Introduction to Relativity by William D. McGlinn (PDF)

Description

Special relativity is a cornerstone of the structure of all fundamental theories, and general relativity has blossomed from Einstein’s original theory into a cutting-edge applied science. Applications of Einstein’s field equations describe such phenomena as supermassive black holes at the center of galaxies, the spiraling paths of binary pulsars, gravitational lensing caused by massive compact halo objects (Macho’s), and the possibility of detecting gravitational waves emitted in cataclysmic cosmic events.In Introduction to Relativity, physics teacher and researcher Bill McGlinn explains the fundamental concepts of Einstein’s special and general theories of relativity. He describes the basic consequences of special relativity—length contraction and time dilation—and the enigma of the twin paradox, as well as the Doppler shift of light. Relativistic dynamics is contrasted to Newtonian dynamics, followed by a discussion of relativistic tensor fields, including those of the electromagnetic field and the energy-momentum density of fluids. After a study of Einstein’s early attempt at incorporating the equivalence principle into physics, McGlinn presents the general theory of relativity, discussing the three classic tests of relativity: the deflection of light by a gravitational field; the precession of perihelia; and the gravitational redshift of light. He also discusses other important applications, such as the dynamics of orbiting gyroscopes, the properties of stellar interiors, and black holes. The book ends with a chapter on cosmology, which includes discussions of kinematics and dynamics of the famed Robertson-Walker metric, Hubble’s constant, cosmological constant, and cosmic microwave background radiation.For anyone seeking a brief, clear overview of modern general relativity which emphasizes physics over mathematics, McGlinn’s Introduction to Relativity is indispensable.

User’s Reviews

Reviews from Amazon users which were colected at the time this book was published on the website:

⭐I had the extreme pleasure to have taken the class “Concepts of Relativity” taught by the author, Dr. Bill McGlinn. I bought this book as a memento of that time (1975) and place (Notre Dame) and as a tribute to one of my all-time favorite teachers. You should buy the book because it clearly presents the subject matter in an easy-to-understand fashion, just as Bill McGlinn did every day in the classroom.– Bill B.

⭐Einstein said: “everything should be as simple as possible, but not simpler,”Unfortunately, this book is “simpler”. Simpler than necessary. Well, maybe not simpler, but too short. This is the proof that it is not possible to provide complete presentation of Relativity Theory, starting from zero, including interpretations, on 200 pages.This book belongs to category: “If you know already, thet you will appreciate reading, if you don’t know already, you will not learn anything”.This is nice book anyway. However, before you invest 70 bucks, invest in a REAL textbook that REALLY will teach you Relativity Theory. Otherwise, there will be just frustration

⭐To me, this is an absolutely fantastic text. This is coming from an average undergrad physics student that generally thinks most undergrad physics texts suck. McGlinn’s book has a very nice balance between being lean enough not to bore the reader with too many details, yet not so terse as to leave out important explanations. At just over 200 pages, it’s a great text for a one-term senior level course.McGlinn generally does a good job motivating the math for GR, with a whole chapter devoted to explaining how Einstein was reasoning when he postulated his theory of gravity. In comparison to other texts, this book would be somewhere above Hartle but below Schutz in mathematical sophistication (which is very good and rare to find). There are a sea of books available that claim to be, or are used as, “introductions” (Weinberg, Schutz, Wald, etc) but should really only be read after one had read a book like McGlinn’s (or Hartle – another good intro text).As a recommendation, it would helpful to have seen tensors before you begin this text (a very basic understanding is all that’s needed) simply because McGlinn opens his book with some tensor formulations. Nonetheless, as the book progresses, he is careful to develop the rest of the needed tensor theory.The only negative comment I have about the book is that there are a few occasions in which an extra step in a derivation or a better labeled diagram would save the reader some time trying to figure out what’s going on. But this is a minor drawback to an overall solid text. Two thumbs up to McGlinn for making GR accessible to undergrads.

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