This new publication follows Lancaster and Blundell’s 2014 book, ‘Quantum Field Theory for the Gifted Amateur’, and like its predecessor, ‘General Relativity for the Gifted Amateur’ is packed with worked examples, diagrams and applications intended to introduce a new audience to Einstein’s revolutionary theory of gravity.
General relativity is one of the most profound statements in science. It is a theory of gravity that allows us to model the large-scale structure of the Universe; to understand and explain the motions and workings of stars; to reveal how gravity interacts with light waves and even how it hosts its own, gravitational, waves. It is central to our notions of where the Universe comes from and what its eventual fate might be. The subject is frequently viewed as a difficult theory, whose mastery is a rite of passage into the world of advanced physics and is described in an array of unforgiving, weighty textbooks aimed firmly at aspiring professionals.
This book is designed to be different. It aims to provide the interested amateur with a bridge from undergraduate physics to general relativity. The imagined reader is a gifted amateur possessing a curious and adaptable mind looking to be told an entertaining and intellectually stimulating story, but who will not feel patronised if a few mathematical niceties are spelled out in detail. Using numerous worked examples, diagrams and careful physically motivated explanations this book will smooth the path towards understanding the radically different and revolutionary view of the physical world that general relativity provides.
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