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Frabjous
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What are the best books for a second exposure to Special Relativity? I can find plenty of threads on introductory books …
My guess is that most second treatments of SR lead on to GR, with a focus on the geometric nature of the theory and a formal treatment of vectors and tensors. I like Sean Carroll's book (Spacetime Geometry) and this series of lectures from Professor Hughes at MIT:caz said:Mostly the same ones, but at a higher level of understanding.
Making the jump to GR is an option. There are several threads on where to start with GR, so I would like to keep this thread focused on advanced SR refs unless the answer is GR.PeroK said:My guess is that most second treatments of SR lead on to GR, with a focus on the geometric nature of the theory and a formal treatment of vectors and tensors.
There's always:caz said:Making the jump to GR is an option. There are several threads on where to start with GR, so I would like to keep this thread focused on advanced SR unless the only answer is GR.
That's pretty vague. It will be difficult to find a book to teach you something if you don't know exact;y what.caz said:Mostly the same ones, but at a higher level of understanding.
I already have a physics degree and I’m doing this for fun. I used French in school and have recently refreshed with Taylor and Wheeler. Looking at the most popular references, it seems like an underclassman could handle them. It made me wonder if there was something more advanced that wasn’t GR.Vanadium 50 said:That's pretty vague. It will be difficult to find a book to teach you something if you don't know exact;y what.
The flip answer is "find a college that teaches Special Relativity II and use their textbook". Howeverm you will find that there are few, if any, colleges that teach two terms of SR. Which gets us back to the question I asked.
caz said:What are the best books for a second exposure to Special Relativity? I can find plenty of threads on introductory books …
Frimus said:Look at a monograph "Special relativity in general frames" by Éric Gourgoulhon. It is a 800pgs gem, however I am afraid it's not a second, but at least the 4th text on SR.
After a little digging, I think the reference iscaz said:I do not know how to quote old threads.
You wrote “Dixon's book is probably too specialized for his list... but, I agree, it is interesting. I've been browsing through it [mainly on the Newtonian limit] on and off for the past year“ in 2007 in response to “Dixon's "Special Relativity" is far more advanced and interesting than its title makes it sound (if that's what you want)” by Stingray who lists it elsewhere as his favorite SR book.
It is also one of Schutz’s additional reading SR references.
Special relativity is a theory developed by Albert Einstein in 1905 to describe the relationship between space and time. It states that the laws of physics are the same for all observers in uniform motion, and that the speed of light is constant regardless of the observer's frame of reference.
Special relativity deals with the laws of physics in inertial frames of reference, while general relativity extends these laws to non-inertial frames, including those affected by gravity. General relativity also incorporates the concept of curved spacetime, whereas special relativity assumes a flat spacetime.
The second book on special relativity is a continuation of the first book, delving deeper into the mathematical and conceptual foundations of the theory. It covers topics such as Lorentz transformations, spacetime diagrams, and relativistic energy and momentum.
The second book on special relativity is typically aimed at advanced undergraduate or graduate students in physics or related fields. It assumes a basic understanding of calculus and classical mechanics, but no prior knowledge of special relativity.
Special relativity has many practical applications, including GPS technology, particle accelerators, and nuclear energy. It also helps us understand fundamental concepts such as time dilation and length contraction, which have been verified through experiments and have significant implications for our understanding of the universe.