Relativity in Curved Spacetime: Life without Special Relativity |  | Author: Eric Baird
Publisher: Chocolate Tree Books
List Price: $40.00
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Rating:  2 reviews
Sales Rank: 3333065
Media: Hardcover
Pages: 396
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.6
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 6.5 x 0.9
ISBN: 0955706823
Dewey Decimal Number: 530
EAN: 9780955706820
ASIN: 0955706823
Publication Date: July 15, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
"Relativity in Curved Spacetime" attempts to reexamine the philosophical and practical basis of relativity theory, in the light of the "modern" idea that perhaps spacetime curvature may be an essential part of what makes the universe work. This isn't the way that relativity theory is usually taught. Some of the material is "popular" (chapter 17, on cosmology, seems to go down well with readers), and almost everything that most people will need to know about relativity theory is contained in the first four chapters. There are also separate chapters on various relativistic effects, the Newtonian catastrophe in the early Nineteenth Century, black holes, quantum mechanics, and chapters exploring what may be wrong with both Einstein's special and general theories. The later chapters deal with logic and "logical black holes" (logical systems that, once entered, offer no way out), and apply quantum principles to describe how tightly-organised systems (both mathematical and social) can go horribly wrong - including "Titanic syndrome", why computers crash, and why "Pi" is a "stupid" number. The book has something in the region of 250 diagrams and illustrations. "Here Baird presents physics with the clarity of one who truly understands what he is talking about." - www.ForewordMagazine.com/Clarion/ "Anyone fascinated with relativity, or seeking a deeper understanding of the subject will profit from reading Relativity in Curved Spacetime." - www.Bookreview.com
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| Customer Reviews:
 Non mainstream April 6, 2008
J. Koelman (Houston, TX)
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
I bought this book in the hope to get an introduction and overview to (general) relativity. I got disappointed as this turned out to be a book about Baird's own pet concepts about relativity. Concepts that don't get explained in any depth, but rather stay at the level of generic remarks.
If you want to learn about Einstein's special and/or general relativity: don't buy this book. If you want to read about alternative approaches outside mainstream physics: go ahead.
 This book is excellent! November 19, 2007
BookReview.com (Madison, WI United States)
3 out of 5 found this review helpful
In this excellent discussion of relativity theory, Eric Baird introduces the reader to the history and practice of relativity theory, jauntily condensing and critiquing centuries of research as he builds his accompanying argument: that Albert Einstein's 1905 flat-spacetime special theory cannot be fully reconciled with emerging concepts of curved spacetime, and that a more general and flexible theory is required to account for the paradoxes and pseudo paradoxes implicit in Special Relativity.
Eyes glazing over already? Take heart. The book opens with a lucid and understandable primer on "Background" physics, introducing us neophytes to the central actors of the relativity drama: light, gravity, space, time and relativity itself. Once thus fortified, the reader is then prepared to penetrate denser matter. Although it can be slow going at times, the work proves surprisingly readable, and is mapped so that you can easily move back and forth in the text to refresh your understanding. It is also beautifully referenced and indexed so that you can check out Baird's many distinguished sources. Dozens of little illustrations, graphs and diagrams can be found throughout, providing excellent aids for conceptualization. In addition, Baird ornaments his discussions and section introductions with lively and thought-provoking quotes from scientists, poets, Lewis Carroll, and even Peter Sellers' obtuse detective Inspector Clouseau.
With Baird as our guide, we dopple through the workshop of quantum mechanics, navigate the vortices of black holes, explore the nooks and cranies of theory past and present, and join in the mysterious dance of the observer and the observed. Along the way, Baird postulates plausible flaws in the theories of physics giants like Issac Newton and Albert Einstein, and sheds light on the sometimes subjective manner in which scientific theory has historically evolved. A special target is Einstein's work, in particular the critical dependence of Einstein's Special Relativity theory on the assumption of flat-space time. "What if a general theory of relativity is not reducible to Einstein's original 1905 theory?" Baird asks. It is a question of some gravity.
All this, of course, can be somewhat consciousness warping for those of us who nearly failed physics 101. Fortunately, for all those brave enough to plunge in and persist, Baird has written a lucid primer on contemporary physics and relativity theory, which any attentive layperson can digest. At the same time he makes his case for "Life without Special Relativity" in language that is transparent, and enlightening. Whether you agree with him or not, you will know a lot more about physics when you finish this book than you did when you picked it up. Anyone fascinated with relativity, or seeking a deeper understanding of the subject will profit from reading Relativity in Curved SpaceTime.
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