The Geometry of Spacetime - 9781441931429

The Geometry of SpacetimeAn Introduction to Special and General Relativity\nAuthor(s): James J. Callahan\nFormat: Paperback\nPublisher: Springer-Verlag New York Inc., United States\nImprint: Springer-Verlag New York Inc.\nISBN-13: 9781441931429, 978-1441931429\nSynopsis\nIn 1905, Albert Einstein offered a revolutionary theory - special relativity - to explain some of the most troubling problems in current physics concerning electromagnetism and motion. Soon afterwards, Hermann Minkowski recast special relativity essentially as a new geometric structure for spacetime. These ideas are the subject of the first part of the book. The second part develops the main implications of Einstein's general relativity as a theory of gravity rooted in the differential geometry of surfaces. The author explores the way an individual observer views the world and how a pair of observers collaborates to gain objective knowledge of the world. He has tried to encompass both the general and special theory b.