3 Review(s)

Relativity: The Special and General Theory, authored by Albert Einstein, is the magnum opus of scientific work written in a language of layman by none other than the man who revolutionized the world of Physics and considered to be the greatest mind ever lived on this planet. Summary of the Book Relativity: The Special and General Theory, in Einstein’s own words, is an exact insight into the theory of Relativity to those readers who, from a general scientific and philosophical point of view, are interested in the theory, but who are not conversant with the mathematical apparatus of theoretical physics. Written as a short paper in the beginning, this work was later published as a book which was originally written in German and first published in English in 1920. Einstein in his preface mentions that the main aim of the book was to take the concept of relativity even to people with no strong background in Physics. Combining Newton’s time and space entities of classical physics into one inseparable element of space-time continuum in his general relativity, Einstein gave the ultimate limit to the speed of light and its correlation with the concept of time and space in his special theory of relativity. The book is divided into three parts. In the first part, Einstein exquisitely elaborates on intricate concepts like coordinate systems, length contraction, time dilation, relativistic mass, Minkowski's Four-dimensional Space and most importantly talks about his exceptionally simple equation E=MC2, which completely changed the previously thought notions on mass, energy and their relationship with light. In the second part, revolutionary concept of general relativity is discussed in a way a common man could understand the anatomy of space and time. Explaining through simplified field equations, Einstein puts forth the beautiful idea of four dimensional space-time curvatures that laid the foundations for a century of scientific, specifically, astrophysical discoveries and explanations. In the third part Einstein gives a slight glimpse of his philosophical perspective towards the universe and the way physics defines the working manual of it. Here he considers the universe as a whole, and discusses the implications of relativity concepts in understanding the same. This book, even a century after it was published, is still the holy grail of theoretical physics and astrophysics. About Albert Einstein Albert Einstein, a gentleman who belongs to the elite league of Newton, Tesla, Maxwell and considered to be the greatest scientist of 20th century. Born in Germany, and worked as a clerk in the patent office before revolutionizing the world of physics, Einstein with his incredible achievements in scientific world has become synonymous to the word genius. He provided the world, two of the most brilliant concepts of physics through his theories of relativity, and won the Noble Prize in Physics for his work on Photoelectric Effect, which eventually become the foundation stone for tremendous developments in electronic technologies and quantum theory. Einstein is not only celebrated as the greatest physicists of all the time but he was also a wonderful human being and philosopher. World War II and presence of Adolf Hitler in Germany forced him to stay in the US during the period, where he consistently tried hard to warn and evade the application of nuclear fission as a weapon of mass destruction. He collaborated and interacted with many extraordinary minds of his time contributing to the world of physics and humanity as a whole. His unmatched intellectual imagination collaged with his immense interest in music, philosophy and humanity makes him the greatest personality that scientific world and mankind have ever seen.