Special Relativity Done Right: Excellently Painless

 Special Relativity has always been one of those subjects that have been treated fairly harshly by the educational establishment. The subject is often seen as a bridge between the foundational classical mechanics and the more profound (and let's be honest, more "general") theory of general relativity.  It is to this effect, that special relativity is often relegated to 1 or 2 (sometimes even generously 3) chapters at the start of even a book on general relativity.

A student's first introduction to the subject is either too rushed and short; or alternatively, far too explicit and mathematical, such that all the student learns in essence is tensor notation and convention, and none of the physics which underpinns it. 

Both approaches fail to convey the interesting and profound ideas and physical properties present within special relativity. In my own experience teaching the subject, these two issues are often the main causes of students not pursuing studies into gravitational research as a whole. 

The first thing which sticks out from this text is the excellent use of diagrams throughout the text. Often the pitfall of many books on relativity is the failure to use figures to convey ideas pedagogically. This text successfully conveys ideas such as metrics and line elements visually. 

The second key aspect of the text which impressed me was the conversational tone of the text to the reader. This is especially impressive when considering that this text was born out of the necessity of facilitating online teaching over the last 2 years.   

This book is almost like a love letter to both special relativity and the beginner reader, carefully guiding the reader through the basics of the theory, before developing into more advanced topics (from an instructor's viewpoint) of 4-acceleration and relativistic electromagnetism. 

Reading this text has enriched my knowledge of the subject both academically and as an instructor. 

I highly recommend this text to any student struggling with the topic, or instructors looking for ideas to improve upon their delivery of the subject.  


A Relatively Painless Guide to Special Relativity

Dave Goldberg

University of Chicago Press

ISBN: 9780226821856

Published July 2023



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Square Root of Einstein

What does it mean to be a scientist ? How do I become a scientist ? What makes up the universe around us ? What is the Square Root of Einstein ? The Square Root of Einstein answers all and more of these questions, in a satisfying way.  Written in a warming conversational tone, this extremely entertaining book walks the reader effortlessly through some of the greatest surprises in fundamental physics over the last century: Quantum Mechanics, Special Relativity, General Relativity, Quantum Field Theory, and of course Particle Physics. These earlier chapters coalesces into the final half of the book which describes one of the most perplexing results of the last 20 years: The Double Copy. This book appeals to broad audience of popular science enthusiasts, young and old. For the teenage reader, this book provides a calling and challenge. This book is an accessible call to action towards young readers considering a career (or at the very least a university education) in science, especial...
Read more

Sidney Coleman and the legacy of Quantum Field theory

 Often described as a physicist's physicist, Sidney Coleman is regarded as one of the greatest teacher of Modern Theoretical Physics (as well as being one of it's greatest practictioners during the 20th century). His Harvard course on Quantum Field Theory has been synonymous within the field of theoretical high energy physics, for being clear, concise and most importantly understandable. This last attribute, led many to  herald him as an engaging and dedicated teacher, whose methods have  long been the gold standard for teaching in theoretical physics. For many years, this exceptional course has only been accessible through rather grainy recordings from  the 1970s; or more recently, a typed up transcript of the lecture course, from meticulously kept hand written notes from one of the teaching assistant. This newly published edition is culmination of the later transcription as well as notes, memories and recollections of a whole host of  Physics- 253a alumni (whi...
Read more

Modern Physics: Why the World Works

Modern Physics is a novel revitilsation of the standard 1st year education in undergraduate physics. The text is very comprehensive; it covers a broad spectrum of topics from quantum mechanics to condensed matter physics and cosmology.  What makes this book special is its approach in explaining physics phenomena. This text gives intuitive, relatable and detailed explanations of the how's and why's.  This is refreshing, as it build gently the readers physical understanding of how the world should work. This is remarkably important for building student's confidence when solving problems, but also their mathematical toolkit to do so. This is further aided by the numerous worked examples, conceptual questions and exercises throughout. There is no doubt in my mind that Modern Physics will soon become the standard reference for first year teaching. Modern Physics by Gary N. Felder and  Kenny M. Felder ISBN:  9781108913270
Read more