Relativity: The Special and the General Theory

by Albert Einstein · Über die spezielle und die allgemeine Relativitätstheorie

Assigned by 2 of the 9 reading lists, catalogue entry only

Written
1917
Language
German
Length
Short · 130 ppunder 120 pages
Difficulty
Demanding3 of 5 for a first-year reader

We recommendRelativity: The Special and the General Theory, translated by Robert W. LawsonPenguin Classics, 2006The authorised translation with Einstein's own later additions, and an introduction by Nigel Calder.

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Einstein's own popular account of his two theories, written for readers with school mathematics. The first part explains special relativity through trains, embankments and lightning flashes, the constancy of the speed of light, the relativity of simultaneity and the equivalence of mass and energy. The second part introduces general relativity through the equivalence of gravitation and acceleration and the idea of curved space-time, and the third considers the shape of the universe as a whole.

No reading guide yet

The catalogue entry above is complete: the dates, the form, the themes and every program that assigns Relativity: The Special and the General Theory are verified against each program's published list.

What is missing is the part that takes real work: the summary, the key passages, and a recommended translation. The edition named below is the one most programs assign, so the buy links are useful already.

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Über die spezielle und die allgemeine Relativitätstheorie, Relativity, A Popular Exposition, special relativity, general relativity, simultaneity, speed of light, space-time, gravitation, Lorentz transformation