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EDITORIAL INFORMATION

This extraordinary guide makes Einstein's theory of relativity accesible to readers with a minimum knowledge of physics and algebra. Through effective diagrams and an emphasis on the logical structure of the theory, Leo Sartori clearly presents the relativistic concepts of time, space, and energy and makes understandable the aspects of the theory that seem counterintuitive.

Understanding Relativity includes an introduction to general relativity and cosmology, but focuses on special relativity. Sartori traces the historical development of the theory and carefully explains its implications. He explores illuminating paradoxes, including the famous twin paradox and the "pole-in-the barn" paradox, and describes the Loedel diagram, which is an accesible, graphical approach to relativity. Students of the history and philosophy of science will welcome this concise introduction to one of the cornestones of modern physics.

(Extracted from the back cover).

GENERAL TABLE OF CONTENTS

-Contents.

-Preface.

-Acknowledgments.

-1- Galilean Relativity.
-2- The Michelson-Morley Experiment.
-3- The Postulates of Relativity and Their Implications.
-4- The Lorentz Transformation.
-5- Space-Time Diagrams.
-6- Paradoxes of Relativity.
-7- Relativistic Mechanics.
-8- General Relativity.
-9- Cosmology.

-Index.

OUR REVIEW

A wonderful reference book on such a complex issue to understand as the theory of relativity is, which the author knows how to approach with noteworthy skill. Each one of the chapters has its own share of practical problems, a summary and, if called for, several appendixes to complete the text. Sartori knows how to mix theory and demonstration, the history of the discoveries and even the implications of each proposal. His approach, though, is aimed at the general public, and therefore it can be easily assimilated by anyone having a minimal mathematical background. It is therefore a very useful introductory text, apt for a very wide range of people, readers who no doubt will enjoy the explanations given by the author around the paradoxes of relativity and their consequences.

With respect to the problems here supplied, those who wish to use them will have to contact the author so as to get the solutions straight from him. Perhaps it would have been better and more practical to have them included in the book itself, yet it also is useful to know that it is possible to contact the person who has written the book and ask him new questions or comment the different aspects of the book with him.