Notes on special relativity pdf 78p this note covers the following topics. Lecture notes on special relativity macquarie university. Find materials for this course in the pages linked along the left. Special relativity rensselaer polytechnic institute.
Velocity dependence of inertial mass variation of inertial mass with speed for electrons. December 1997 lecture notes on general relativity sean m. The most straightforward way to explain what the theory of relativity is and how it relates to other areas of physics is. Leonard susskinds online lectures stanford university has posted an extensive collection of academic lectures online as part of their continuing studies series. An introduction to acceleration in special relativity. Leonard susskind, art friedman special relativity and. The courses are available as youtube lectures here. Leonard susskind is an excellent lecturer and his free video lectures on everything from hamiltonian mechanics to special relativity to quantum mechanics are.
Special relativity read p98 to 105 the principle of special relativity. Susskind lectures on general relativity sean carroll. The point will be both to recall what sr is all about, and to introduce tensors and related. A walk on the train, relativistic dynamics, mass and energy, energy and momentum in lorentz transformations, transforming. General relativity fall, 2012 the theoretical minimum. This is an introductory course on newtonian mechanics and special relativity given to first year. In the first lecture of the course professor susskind introduces the original principle of relativity also known as galilean invariance and discusses inertial reference frames and simultaneity.
In this course, we will take a close look at the special theory of relativity and also at classical field theory. Michelson, 18521931 1st american to win nobel prize 1907 image courtesy of wikipedia. One of the predictions of maxwells equations is that the velocity of electromagnetic waves, or light, is always measured to have the same. Best sets of physics lecture notes and articles stack exchange. General relativity generalises special relativity and newtons law of universal gravitation, providing a unified description of gravity as a geometric property of space and time, or spacetime. Special relativity lectures first year lectures michaelmas term.
February 14, 2008 the views of space and time which i wish to lay before you have. Special relativity and classical field theory is the third volume. The full set of lecture notes come in around 160 pages and can be downloaded here. Lecture notes and articles are where one generally picks up on historical context, overarching themes the birds eye view, and neat interrelations between subjects. It suffices if you want some rudimentary understanding of gr, however there are better sources to learn from with much more detailed analysis. With the third installment of the theoretical minimum, it seems that leonard susskind and art friedman have found their respective stride. Here is a compilation of all the amazing lectures dr. This is an introductory course on newtonian mechanics and special relativity given to first year undergraduates.
Relativity both the special and general theories, quantum mechanics, and thermodynamics are the three major theories on which modern physics is based. Notes from professor leonard susskind video lectures publicly available on youtube. The basic concept of the book is to cover special relativity and electromagnetism together. Maxwell showed that these waves propagate through the vacuum with a speed c. Jul 01, 2014 here is a compilation of all the amazing lectures dr. In 1905, while only twentysix years old, albert einstein published on the electrodynamics of moving bodies and effectively extended classical laws of relativity to all laws of physics, even electrodynamics. Lecture notes on special relativity department of physics. Simultaneity is not wellde ned in special relativity, and so newtons laws of gravity become illde ned.
Jun 02, 2009 via dmitry podolsky, a series of youtube videos from stanford encompassing an entire course by lenny susskind on general relativity. Now, wave motion was well understood, so it was expected that light waves would behave. Below, you will find three courses the first of eventually six presented by leonard susskind, a stanford physicist who helped conceptualize string theory and has waged a longrunning black hole war with stephen hawking see his new book on that subject here. Sep 21, 2017 special relativity and classical field theory is the third volume. Spacelike,timelike,andlightlikeintervals,and lightcones lets begin with timelike, spacelike, and lightlike intervals. This stanford continuing studies course is the third of a. For that we go back to special relativity to spell out. This file is the special relativity lecture of the wikiversity. Lecture notes on special relativity prepared by j d cresser department of physics macquarie university 8thaugust2005. Special relativity and electrodynamics spring, 2012 the. These topics are combined in such a way as to take you to the doorsteps of general relativity and quantum field theory i am eagerly awaiting prof.
An introduction to general relativity, available for purchase online or at finer bookstores everywhere. Like the book on quantum mechanics, it is coauthored by art friedman and aimed, in susskinds words, at physics enthusiasts. David tong cambridge leture notes on dynamics and relativity. Individual chapters and problem sheets are available below. But to state where an object is, we need to measure its position relative to something else, right. In order to describe the motion of moving bodies, we need to state where the object is at any given time. Whats the theoretical minimum for thinking intelligently about modern physics. Ive also polished and improved many of the explanations, and made the organization more flexible and userfriendly. Jul 15, 2008 lecture 1 of leonard susskind s modern physics course concentrating on special relativity. Epgy special and general relativity, by gary oas 2 lecture 1. Leonard susskinds online lectures whiskeytangofoxtrot. It is the informality that often allows writers of lecture notes or expository articles to mention some trivial fact that every textbook leaves out.
His research interests include string theory, quantum field theory, quantum statistical mechanics and quantum cosmology. The laws of nature look exactly the same for all observers in inertial reference frames, regardless of their state of relative velocity. Special relativity and electrodynamics spring, 2012. For quite a while leonard susskind has been giving some wonderful courses on physics under the name. We will begin with a whirlwind tour of special relativity sr and. If you have any comments or questions on these lecture notes, please email them to takeuchiatvtdotedu. Sep 22, 2017 id like to believe that such a very different course and very different book would be possible, quite possibly am very wrong ive never taught special relativity to anyone. While not necessarily complete, this site contains notes from many of them.
