Russell Stannard is a retired high-energy particle physicist, who was born in London, England, on 24 December 1931. He currently holds the position of Professor Emeritus of Physics at the Open University. In 1986, he was awarded the Templeton UK Project Award for 鈥榮ignificant contributions to the field of spiritual values; in particular for contributions to greater understanding of science and religion鈥�. He was awarded the OBE for 鈥榗ontributions to physics, the Open University, and the popularisation of science鈥� (1998) and the Bragg Medal and Prize of the Institute of Physics for 鈥榙istinguished contributions to the teaching of physics鈥� (1999). He was admitted as a Fellow of University College London in 2000.
The Very Short Introductions Series of Oxford University Press offers a gateway to the broad scope of knowledge in books usually slightly more than 100 pages in length written by distinguished scholars. I have learned a great deal from the series, both about subjects that I know and about subjects that I don't. Relativity falls easily into the latter category. I wanted to give "Relativity: A Very Short Introduction" (2008) a try after enjoying other works in the VSI series on scientific subjects. The author, Russell Stannard, is Emeritus Professor of Physics at The Open University and has had a lengthy career as a high energy nuclear physicist. Stannard has written many books for both children and adults which attempt to explain scientific concepts in an accessible way. Stannard has also written several books on the relationship between science and religion.
Stannard's book consists of two sections covering, in turn, special relativity and general relativity. Einstein developed the theory of special relativity in 1905. Stannard defines it as dealing "with the effects on space and time of uniform motion." In 1916, Einstein presented the general theory of relativity which "includes the additional effects of acceleration and gravity." Special relativity is a special case of general relativity. Stannard shows how relativity revolutionized scientific thinking and how it runs contrary to a number of ideas considered part of common sense.
The book is clearly and engagingly written given the complexity of the subject. Stannard shows how Einstein developed his theories by thinking about seemingly commonplace observations together with the work of earlier scientists. Stannard offers effective illustrations and examples showing the development and content of relativity. His diagrams also are clear and useful. For both special and general relativity, the book works from the relatively simple to the extraordinarily complex. The book does not require a knowledge of mathematics but it makes, for me, a substantial use of mathematical formulas which I couldn't follow. I found it easier to understand the verbal discussions of a point rather that the formulas, regardless of how elementary the formulas might be to some readers.
The book gave me, a reader with no mathematics and little background, a better understanding of relativity than I probably had a right to expect. Reading the book proved a humbling experience as well. For all Stannard's skill in writing for lay readers, this book is difficult to understand. Making readers aware of the difficulty undoubtedly is part of the purpose of the book. There is little chance that any reader will consider him or herself an instant expert after reading this VSI. I became more fascinated with the book as I continued to read. The final pages show how general relativity forms part of broad questions about the nature of the universe. It explores matters such as black holes, gravitational waves, dark matter and dark energy. Stannard offers a strong sense of the sheer enormity of the universe and its mystery. I was reminded again about how little I know and more importantly how little scientists know even with astonishing accomplishments such as the theory of relativity.
The book includes a short three-tiered bibliography based upon the reader's level of mathematical knowledge. This VSI is an excellent choice for readers wanting a basic understanding of a complex and profound scientific theory.
Solid intro. Some exposition a bit unclear. Nice section on energy mass equivalence, resolves the twin paradox by dissolving the paradox away. Misleading frontpaper flap (pretends to promise that black holes can 'squash you without feeling a thing and [make you] live forever.' which is nonsense I think.) A fun little read overall.
鈥淚magination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited to all we now know and understand, while imagination embraces the entire world, and all there ever will be to know and understand.鈥� Albert Einestin.
I liked how the author used simple equations. Now I understand relativity more and better. The "very short introduction" book series seem very promising to beginners.
Reading the 鈥楻igor of Angels鈥� which partly concerns the uncertainty principle, made me want to understand Einstein鈥檚 theory of relativity as more than a a dead end sign, as an emblem of which I would never have even a cursory comprehension.
This very short explainer helped me differentiate relativity from quantum mechanics and to understand the critical role of the observer in determining what is true for them. The objective, Newtonian world of physics is overturned and subjectivity in the form of relativity is our new reality.
While the volume contains a few equations and a little math it wasn鈥檛 enough to get in the way of a simple understanding, the basic grasp of what had been beyond me.
The book was written to explain the main basic questions that asked by humanity itself. I like two important point in this point. First, the basic drawings are provided for readers to make better understanding. Second, it is about Oxford series' concept. "The short writing concept" provides the simplistic view for difficult cases. Those make the book reader-friendly. The last word of Stannard was good summary for whole book. I will write down here: "[Einstein's] ...his general theory of relativity provides the essential language and tools for understanding the universe as a whole."
