Special Relativity 2: Spacetime & Space Travel

By Robert Piccioni

This is the second book in the Everyone’s Guide Series devoted to Einstein’s Theory of Special Relativity.

Relativity and Quantum Mechanics are the two major pillars of 20th century physics, which together revolutionized our understanding of nature, utterly dismantling Newtonian physics that had been the gold standard of science for over 200 years, and introducing radically new concepts that defy human intuition. These theories may represent the greatest upheaval in the history of science. Both Relativity and Quantum Mechanics were launched over 100 years ago, yet we are still digesting their broad and stunning implications. Both theories have been exhaustively tested and confirmed to extraordinary precision. As bizarre as they may seem at first, there is no denying that they describe our world as it really is.

In this book, we will discuss: spacetime, Einstein’s unification of space and time; the Lorentz Contraction and Transform; relativistic mass and Einstein’s most famous equation E=mc2; light cones past and future; causality and simultaneity; and the impact of Relativity on space travel. Also included are helpful math tricks that simplify problem solving.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Robert Piccioni
• Release date: Nov 30, 2013
• ISBN: 9781310011924

Robert Piccioni

Dr Robert Piccioni is a physicist, public speaker, educator and expert on cosmology and Einstein's theories. His "Everyone's Guide Series" e-books makes the frontiers of science accessible to all. With short books focused on specific topics, readers can easily mix and match, satisfying their individual interests. Each self-contained book tells its own story. The Series may be read in any order or combination. Robert has a B.S. in Physics from Caltech, a Ph.D. in High Energy Physics from Stanford University, was a faculty member at Harvard University and did research at the Stanford Linear Accelerator in Palo Alto, Calif. He has studied with and done research with numerous Nobel Laureates. At Caltech, one of his professors was Richard Feynman, one of the most famous physicists of the 20th century, and a good family friend. Dr. Piccioni has introduced cutting-edge science to numerous non-scientific audiences, including school children and civic groups. He was guest lecturer on a National Geographic/Lindblad cruise, and has given invited talks at Harvard, Caltech, UCLA, and Stanford University.

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Reviews for Special Relativity 2

[Harshita Sharma · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I loved everything about the book except for the fact when the author says Special Relativity can’t deal with acceleration. SR can deal with acceleration. It’s just that it can’t handle gravity, rest is cool.