Special And General Relativity

Relativity − The Special and General Theory 1 Relativity − The Special and General Theory The Project Gutenberg EBook of Relativity: The Special and General Theory by Albert Einstein (#1 in our series by Albert Einstein) Note: 58 image files are part of this eBook. They include tables, equations and figures that could not be represented well as plain text. Copyright laws are changing all over the world. Be sure to check the copyright laws for your country before downloading or redistributing this or any other Project Gutenberg eBook. This header should be the first thing seen when viewing this Project Gutenberg file. Please do not remove it. Do not change or edit the header without written permission. Please read the "legal small print," and other information about the eBook and Project Gutenberg at the bottom of this file. Included is important information about your specific rights and restrictions in how the file may be used. You can also find out about how to make a donation to Project Gutenberg, and how to get involved. **Welcome To The World of Free Plain Vanilla Electronic Texts** **eBooks Readable By Both Humans and By Computers, Since 1971** *****These eBooks Were Prepared By Thousands of Volunteers!***** Title: Relativity: The Special and General Theory Author: Albert Einstein Part I: The Special Theory of Relativity 2 Release Date: February, 2004 [EBook #5001] [Yes, we are more than one year ahead of schedule] [This file was first posted on April 1, 2002] Edition: 10 Language: English Character set encoding: ASCII *** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK, RELATIVITY *** ALBERT EINSTEIN REFERENCE ARCHIVE RELATIVITY: THE SPECIAL AND GENERAL THEORY BY ALBERT EINSTEIN Written: 1916 (this revised edition: 1924) Source: Relativity: The Special and General Theory (1920) Publisher: Methuen & Co Ltd First Published: December, 1916 Translated: Robert W. Lawson (Authorised translation) Transcription/Markup: Brian Basgen Transcription to text: Gregory B. Newby Copyleft: Einstein Reference Archive (marxists.org) 1999, 2002. Permission is granted to copy and/or distribute this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License (end of this file) The Einstein Reference Archive is online at: http://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/einstein/index.htm Transcriber note: This file is a plain text rendition of HTML. Because many equations cannot be presented effectively in plain text, images are supplied for many equations and for all figures and tables. CONTENTS Preface Part I: The Special Theory of Relativity 01. Physical Meaning of Geometrical Propositions 02. The System of Co−ordinates 03. Space and Time in Classical Mechanics 04. The Galileian System of Co−ordinates 05. The Principle of Relativity (in the Restricted Sense) 06. The Theorem of the Addition of Velocities employed in Classical Mechanics 07. The Apparent Incompatability of the Law of Propagation of Light with the Principle of Relativity 08. On the Idea of Time in Physics 09. The Relativity of Simultaneity 10. On the Relativity of the Conception of Distance 11. The Lorentz Transformation 12. The Behaviour of Measuring−Rods and Clocks in Motion 13. Theorem of the Addition of Velocities. The Experiment of Fizeau 14. The Hueristic Value of the Theory of Relativity 15. General Results of the Theory 16. Expereince and the Special Theory of Relativity 17. Minkowski's Four−dimensial Space Part II: The General Theory of Relativity 18. Special and General Principle of Relativity 19. The Gravitational Field 20. The Equality of Inertial and Gravitational Mass as an Argument for the General Postulate of Relativity 21. In What Respects are the Foundations of Classical Mechanics and of the Special Theory of Relativity Unsatisfactory? 22. A Few Part III: Considerations on the Universe as a Whole 3 Inferences fr