Synopses & Reviews
From the clock-like motions of the planets to the catastrophic collapse of a star to a black hole, gravity controls the Universe. Gravity is central to modern physics, where it helps answer the deepest questions about the nature of time, the origin of the Universe, and the unification of the forces of nature. Here, relativity expert Bernard Schultz uses careful physical reasoning to weave together key experiments and observations. He presents a remarkably -- deep understanding about the frontiers of research: the nature of stars and galaxies, the mysteries of dark matter and dark energy, black holes, gravitational waves, and inflation and the Big Bang. Schultz also explores much related physics: the nature of light and heat, quantum phenomena, nuclear physics, and more. This text uses only high-school-level mathematics, supplemented by optional computer programs. It is suitable for individual reading or for introductory-level university courses.
Review
"...the text is...inviting, with exercises that have real-world application, such as exploring the energy of photons that cause sunburn." Stuart J. Goldman, Sky & Telescope
Review
"Delightfully throrough yet easy to read." American Scientist
Synopsis
This book provides an accessible introduction to astronomy and general relativity, aiming to explain the Universe, not just to describe it. Written by an expert in relativity who is known for his clearly-written advanced textbooks, the treatment uses only high-school level mathematics, supplemented by optional computer programs, to explain the laws of physics governing gravity from Galileo and Newton to Einstein.
About the Author
Born and educated in the USA, Bernard Schutz has worked on applications of general relativity in astronomy since his PhD from the California Institute of Technology in 1972. In 1995 he was one of the two founding directors of the Albert Einstein Institute (AEI) of the Max Planck Society, a research institute in Golm, Germany, that is devoted to the study of gravitation in modern physics and astronomy. Prior to this he taught physics and applied mathematics at Cardiff University for over 20 years, where he still holds a professorship. As a director of the AEI, Professor Schutz supervises a research division that includes one of the leading groups in the world performing supercomputer simulations of black hole dynamics and collisions. The division also coordinates the analysis of the data from the GEO600 gravitational wave detector, a project operated by the AEI on behalf of a consortium of German and British physicists. Professor Schutz is a Fellow of the American Physical Society, the Institute of Physics, and the Royal Astronomical Society. He has written two advanced textbooks that are widely used at the graduate level, Geometrical Methods of Mathematical Physics and A First Course in General Relativity (both published by Cambridge). He is the founder and Editor-In-Chief of Living Reviews in Relativity, an Internet-based journal publishing survey articles covering all areas of general relativity. He also gives numerous lectures on gravitational waves to both professional and popular audiences.
Table of Contents
Preface; 1. Gravity on Earth: the inescapable force; 2. And then came Newton: gravity takes center stage; 3. Satellites: what goes up doesn't always come down; 4. The Solar System: a triumph for Newtonian gravity; 5. Tides and tidal forces: the real signature of gravity; 6. Interplanetary travel: the cosmic roller-coaster; 7. Atmospheres: keeping planets covered; 8. Gravity in the Sun: keeping the heat on; 9. Reaching for the stars: the emptiness of outer space; 10. The colors of stars: why they are black (bodies); 11. Stars at work: factories for the Universe; 12. Birth to death: the life cycle of the stars; 13. Binary stars: tidal forces on a huge scale; 14. Galaxies: atoms in the Universe; 15. Physics near the speed of light: Einstein stands on Galileo's shoulders; 16. Relating to Einstein: logic and experiment in relativity; 17. Spacetime geometry: finding out what is not relative; 18. Einstein's gravity: the curvature of spacetime in the Solar System; 19. Einstein's recipe: fashioning the geometry of gravity; 20. Neutron stars: laboratories of strong gravity; 21. Black holes: gravity's one-way street; 22. Gravitational waves: gravity speaks; 23. Gravitational lenses: bringing the Universe into focus; 24. Cosmology: the study of everything; 25. Big Bang: the seed from which we grew; 26. Einstein's Universe: the geometry of cosmology; 27. Ask the Universe: cosmic questions at the frontiers of gravity; Appendix A. Useful constants: values used in this book; Appendix B. Background: what you need to know before you start.