Special Relativity

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.

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.

Textbook

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.