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Zusatztext 'The text of the first edition is refined and improved. Major changes concern the derivation of the Lorentz transformation and the development of continuum mechanics.'B. Wegner! Mathematics Abstracts! 781/94 Klappentext This textbook offers a concise but thorough treatment of the theory of special relativity for advanced undergraduate and beginning graduate students. Assuming no prior knowledge of relativity! the author elaborates the underlying logic and describes the subtleties and apparent paradoxes. The text also contains a large number of problems which cover the basic modes of thinking and calculating in special relativity. Emphasis is placed on developing the student's intuitive understanding of space-time geometry along with the necessary methods of four-tensor calculus! though three-dimensional methods are also described. This updated new edition contains additional examples and problems! and the chapter on relativistic mechanics of continua has been substantially rewritten. Zusammenfassung Second edition of this book intended for undergraduates taking an introductory course on special relativity which is mainly conceptually and mathematically oriented. It assumes no prior knowledge of relativity, and a suitably prepared reader could use it for self-study. Inhaltsverzeichnis The foundations of special relativity; Relativistic kinematics; Relativistic optics; Spacetime; Relativistic particle mechanics; Relativity and electromagnetism; Relativistic mechanics of continua; Appendices; Index.
