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8.033

Relativity

5-0-7 units. REST · Undergraduate

Einstein's postulates; consequences for simultaneity, time dilation, length contraction, and clock synchronization; Lorentz transformation; relativistic effects and paradoxes; Minkowski diagrams; invariants and four-vectors; momentum, energy, and mass; particle collisions. Relativity and electricity; Coulomb's law; magnetic fields. Brief introduction to Newtonian cosmology. Introduction to some concepts of general relativity; principle of equivalence. The Schwarzchild metric; gravitational red shift; particle and light trajectories; geodesics; Shapiro delay.

Fall 2024 · Introduction to Relativity and Spacetime Physics

The goal of this course is to give you a thorough introduction to Einstein’s special theory of relativity, and to give you a brief introduction to core concepts of Einstein’s general theory of relativity. The course is designed to be accessible to first-semester sophomores, and suitable as one of the first “core major” courses students encounter after completing the physics {{% resource_link "eefd0d4f-d4c3-4e73-8ebe-99a58e184190" "General Institute Requirement" %}}.

Readings

  • There does not exist a very useful textbook that covers this material at the right levels of both breadth and depth. In lieu of this, the standard reference for the course this term is Professor Hughes’s lecture notes. These notes provide a good guide to the material we will cover this term.
    Listed reading
  • French, A. P. 1968. Special Relativity . New York: Norton. ISBN: 9780393097931
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  • Resnick, Robert. 1968. Introduction to Special Relativity . New York: Wiley. ISBN: 9780471717256
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  • Taylor, Edwin F., John Archibald Wheeler, and Edmund William Bertschinger. 2010. Exploring Black Holes: Introduction to General Relativity . 2nd ed. Boston, Mass.: Addison-Wesley. ISBN: 9780321512864
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Fall 2006

This course, which concentrates on special relativity, is normally taken by physics majors in their sophomore year. Topics include Einstein's postulates, the Lorentz transformation, relativistic effects and paradoxes, and applications involving electromagnetism and particle physics. This course also provides a brief introduction to some concepts of general relativity, including the principle of equivalence, the Schwartzschild metric and black holes, and the FRW metric and cosmology.

Readings

  • Related Subjects; Brief History of Physics Resnick: Chapter 1 and beginning of Chapter 2. French: Chapters 1 and 2.
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  • Resnick: Chapter 1 and beginning of Chapter 2.
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  • French: Chapters 1 and 2.
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  • Resnick: Chapter 2.
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  • French: Chapters 3 and 4.
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  • French: Chapter 5.
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  • beta -Decay and the Inference of Neutrino
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  • Relativistic Dynamics Chapters in Resnick and French.
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  • Resnick: Chapter 3.
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  • French: Chapters 6 and 7.
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  • Resnick: Chapter 4.
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  • French: Chapter 8.
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  • Cosmology: Spacetime Overview Tegmark, Max. “ Spacetime .” Science 296 (2002): 1427-1433. ↗
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  • Cosmology: Popular Overview Lemonick, Michael D. “ The End .” Time , June 25, 2001, 48-56. ↗
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  • Taylor and Wheeler: Chapters 2, 3, 4, 5, and Project D.
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  • Resnick, Robert. Introduction to Special Relativity . New York, NY: Wiley, 1968.
    Listed reading
  • French, A. P. Special Relativity . Massachusetts Institute of Technology Education Research Center: MIT Introductory Physics Series. New York, NY: Norton, 1968.
    Listed reading
  • Taylor, Edwin F., and John A. Wheeler. Exploring Black Holes: Introduction to General Relativity . San Francisco, CA: Addison Wesley Longman, 2000. ISBN: 9780201384239.
    Listed reading

Prerequisites & course information

Prereq: Calculus II (GIR) and Physics II (GIR) U (Fall) 5-0-7 units. REST

Sources