When "Time" magazine chose Albert Einstein as the person of the century for the 20th century it was due to his incredible intellectual achievements. Among those, two stand as particularly remarkable, becoming forever uniquely associated with their inventor, in minds of general public and professional scientists alike. These are the special and general theories of relativity. Their reputation is fully deserved. The two theories of relativity forever changed the way that we look at the space, time and matter. They touch upon our deepest understanding of physical reality and their core principles have stood the test of time, a remarkable achievement after a century full of usurpations of some of our most cherished notions.
The special and general relativity also have a reputation of being incredibly complex and hard to understand. In the case of special relativity this has primarily to do with the non-intuitive way that the world of four dimensions appears to us. In the case of general relativity, however, the complexity is substantially increased by the use of very advanced mathematical structures that it requires. And yet, all of the mathematical and conceptual implications of relativity stem from a few very simple ideas: the relativity of all reference frames, the constancy of the speed of light, and the equivalence of acceleration and gravitational field. It is a remarkable achievement of Russell Stannard's book to explain so much with just a very basic application of those principles. This makes it possible for a general reader to appreciate these beautiful theories without having to get bogged down in heavy mathematics. All examples in the book are intuitive and accessible. The illustrations are clear and serve to reinforce the main points in the text. One of the particularly remarkable features of this thin book is that it gives a full treatment of the "Twins Paradox" taking into the account the principles of general relativity - something that is usually brushed over in many other treatments.
The only problem with the book that I have concerns a few math examples that are used. The math notation is not quite clear, and even as simple a math symbol as a square root is printed in a very inadequate way. Also, there are a few glaring math mistakes (3/5 is not .67), but overall these are minor points that don't distract too much from the main content of the book.
I would strongly recommend this book as a good starting point for learning about relativity.
Stannard R (2008) (03:47) Relativity - A Very Short Introduction
Preface
List of illustrations 鈥⑻�01. Ripples sent out by a boat 鈥⑻�02. The astronaut's experiment with a pulse of light 鈥⑻�03. The experiment as seen by mission control on earth 鈥⑻�04. The distance travelled by the pulse according to the astronaut 鈥⑻�05. Length contraction 鈥⑻�06. Two pulses emitted at the same time from the centre of the spacecraft 鈥⑻�07. Loss of simultaneity 鈥⑻�08. Space-time diagram showing the passage of the two light pulses from the centre of the craft 鈥⑻�09. Space-time diagram with axes corresponding to the mission controller's coordinate system 鈥⑻�10. Space-time diagram illustrating the three regions in which events may be found relative to an event O 鈥⑻�11. Differing perceptions of a pencil 鈥⑻�12. Length expressed in terms of components 鈥⑻�13. The paths of objects falling under gravity 鈥⑻�14. Pulses of light in a spacecraft 鈥⑻�15. Pulses of light in a gravitational field 鈥⑻�16. Two clocks in the twin paradox 鈥⑻�17. Bending of light in a spacecraft undergoing free fall and acceleration 鈥⑻�18. Eddington's experiment 鈥⑻�19. The curvature of space caused by the sun 鈥⑻�20. Geometry on the surface of a sphere 鈥⑻�21. The saddle 鈥⑻�22. The cylinder 鈥⑻�23. World lines for the two twins 鈥⑻�24. Precession of Mercury's perihelion 鈥⑻�25. Shapiro's test of general relativity 鈥⑻�26. Curvature of space and planetary orbits 鈥⑻�27. Diminishing curvature within the sun 鈥⑻�28. The curvature of space caused by a black hole 鈥⑻�29. Detecting gravitational waves 鈥⑻�30. The size of the universe plotted against time
1. Special relativity 鈥⑻齌he principle of relativity and the speed of light 鈥⑻齌ime dilation 鈥⑻齌he twin paradox 鈥⑻齃ength contraction 鈥⑻齃oss of simultaneity 鈥⑻齋pace-time diagrams 鈥⑻鼺our-dimensional spacetime 鈥⑻齌he ultimate speed 鈥⑻鼸 = mc^2
2. General relativity 鈥⑻齌he equivalence principle 鈥⑻齌he effects on time of acceleration and gravity 鈥⑻齌he twin paradox revisited 鈥⑻齌he bending of light 鈥⑻鼵urved space 鈥⑻鼴lack holes 鈥⑻鼼ravitational waves 鈥⑻齌he universe
Not bad, but kind of a disappointment compared to the other Very Short Introduction books I've read. Usually in this series, the short length forces the authors to consider and extract the true essence of the subject and present that clearly, with some indications towards where there are nuances and complexities involved. But this book feels like it was shortened the high school student's way - a large piece of text "shortened" by the removal of sentences and paragraphs here and there, without really considering how that affects the flow an readability of the result. The book is informative, in that it contains a lot of information, but not educational, in that it's poorly organized and lacking in structure.