general relativity (physics)

"British astronomer Arthur Stanley Eddington photographed the 1919 solar eclipse to prove Einstein's theory of general relativity by demonstrating that the sun's gravity could pull and bend light"--Provided by publisher.

"In this short book, renowned theoretical physicist and author Carlo Rovelli gives a straightforward introduction to Einstein's general relativity, our current theory of gravitation. Focusing on conceptual clarity, he derives all the basic results in the simplest way, taking care to explain the physical, philosophical, and mathematical ideas at the heart of 'the most beautiful of all scientific theories'. Some of the main applications of general relativity also are explored, for example, black holes, gravitational waves, and cosmology, and the book concludes with a brief introduction to quantum gravity. Written by an author well known for the clarity of his presentation of scientific ideas, this concise book will appeal to university students looking to improve their understanding of the principal concepts, as well as to science-literate readers who are curious about the real theory of general relativity, at a level beyond a popular science treatment"--.

"The most trusted explainer of the most mind-boggling concepts pulls back the veil of mystery that has too long cloaked the most valuable building blocks of modern science. Sean Carroll, with his genius for making complex notions entertaining, presents in his uniquely lucid voice the fundamental ideas informing the modern physics of reality"--Provided by publisher.

On their 100th anniversary, the story of the extraordinary scientific expeditions that ushered in the era of relativityIn 1919, British scientists led extraordinary expeditions to Brazil and Africa to test Albert Einstein?s revolutionary new theory of general relativity in what became the century?s most celebrated scientific experiment. The result ushered in a new era and made Einstein a global celebrity by confirming his dramatic prediction that the path of light rays would be bent by gravity. Today, Einstein?s theory is scientific fact. Yet the effort to ?weigh light? by measuring the gravitational deflection of starlight during the May 29, 1919, solar eclipse has become clouded by myth and skepticism. Could Arthur Eddington and Frank Dyson have gotten the results they claimed? Did the pacifist Eddington falsify evidence to foster peace after a horrific war by validating the theory of a German antiwar campaigner? In No Shadow of a Doubt, Daniel Kennefick provides definitive answers by offering the most comprehensive and authoritative account of how expedition scientists overcame war, bad weather, and equipment problems to make the experiment a triumphant success.The reader follows Eddington on his voyage to Africa through his letters home, and delves with Dyson into how the complex experiment was accomplished, through his notes. Other characters include Howard Grubb, the brilliant Irishman who made the instruments; William Campbell, the American astronomer who confirmed the result; and Erwin Findlay-Freundlich, the German whose attempts to perform the test in Crimea were foiled by clouds and his arrest.By chronicling the expeditions and their enormous impact in greater detail than ever before, No Shadow of a Doubt reveals a story that is even richer and more exciting than previously known.

Simple text and illustrations introduce young readers to Albert Einstein's theory of relativity.

This book explores the development and evaluation of scientific theories behind wormholes.

"In 1915, Albert Einstein presented his masterwork to the Prussian Academy of Sciences, a theory of gravity, matter, space and time: the General Theory of Relativity. Einstein himself said it was 'the most valuable theory of my life,' and 'of incomparable beauty.' It describes the evolution of the universe, black holes, the behavior of orbiting neutron stars, and why clocks run slower on the surface of the earth than in space. It even suggests the possibility of time travel. And yet when we think of Einstein's breakthrough year, we think instead of 1905, the year of Einstein's Special Theory of Relativity and his equation E=mc2, as his annus mirabilis, even though the Special Theory has a narrower focus. Today the General Theory is overshadowed by these achievements, regarded as 'too difficult' for ordinary mortals to comprehend. In Einstein's Masterwork, John Gribbin puts Einstein's astonishing breakthrough in the context of his life and work, and makes it clear why his greatest year was indeed 1915 and his General Theory his true masterpiece"--Amazon.com.

Examines the efforts of scientists to prove Einstein's theory that space-time is a physical entity and that gravity waves do indeed exist in the universe.

Draws from David Bodanis's best seller "E=mc2," to tell the stories of the men and women--including Michael Faraday, Antoine Lavoisier, and Lise Meitner--whose innovative thinking across four centuries led to Einstein's bold breakthrough in 1905.