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Understanding Einstein's Theories of Relativity: Man's New Perspective on the Cosmos
Relativity remains a topic of crucial interest for scientists grappling with its implications for physics, astronomy, cosmology and other disciplines. Laymen, too, are fascinated by relativity theory, which overturned the classical order of Newtonian physics and postulated ideas about space and time that often seem to contradict common sense. The present work is a very clear, concise and authoritative exposition of both the special and general theories of relativity. Intended for nonscientific readers with a knowledge of high school math, the book offers illuminating coverage of such topics as the speed of light, simultaneity, time distortion, distortion of space and mass, journeys to the stars, dimensions and hyperspace, the theory of general relativity, anomalies in space, and the structure and evolution of the universe.
- GenresSciencePhysicsNonfiction
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First published January 1, 1991
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
October 21, 2021
Understanding Einstein’s Theories of Relativity, Man’s New Perspective on the Cosmos, by Stan Gibilisco is an introduction to the Special Theory of Relativity, the General Theory of Relativity, and the implementation of these theories in Cosmology. The book is written for the layman and does not contain a lot of physics formulas or mathematics.
Even though I studied the Special Theory of Relativity on a mathematical level (as a Physics student) I am interested in the different ways you can explain the topic to the layman. Books like this can also shed new light on the topic. You can often learn something new about a topic by reading another perspective. Unfortunately, I found Gibilisco’s approach to be quite traditional, and yet somewhat confusing at times, and the book has errors in it. I looked him up, and he is not a physicist.
Following a brief introduction, the first chapter of the book gives a brief history of what led up to the Special Theory of Relativity, a discussion of what light is, and the chapter also explores issues related to measuring the speed of light. Chapter two is about how to measure time, and it discusses simultaneity and non- simultaneity from nonrelativistic and relativistic perspective. Chapter three continues with time dilation, and then follows an overview of distortion of space and mass in chapter four. Chapter five is about interstellar travel and the twin paradox and chapter six is about multiple dimensional geometry and hyperspace. Chapter seven is the longest chapter and it describes the fundamental aspects of the General Theory of Relativity. Chapter eight is about such things as black holes, gravity waves, and time travel, and chapter nine is about modern cosmology.
The book covers a lot of interesting topics in a way that makes it possible for a layman to follow the discussion. The book is in general well written and well organized and it is not as boring as some other books. I think the book explains potentially observed effects of relativity very well. Basically, he describes what space travelers would experience lucidly and correctly. He considers both relativistic effects on space and time and the finite speed of light (and other measurement effects) when doing so. Chapter eight and nine are quite interesting and was a delight to read. The book also contains a lot of helpful illustrations (158 illustrations).
However, several issues make it difficult for me to recommend this book. When he discusses simultaneity, he argues that the finite speed of light does away with the concept of simultaneity and then treats the relativity of simultaneity in the Special Theory of Relativity as an additional effect. It is not entirely wrong to do that depending on what you mean by simultaneity. If you include the finite speed of light in your observation/calculation you could still claim that two events were simultaneous. The point is that in special relativity, even if you would do that two events that are simulatenous to one observer may not be to another. He is just making this topic more confusing if not wrong.
He explains relativistic effects such as time dilation and length contraction using a light clock that features a light beam perpendicular to the relative motion. That is a good way of doing it but then you also need to explain why vertical/perpendicular distortion does not occur, or you will leave observant readers with difficult and excellent questions. He does not discuss the barn door paradox, a famous paradox, which solution is an excellent way of understanding the concepts of Special Theory of Relativity and all the basic relativistic space and time effects. This I consider an oversight. He discusses the twin paradox but not sufficiently. He claims he will present the final solution to the twin paradox in the chapter on General Theory of Relativity, but it appears he forgot to do that. I also think his introduction to the General Theory of Relativity is too simplified and vague even though he explains the effects of it well. I should also mention that he also discusses some points in a verbose and confusing manner that can become tiring to the reader.
I would also like to say something about what are errors. On page 108 he states “cosmologists believe that our three-space continuum is non-Euclidean or curved. For this to be possible, we must accept the existence of a fourth spatial dimension.” That is not correct. On page 148 he says regarding the rotation of the perihelion of Mercury “The reason for the movement of the perihelion of a planet lies in the fact that the sun rotates once every 21 days.” The reason for the movement of the perihelion of a planet is because of gravitational tugs of other planets, the oblateness of the sun (minor effect), and the fact that the suns gravity curves space as well as time (General Theory of Relativity).
On page 180 he claims that Kepler showed that the “orbits of the planets are not perfect circles” and that Newton showed that orbital paths “have the geometry of a conic section”. This leads the novice reader to believe that Kepler did not know that orbits of the planets were conic sections, which is incorrect. Kepler showed via measurements that the orbits of the planets were ellipses, which are conic sections. Newton explained why that was with his theory of gravity. On page 194 he states regarding cosmic background radiation “Penzias and Wilson were evidently listening to the greatly red shifted radiant energy that comes from that original fireball”. Actually, this cosmic microwave background radiation is the left over of an event that happened a few hundred thousand years later when the Universe became transparent to radiation. Basically the book has some errors and poor explanations.
