Description:  A highly informative and lively presentation of gravitation, relativity, cosmology, and even gravitational waves written by a noted physicist who was one of Einstein’s protegees.  

Condition: Hardbound in black cloth with pictorial dustjacket. Former owner’s bookplate inside front cover. Book is in like new condition: clean, crisp, tightly bound, and unmarked.

From the publisher’s promo: “Professor Bergmann gives a fresh presentation of Albert Einstein's theory of gravitation, known as the general theory of relativity, in this modern study of one of the mysterious forces of nature. The discovery of new astronomical bodies, the quasi- stellar objects (also known as quasars) and the X-ray sources, most of which have not as yet been identified with visible objects, makes this book particularly timely, for, as the author shows, these exotic objects are throwing light on general relativity, which, in turn, is helping us to understand them.

Einstein's theory of gravitation has done more than provide science with the most up-to-date interpretation of that force of nature. The general theory of relativity has brought about a profound re-evaluation of the concepts of space and time, with philosophical and cultural implications which in all probability have not as yet been plumbed fully. Moreover, the late (1879-1955) German-born physicist's theory has stimulated thinking about the structure and the history of the whole universe.

In the author's view, general relativity is not merely a field for professionals but for anyone who is intellectually curious and concerned with the general aspects of contemporary scientific thinking. In this volume, Professor Bergmann presents the fundamental ideas of general relativity without formal mathematics and without assuming, on the part of the reader, technical acquaintance with modern physics. At the same time, the topic is intellectually demanding, and no attempt is made to disguise inherent difficulties of comprehension_

 The book consists of three parts. The first is concerned with the special theory of relativity and provides necessary background, ranging from the physics of the English natural philosopher and mathematician, Sir Isaac Newton (1642-1727), through Einstein's discovery of the relativity of time and space, to the fusion of space and time into a four-dimensional whole by the Russian-born mathematician, Hermann Minkowski (1864-1909).

The second part of the book presents the general theory of relativity itself. This theory is based on the hypothesis that in the presence of gravitational fields, space and time are curved, rather than flat, and that all aspects of gravity can be understood in terms of geometry. The remainder of this section is devoted to the implications of Einstein's laws of gravitation for phenomena in the presence of very large and very concentrated masses.

 The third part deals with a number of further theoretical developments and with current observational and experimental programs. Some of the work described involves the testing and the confirmation of the theory itself. Other work discussed is concerned with the structure of the universe at large, on which a number of recent discoveries are shedding new light. The book concludes with a few thoughts on the future of gravity research, including possible modifications of Einstein's theory.

Five appendixes contain mathematical derivations for the reader who desires a more technical treatment of the subject, and a sixth summarizes metric and other units of measurement. A glossary explains more fully technical terms employed in the book, and there are suggestions for further reading”.

About the Author: Peter Bergmann (1915-2002)  was, since 1950, Professor of Physics at Syracuse University, New York. He was born in Berlin, Germany and received his Ph.D. from the University of Prague in 1936. He was one of Albert Einstein's coworkers at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey, from 1936 to 1941, taking part in the search for a unified field theory. He was a Fellow of the American Physical Society and former Chairman of the Federation of American Scientists.

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