| View Larger Image | A First Course in General Relativity | Hardcoverby Bernard Schutz (Author)
| List Price: | $70.00 | | Price: | $56.00 | | You Save: | $14.00 (20%) | | | Available: | Usually ships in 24 hours |
| | Binding: | Hardcover | | Publisher: | Cambridge University Press | | Edition: | 2ndnd Edition | | Page Count: | 410 Pages | | Publication Date: | June 22, 2009 | | Sales Rank: | 70,784th |
|
EDITORIAL REVIEWS |
Product Description
Clarity, readability and rigor combine in the second edition of this widely-used textbook to provide the first step into general relativity for undergraduate students with a minimal background in mathematics. Topics within relativity that fascinate astrophysical researchers and students alike are covered with Schutz's characteristic ease and authority - from black holes to gravitational lenses, from pulsars to the study of the Universe as a whole. This edition now contains discoveries by astronomers that require general relativity for their explanation; a revised chapter on relativistic stars, including new information on pulsars; an entirely rewritten chapter on cosmology; and an extended, comprehensive treatment of modern detectors and expected sources. Over 300 exercises, many new to this edition, give students the confidence to work with general relativity and the necessary mathematics, whilst the informal writing style makes the subject matter easily accessible. |
CUSTOMER REVIEWS (Average Customer Rating: 4.5 based on 26 reviews)
|
Excellent book for REALLY getting in to GR by DonJ (Los Angeles)  5 Stars
July 30, 2009
Schultz's book was recommended in Sean Carroll's on-line physics notes. It is terrific for someone who has a good grasp of Special Relativity but needs some hand holding in General Relativity. I think I am actually grasping the ideas mathematically for the first time.
| |
Good introduction by G. C. Rouhart (MA, USA) 5 Stars
March 15, 2009
This books spends a good amount on the basic math and introduction to tensors. You don't need much background to make your way through the material. It provides a nice set of exercises to reinforce the concepts presented in the text.
| |
good first book for learning general relativity by arpard fazakas  4 Stars
May 22, 2008
This book is a good introduction to relativity which does not pull punches mathematically speaking but still manages to be merciful to the beginner. I read this book with only a basic background in freshman college physics and calculus. It took me 2 6-month sessions over 2 years to go through it all in detail but it was worth it. It gave me a sufficient familiarity with the core concepts and underlying mathematics to consider tackling a more advanced book on relativity someday.
| |
As easy as it can be by F. J. Alvarez (Basque Country) 4 Stars
May 22, 2007
Nice introduction to GR. Not extensive previous knowledge needed and as clear as it could be.
| |
As the title says, a good 'First Course' by John Matlock (Winnemucca, NV) 5 Stars
April 04, 2007
There are a lot of books on General Relativity. In approach they vary from no math, to essentially math books. This book is somewhere in the middle. It is said to be suitable for a one year course for beginning graduate students or for undergraduates in physics who have studied special relativity, vector calculus, and electrostatics.
To enable such a student to follow the math in in this book the first part of the book reviews special relativity and vector analysis. Then the book has a section on Tensor Analysis, which was newly developed in Einstein's time when it was called tensor calculus. The treatment of these mathematical concepts in this book are, in my mind, sufficient for a review for a student that had studied them before, but will require some pretty good insight for a student that had not seen them before. This background information covers about a third of the book.
Chapter 5 of the book starts out, 'Until now we have discussed only SR.' The next two thirds cover curvature, physics in a curved spacetime, the Einstein field equations, gravitational radiation (the biggest chapter in the book), and on to the rest of GR.
By the end of the book the student has indeed completed a 'first course' in GR. There is still plenty more to go for the interested student specializing in this area.
| |
SIMILAR PRODUCTS |
| Schaum's Outline of Tensor Calculus (Schaum's)
by David Kay (Author)
This lucid introduction for undergraduates and graduates proves fundamental for pactitioners of theoretical physics and certain areas of engineering, like aerodynamics and fluid mechanics, and exteremely valuable for mathematicians. This study guide teaches all the basics and efective problem-solving skills too.
| 
| Introduction to Tensor Calculus, Relativity and Cosmology
by D. F. Lawden (Author)
This elementary introduction pays special attention to aspects of tensor calculus and relativity that students tend to find most difficult. Its use of relatively unsophisticated mathematics in the early chapters allows readers to develop their confidence within the framework of Cartesian coordinates before undertaking the theory of tensors in curved spaces and its application to general relativity theory. Additional topics include black holes, gravitational waves, and a sound background in...
| 
| General Relativity
by Robert M. Wald (Author)
"Wald's book is clearly the first textbook on general relativity with a totally modern point of view; and it succeeds very well where others are only partially successful. The book includes full discussions of many problems of current interest which are not treated in any extant book, and all these matters are considered with perception and understanding."--S. Chandrasekhar "A tour de force: lucid, straightforward, mathematically rigorous, exacting in the analysis of the theory in its...
| 
| Gravity: An Introduction to Einstein's General Relativity
by James B. Hartle (Author)
The aim of this groundbreaking new text is to bring general relativity into the undergraduate curriculum and make this fundamental theory accessible to all physics majors. Using a "physics first" approach to the subject, renowned relativist James B. Hartle provides a fluent and accessible introduction that uses a minimum of new mathematics and is illustrated with a wealth of exciting applications. The emphasis is on the exciting phenomena of gravitational physics and the growing connection...
| 
| Spacetime and Geometry: An Introduction to General Relativity
by Sean Carroll (Author)
Spacetime and Geometry: An Introduction to General Relativity provides a lucid and thoroughly modern introduction to general relativity. With an accessible and lively writing style, it introduces modern techniques to what can often be a formal and intimidating subject. Readers are led from the physics of flat spacetime (special relativity), through the intricacies of differential geometry and Einstein's equations, and on to exciting applications such as black holes, gravitational radiation,...
|
|
|