Even though the book is not entirely bad I cannot say that it is a good introduction to relativity. Instead I would like to suggest Relativity Visualized by Lewis Carrol Epstein for the layman and The Special Theory of Relativity by David Bohm for the mathematically inclined.
Even though I studied the Special Theory of Relativity on a mathematical level (as a Physics student) I am interested in the different ways you can explain the topic to the layman. Books like this can also shed new light on the topic. You can often learn something new about a topic by reading another perspective. Unfortunately, I found Gibilisco’s approach to be quite traditional, and yet somewhat confusing at times, and the book has errors in it. I looked him up, and he is not a physicist.
Following a brief introduction, the first chapter of the book gives a brief history of what led up to the Special Theory of Relativity, a discussion of what light is, and the chapter also explores issues related to measuring the speed of light. Chapter two is about how to measure time, and it discusses simultaneity and non- simultaneity from nonrelativistic and relativistic perspective. Chapter three continues with time dilation, and then follows an overview of distortion of space and mass in chapter four. Chapter five is about interstellar travel and the twin paradox and chapter six is about multiple dimensional geometry and hyperspace. Chapter seven is the longest chapter and it describes the fundamental aspects of the General Theory of Relativity. Chapter eight is about such things as black holes, gravity waves, and time travel, and chapter nine is about modern cosmology.
The book covers a lot of interesting topics in a way that makes it possible for a layman to follow the discussion. The book is in general well written and well organized and it is not as boring as some other books. I think the book explains potentially observed effects of relativity very well. Basically, he describes what space travelers would experience lucidly and correctly. He considers both relativistic effects on space and time and the finite speed of light (and other measurement effects) when doing so. Chapter eight and nine are quite interesting and was a delight to read. The book also contains a lot of helpful illustrations (158 illustrations).
However, several issues make it difficult for me to recommend this book. When he discusses simultaneity, he argues that the finite speed of light does away with the concept of simultaneity and then treats the relativity of simultaneity in the Special Theory of Relativity as an additional effect. It is not entirely wrong to do that depending on what you mean by simultaneity. If you include the finite speed of light in your observation/calculation you could still claim that two events were simultaneous. The point is that in special relativity, even if you would do that two events that are simulatenous to one observer may not be to another. He is just making this topic more confusing if not wrong.
He explains relativistic effects such as time dilation and length contraction using a light clock that features a light beam perpendicular to the relative motion. That is a good way of doing it but then you also need to explain why vertical/perpendicular distortion does not occur, or you will leave observant readers with difficult and excellent questions. He does not discuss the barn door paradox, a famous paradox, which solution is an excellent way of understanding the concepts of Special Theory of Relativity and all the basic relativistic space and time effects. This I consider an oversight. He discusses the twin paradox but not sufficiently. He claims he will present the final solution to the twin paradox in the chapter on General Theory of Relativity, but it appears he forgot to do that. I also think his introduction to the General Theory of Relativity is too simplified and vague even though he explains the effects of it well. I should also mention that he also discusses some points in a verbose and confusing manner that can become tiring to the reader.
I would also like to say something about what are errors. On page 108 he states “cosmologists believe that our three-space continuum is non-Euclidean or curved. For this to be possible, we must accept the existence of a fourth spatial dimension.” That is not correct. On page 148 he says regarding the rotation of the perihelion of Mercury “The reason for the movement of the perihelion of a planet lies in the fact that the sun rotates once every 21 days.” The reason for the movement of the perihelion of a planet is because of gravitational tugs of other planets, the oblateness of the sun (minor effect), and the fact that the suns gravity curves space as well as time (General Theory of Relativity).
On page 180 he claims that Kepler showed that the “orbits of the planets are not perfect circles” and that Newton showed that orbital paths “have the geometry of a conic section”. This leads the novice reader to believe that Kepler did not know that orbits of the planets were conic sections, which is incorrect. Kepler showed via measurements that the orbits of the planets were ellipses, which are conic sections. Newton explained why that was with his theory of gravity. On page 194 he states regarding cosmic background radiation “Penzias and Wilson were evidently listening to the greatly red shifted radiant energy that comes from that original fireball”. Actually, this cosmic microwave background radiation is the left over of an event that happened a few hundred thousand years later when the Universe became transparent to radiation. Basically the book has some errors and poor explanations.
Even though the book is not entirely bad I cannot say that it is a good introduction to relativity. Instead I would like to suggest Relativity Visualized by Lewis Carrol Epstein for the layman and The Special Theory of Relativity by David Bohm for the mathematically inclined.
November 20, 2020
Still requires some perseverance to road, but this is one of the better books explaining relativity concepts without using detailed mathematical description. Still would recommend people interested in the topic to try to go into the mathematics of relativity as well, because I think understanding of relativity would come more intuitively.
December 11, 2012
If you can perservere and get through the truly mind blowing concepts, this is as simple a layout of the principles of space geometry and time that I have come across. An excellent handbook on relativity for the layman.
October 19, 2008
I enjoyed (and understood) this book best of the several I have read on this subject.
September 15, 2010
Good book. Hard to wrap your mind around at times, but then that's the idea.... Very well broken down and analyzed, though the end waxes awfully philisophical.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews