Relatività: Guida illustrata molto speciale

by Sander Bais, Andrea Migliori (Translator)

La teoria della relatività ristretta, pubblicata nel 1905, ha trasformato in maniera radicale la nostra visione del mondo, stravolgendo i concetti familiari di spazio, tempo ed energia e obbligandoci ad affrontarne le definizioni controintuitive formulate da Einstein. La loro comprensione non fu facile un secolo fa e non lo è ancora oggi, ma con questo libro Sander Bais ha trovato un modo originale e efficace per comunicare l'essenza della teoria. Attraverso una serie di diagrammi di facile comprensione, e servendosi solo di nozioni di geometria elementare, Bais guida il lettore attraverso gli aspetti più strani e meno comprensibili di concetti fondamentali come la simultaneità, la causalità e la dilatazione dei tempi, mettendo a fuoco la differenza tra la visione newtoniana, con il suo tempo universale, e quella einsteiniana, dove la grandezza universale diventa la velocità della luce.

Genres: Science, Physics, Nonfiction

117 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

Sander Bais is Professor of Theoretical Physics at the University of Amsterdam and External Faculty Member of the Santa Fe Institute. He is the author of The Equations: Icons of Knowledge and Very Special Relativity: An Illustrated Guide.

Reviews

[Boudewijn · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book presents an unique and easy understandable insight in the special relativity.

This book does a fairly good attempt of introducing the concept of the special relativity theory. The author is a renowned theoretical physicist from the Amsterdam university and is able to convey the message to a broad public.

Illuminating pictures show a surprising light on the implications of special relativity, such as time dillution, the twin paradox and the curving of space time. Any mathematical formula's are presented in such a way that they can be skipped and the less mathematical adapted user can skip directly to the conclusions.

All in all, a very good attempt. I made it halfway through this book, which isn't to be blamed on the book, but my rather limited grasp of the fields involved. Anyway, this book presents an unique and easy understandable insight in the special relativity.

[Dale · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very Special Relativity is by far the best quasi-technical treatment of special relativity that I have found. The author, Sander Bais, uses Minkowski diagrams on nearly every facing page to illustrate the facts and apparent paradoxes of special relativity. He provides geometrical demonstrations ('proofs' in a very restricted sense) of time compression and space dilation.

Most importantly, the consistent use of Minkowski diagrams gives the reader a good handle to remember and reproduce the results of relativity theory.

This is an excellent book for anyone with a grasp of elementary Euclidean geometry who wishes to get a better understanding of the special theory of relativity.

[Jam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Small book that obviously had someone pushing the productions values on it (the paper is so nice!) that makes it kind of special in a very simple way. An instructional book for people that want to know about this stuff and don't. I do recommend it as a small, clear book on pretty complicated things.

[Freek · Rating 3 out of 5]

Heel leuk om een notie te krijgen van relativiteit, en inspirerend hoe contra-intuïtief de fysische realiteit kan zijn. De visualisatie en het begrip van “ruimtetijd” wordt duidelijk uitgelegd. “Energieimpuls” is moeilijker te volgen.

Soms (maar zeker niet altijd) zijn de grote sprongen in moeilijkheidsgraad niet gekaderd, waardoor je als lezer niet weet of je iets moet proberen snappen op basis van eerder gegeven informatie of iets moet aannemen als feit, waarbij de afleiding niet aan bod komt. Dat vind ik frustrerend. Als ik het nog eens lees (en dan wel de oefeningen maak) verwacht ik dat dit wel duidelijker wordt.

[Richard · Rating 1 out of 5]

Do not be fooled by the small size of this book. It does not simplify anything and explains nothing of Special Relativity, except to those already in the know.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Totally over my head, of course, but an interesting presentation. Certainly one I'll come back to the next time I'm convinced I can understand this stuff!