices (e.g., worked-out solutions of chapter-end problems), make it practical for interested readers to use the book to study general relativity and cosmology on their own.
Books with free ebook downloads available Free Relativity, Gravitation and Cosmology: A Basic Introduction (Oxford Master Series in Physics) [Hardcover]
- Series: Oxford Master Series in Physics (Book 11)
- Hardcover: 400 pages
- Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA; 2 edition (January 11, 2010)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0199573638
- ISBN-13: 978-0199573639
- Product Dimensions: 9.7 x 7.6 x 1.1 inches
- Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
Free Relativity, Gravitation and Cosmology: A Basic Introduction
Let me preface this review by saying I majored in physics and finished college 14 years ago. I've always wanted to study GR but went to dental school right after college and so never got the chance. With the latest developments in cosmology, ie, dark flow, dark energy, dark matter, I finally couldn't suppress my curiosity any longer. The framework for understanding cosmology is GR.
I own the other GR books by Hartle, Schutz and Carroll. Each of them is more a textbook to accompany a lecture course than one for the self-taught crowd.
This book reads more like a novel. The author begins with why Einstein tackled the problem of generalizing special relativity and why that generalization would also be a theory of gravity (Equivalence Principle). The book includes a good intro to special relativiy (SR) at the intermediate college level. This is followed by Minkowski's spacetime which is a deeper mathematical description of SR. From there, the next few chapters elucidate on the Metric tensor and the curvature of spacetime.
After you've learned the Metric, there is a chapter on black holes and 3 chapters on cosmology (expanding universe, inflation, cosmic microwave background, the cosmological constant and how it can be used to take into account dark matter and dark energy, and much more). I particularly enjoyed the cosmology part of the book. It gives you a taste of how modern physicists are using GR to tackle the biggest questions in cosmology. And it gives you a break to absorb the theory before going deeper mathematically.
The final part of the book gives a complete treatment of GR using tensors and ends with a chapter on gravity waves.