Like the book on quantum mechanics, it is coauthored by art friedman and aimed, in susskind. These lecture notes on general relativity intend to give an introduction to all aspects of einsteins theory. This book covers special relativity and classical field theory as the title suggests, and as the context of the series suggests it covers the subjects in an engaging manner meant for the common man. Introduction to relativity lecture notes eduardo guendelman professor of physics bengurion university, beersheva 2003. There is no reference frame in which light can appear to be at rest. This stanford continuing studies course is the first of a. General relativity is the geometric theory of gravitation published by albert einstein in 1916 and the current description of gravitation in modern physics. Special relativity and classical field theory not even wrong. Concepturalstructureandunderlying physical ideas explored thoroughly and clearly, but perhaps not for the beginner. Carroll 1 special relativity and flat spacetime we will begin with a whirlwind tour of special relativity sr and life in. Special relativity practice problems a textbook based on this website is now available from cambridge university press. I have seen a lot of searches for lecture notes to the susskind lectures. However, maxwells equations did not predict constant velocity of light.
Via dmitry podolsky, a series of youtube videos from stanford encompassing an entire course by lenny susskind on general relativity. This book presents everything in a very lucid way and tries to describe every topic as a story. In this course, we will take a close look at the special theory of relativity and also at. In the first lecture in the special relativity course, susskind mentions that there was a previous course on special relativity electromagnetism online somewhere. While not necessarily complete, this site contains notes from many of. Knuteson wishes to acknowledge that this course was originally designed and taught by prof. Id like to believe that such a very different course and very different book would be possible, quite possibly am very wrong ive never taught special relativity to anyone. Documents and settingsphilip harrismy documentsteaching. These principles, and their consequences constitute the special theory of relativity.
This time, they introduce readers to einsteins special relativity. First discussion of minkowski diagrams, world lines. Since you have anyways decided to watch video lectures here as some alternatives. In this course, professor susskind takes a close look at the special theory of relativity and also at classical field theory. Preface this book is the summery of the lecture notes for the introductory course in relativity for undergraduate students. Special relativity time dilation length contraction along the direction of motion space and time are relative relativity of simultaneity velocities are relative, except for that of light, and add up in such a way that they never exceed the velocity of light.
Lecture notes relativity physics mit opencourseware. Many of us will take out a mortgage so that we can buy our own home. Frames of reference and newtons laws, the speed of light, michelsonmorley experiment, special relativity, the lorentz transformations, time dilation, adding velocities. Lecture 1 of leonard susskind s modern physics course concentrating on special relativity. This can be a very satisfying thing to be able to do and it can give us security with regards to knowing that we will always have somewhere to live. This set of lecture notes on general relativity has been expanded into a textbook, spacetime and geometry. Based on the data of kaufmann 1910, bucherer 1909 and guye and. The intended purpose of these lecture notes is not in any way to attempt to provide indepth discussions or any new insight on general relativity but to provide beginners a quick crash course on basic ideas and techniques of general relativity so readers can advance more easily by filling in gaps with more indepth knowledge from currently existing so. The theoretical minimum kindle edition by susskind, leonard, friedman, art. Later, einstein was able to further develop this theory, leading to what is known as the general theory of relativity.
Special relativity and steps towards general relativity course. Maybe some day someone, inspired by susskind s project, might try to do something at a similar level, but from a more geometric point of view. Maybe some day someone, inspired by susskinds project, might try to do something at a similar level, but from a more geometric point of view. I didnt look closely enough to figure out exactly what level the lectures are pitched at, but it looks like a fairly standard advancedundergrad or beginninggrad introduction to the subject. Using only special relativity and the fact that newtons theory of gravity works.
In the first lecture of the course professor susskind introduces the original principle of relativity also known as. This course introduces the basic ideas and equations of einsteins special theory of relativity. The problem with light maxwells equations in free space are and these are wave equations with solutions. Fall semester, 2011 revised version oberlin college physics 110 notes for mechanics and relativity there is, in nature, perhaps nothing older than motion, concerning. Susskind video lectures publicly available on youtube 1. In the rst part we discuss special relativity, focusing on the reexamination of the structure of time and space. This set of lecture notes is based principally upon material drawn from these sources. Lecture notes day 2, lecture notes day 3, lecture notes day 4, day 4, some more notes. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading special relativity and classical field theory. Here is a selection of links to lectures by leonard susskind, one of the fathers of string theory. Leonard susskind introduces you to quantum field theory qft, a theoretical framework for constructing quantum mechanical models of subatomic particles in particle physics and. Introduction to special relativity mit opencourseware. Leonard susskind stanford institute for theoretical physics and department of physics, stanford university, stanford, ca 943054060, usa abstract quantum gravity may have as much to tell us about the foundations and interpretation of quantum mechanics as it does about gravity. Leonard susskind s lecture series is one of the best lectures delivered on special theory of relativity and classical field theory.
It uses encapsulated postscript versions of many wikimedia commons diagrams, using their. As i continue watching them, i shall flesh out this list and annotate it appropriately. Lecture notes day 1, addendummichelsonmorley interferometer. Particle physics aims to study structure of space, time and matter at its most fundamental. If you would like to learn more about special relativity, however, you could look at special relativity, by anthony p. Lecture 2 of leonard susskind s modern physics course concentrating on special relativity. A cambridge university course with lecture notes covering newtonian mechanics and special relativity. Epgy special and general relativity, by gary oas special and. French, introduction to special relativity, by robert resnick, or lecture notes i and ii of the 2009 lecture notes for this course.
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