Geometry, Relativity and the Fourth Dimension | 
| Author: Rudolf Rucker
Publisher: Dover Publications
Category: Book
List Price: $7.95
Buy Used: $1.19
You Save: $6.76 (85%)
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Avg. Customer Rating:  19 reviews
Sales Rank: 70003
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 133
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 8.4 x 5.2 x 0.4
ISBN: 0486234002
Dewey Decimal Number: 516.182
EAN: 9780486234007
ASIN: 0486234002
Publication Date: June 1, 1977
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Condition: Moderate cover, edge and spine wear; stamped with "property of" stamp 4 times; no writing inside; binding intact
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Product Description
Exposition of 4th dimension, concepts of relativity as Flatland characters continue adventures. Popular, easily followed yet accurate, profound. Topics include curved space time as a higher dimension, special relativity, and shape of space-time. Accessible to lay readers but also of interest to specialists. Includes 141 illustrations.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 14 more reviews...
 Instructive, and interesting November 7, 2007
I found the book to be both educational, in that I learned great deal about geomtery and the history of diemsions from this book, as well as being fun to read. Both interesting and intellectually stimulating--I find this combination rare. I recommend ths book to anyone interested in the field.
With few exceptions, it is a readable, stepwise explanation of how the universe is structured June 29, 2007
To understand relativity, it is necessary to understand geometry, specifically how a straight line can be curved. For nearly everyone, any attempt to understand four-dimensional space begins with understanding how a three-dimensional creature would appear to a two-dimensional one. One of the earliest and still the greatest of all introductions to going up a dimension is "Flatland" by Edwin A. Abbott. Quite naturally and sensibly, Rucker starts with Abbott's rendition of the properties of Flatland.
Rucker then moves on to the idea of curved space, where the shortest distance between two points is a "straight line", which is curved by the properties of the space. The space that we occupy is curved by the presence of matter, as Einstein claimed in his relativity theories. Furthermore, movement causes shrinkage in the direction of the movement and the slowing of time, which causes time to become just another dimension of space. As counterintuitive as this may appear, Einstein's relativity theory has been verified over and over again to a large number of significant figures.
One of the best things about this book is that Rucker has included problems at the end of each chapter. These problems reinforce the concepts of the chapter; it is unfortunate that no solutions were included.
In this book, Rucker steps the reader through all of the background material necessary to understand relativity and four-dimensional space. With few exceptions, the accounts are understandable to anyone with an understanding of college algebra.
 The best book ever in its field April 19, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This book has presented the most difficult topics of our world with the easiest words. After reading this book many of my questions that I had in my mind for a long time were answered. It's worth thousands more than its price.
Congratulation to Mr. Rudolf Rucker for his great book.
explain dimensions very well March 31, 2007
it is published years before but it is almost new for today and it explain dimensions and shape of space well and clearly .thanx to amazon for sending me timely.
See what's outside the box March 30, 2007
7 out of 7 found this review helpful
Over two millenia ago, Euclid wrote his masterpiece Elements and stated in his fifth postulate that only one perpendicular line could pass through any one point adjacent to another line.
One hundred fifty years ago, it was proven that yet another geometry could be described by asserting that more than one parallel line could pass through such a point.
Building on these ideas, Rucker briefly yet thoroughly surveys the relevant mathematics outside the box of Euclidian geometry.
It's a fascinating place too because it involves considerations of hyperspace, four dimensional travels and ultimately Einstein's theory of relativity.
Copiously filled with illustrations to help drive home his points, Rucker has produced a book that meaningful helps one visualize and better understand the fourth dimension.
This book is an excellent read along with Choas, Coincidences and All that Math Jazz, The Fourth Dimension Simply Explained, Einstein's own Relativity and Hyperspace by Michio Kaku which discusses all these ideas as well as contemporary string theory (which purports to pull it all together).
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