The book presents seven fundamental concepts in spacetime physics mostly by following Hermann Minkowski’s revolutionary ideas summarized in his 1908 lecture "Space and Time." These concepts are: spacetime, inertial and accelerated motion in spacetime physics, the origin and nature of inertia in spacetime physics, relativistic mass, gravitation, gravitational waves, and black holes. They have been selected because they appear to be causing most misconceptions and confusion in spacetime physics. This second edition has been revised to include additional clarifications, more detailed elaboration of the arguments and also new material published in the interim.

This thoroughly up-to-date, highly accessible overview covers microgravity, collider accelerators, satellite probes, neutron detectors, radioastronomy, and pulsars.

Provides the essential principles and results of special relativity as required by undergraduates. The text uses a geometric interpretation of space-time so that a general theory is seen as a natural extension of the special theory. Although most results are derived from first principles, complex and distracting mathematics is avoided and all mathe

The success of Newton's mechanic, Maxwell's electrodynamic, Einstein's theories of relativity, and quantum mechanics is a strong argument for the space-time continuum. Nevertheless, doubts have been expressed about the use of a continuum in a science squarely based on observation and measurement. An exact science requires that qualitative arguments must be reduced to quantitative statements. The observability of a continuum can be reduced from qualitative arguments to quantitative statements by means of information theory.Information theory was developed during the last decades within electrical communications, but it is almost unknown in physics. The closest approach to information theory in physics is the calculus of propositions, which has been used in books on the frontier of quantum mechanics and the general theory of relativity. Principles of information theory are discussed in this book. The ability to think readily in terms of a finite number of discrete samples is developed over many years of using information theory and digital computers, just as the ability to think readily in terms of a continuum is developed by long use of differential calculus.

INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER “Most appealing... technical accuracy and lightness of tone... Impeccable.”—Wall Street Journal “A porthole into another world.”—Scientific American “Brings science dissemination to a new level.”—Science The most trusted explainer of the most mind-boggling concepts pulls back the veil of mystery that has too long cloaked the most valuable building blocks of modern science. Sean Carroll, with his genius for making complex notions entertaining, presents in his uniquely lucid voice the fundamental ideas informing the modern physics of reality. Physics offers deep insights into the workings of the universe but those insights come in the form of equations that often look like gobbledygook. Sean Carroll shows that they are really like meaningful poems that can help us fly over sierras to discover a miraculous multidimensional landscape alive with radiant giants, warped space-time, and bewilderingly powerful forces. High school calculus is itself a centuries-old marvel as worthy of our gaze as the Mona Lisa. And it may come as a surprise the extent to which all our most cutting-edge ideas about black holes are built on the math calculus enables. No one else could so smoothly guide readers toward grasping the very equation Einstein used to describe his theory of general relativity. In the tradition of the legendary Richard Feynman lectures presented sixty years ago, this book is an inspiring, dazzling introduction to a way of seeing that will resonate across cultural and generational boundaries for many years to come.

Questions about how we know the world and how it appears according to our knowledge have been of significant interest from ancient times up to the present day. Philosophy and science go hand-in-hand in order to give answers to these fundamental questions. Some aspects of these have been turned into philosophical problems, which provoke a long-lasting and vivid discussion. This book provides answers to such philosophical problems on the basis of a sound and clearly presented argumentation. It will provoke the interest of a broad reading public across the globe, including philosophers, scientists, university students, and inquisitive readers.