Special Relativity by T.M. Helliwell (PDF)

Description

Explores the 20th century revolutions in physics. This title helps readers to build up physical intuition for what is going on, before presenting mathematical descriptions. It contains many applications, ten appendices, and numerous illustrations, examples and problems.

User’s Reviews

Editorial Reviews: Review Einstein’s Special Theory of Relativity is a superb place to begin a serious study of physics. –SciTech Book NewsJudging from his book, Helliwell must be a fine teacher. He achieves a rare clarity. For instance, the derivation of the standard kinematic results starting from Einstein s postulates is outstandingly clear. Throughout, he shows an unusual and sympathetic appreciation of the problems faced by the beginning student. –John Taylor, University of ColoradoHelliwell’s book strikes a tone that will be very effective with a wide population of students. The writing is very accessible and conveys excitement and engagement. The problems are abundant, and students will enormously appreciate the carefully worked examples throughout. This text chooses a middle road and has a practical flavor that is often obscured in other books. –Louis Buchholtz, California State University at Chico About the Author THOMAS M. HELLIWELL is Burton Bettingen Professor of Physics, Emeritus, at Harvey Mudd College, USA. He received his B.A. from Pomona College, USA and his Ph.D. at Caltech, USA, where his thesis was on atomic physics and quantum mechanics. He has published more than 40 research papers, many with undergraduate coauthors, in quantum mechanics and general relativity. He has taught a wide variety of undergraduate courses, from beginning to advanced, in classical mechanics, special and general relativity, quantum mechanics, statistical mechanics, and electromagnetism. He has also served as director of the freshman division, chair of the physics department, chair of the faculty, and dean of faculty.

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

⭐As an engineer who set out to learn SR on his own, I did a survey of many books (50 or so) on SR to try andfind the best elementary treatment. The book by Helliwell was one of my favorites.SR by Helliwell is a very well written book that assumes the reader has a minimal background in physics and mathematics (say freshman college level). The book has an attractiveformat, is not overpriced, and was written by someone who is clearly an expert teacher and has spent his life teaching this material to students. Also, do not be fooled into thinking that thisbook is somehow deficient because the mathematical demands placed on the reader are minimal. Physics is not mathematics and understanding the underlying physical conceptsis by far the hardest and most important step. The SR neophyte might also like to consult in parallel “Six Ideas that Shaped Physics: Unit R (2nd Edition)” by Moore as it takes a more geometric approach based on spacetime diagrams.Another excellent starter book is “Space and Time in SR” by Mermin (this older book by Mermin is better than his more recent edition called “It’s About Time”).Both books by Mermin are also written at the level of a freshman college student or advanced placement high-school student. The book “Flat and Curved Space-Times” by Ellishas a daunting sounding title butprovides a very clear introductory (Sophomore level) geometric treatment of SR that I also think is fantastic (By the way, this is the same Ellls from Ellis and Hawking’s Large Scale Structure of Space-Time). The choice of title for Ellis’s beautiful book was bad marketing by the publisher as I am sure the title alone has scared off many potential readers whothought it was an esoteric graduate level text rather than a starter/introductory text.I would also highly recommend the clear treatment of SR in “Introductory Special Relativity” by Rosser. I am not sure why Rosser’s book is not as well known as it should be but it is alsoworth finding. Rosser has an older more comprehensive textbook called “An Introduction to The Theory of Relativity” that is also a gem. The older book by Rosser is even harderto dig up than his newer book. I also found the book “Time and the Space Traveler” by Marder (an entire book on the twin paradox) interesting reading.Finally, I liked the unique and quirky book “Special Relativity for Mathematics Students” byLorimer as it presents the results of SR using a vector space/ linear algebra approach (as an control systems engineer I felt at home and very comfortable with ideas from linear algebra). However, the book by Lorimer assumes the readerhas a few years of college mathematics through vector calculus under his/her belt.Good Luck !!

⭐This is still my favorite physics text. If you don’t know about Robespierre the radical rhino then you need to read this book!Also don’t be intimidated by the title. If you have a solid algebra background then you are set math wise. If you are just reading it for fun you will learn so much without even touching the math.

⭐This is a pretty good treatment of special relativity that we used in my physics class at Caltech. For the most part, it makes sense and provides good examples and exercises. The only issue is that it is a little short on its coverage of spacetime diagrams.

⭐I used this book for an intro class in modern physics. Really clear and enjoyable read. I think the subject in general uses very basic math, which was surprising. After completing the book, I felt it gave me an intuitive grasp on the subject material. I can see someone using this book for self-study.

⭐Textbook

⭐Great book for an introduction. Very concise and to the point. Everything is very well explained and derived from Einsteins basic axioms. Plus it has a picture of Einstein on a bike.

⭐fine book

⭐This is an excellent explanation of Special Relativity. It includes a detailed explanation of how one expanding sphere of light is seen from more than one frame of reference.

⭐Livre arrivé dans les temps. Bon état.

⭐

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