Books on Relativity and Cosmology
ASTR 3740 Homepage
description
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syllabus
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problems
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books
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relativity
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cosmology
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ASTR 5720
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Michael Berry (1989) ``Principles of Cosmology and Gravitation''
(Adam Hilger).
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Edwin F. Taylor & John A. Wheeler (1997) ``Spacetime Physics'' 2nd ed.
(W. H. Freeman).
A delightful introduction to special relativity.
One short final chapter on general relativity.
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Richard A. Mould (1996) ``Basic Relativity'' (Springer).
Introduction to special and general relativity,
aimed at undergraduate physics students.
Has a short chapter on Cosmology at the end.
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George F. R. Ellis & Ruth M. Williams (1988)
``Flat and Curved Space-Times''
(Oxford University Press).
An easy to follow, readable introduction to special and general relativity,
with an emphasis on pictures and geometry.
Claims that anyone with a high-school level of mathematics
should be able to follow the arguments.
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Kip S. Thorne (1994) ``Black Holes & Time Warps: Einstein's Outrageous
Legacy'' (Norton). A wonderfully readable, authoritative book which takes you
to the edge of knowledge, without mathematics, and without patronizing.
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Richard P. Feynman (1997) ``Six Not-So-Easy Pieces: Einstein's Relativity,
Symmetry, and Space-Time'' (Addison-Wesley).
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George Gamow (1965; reprinted 1996) ``Mr. Tompkins in Paperback''
(Cambridge University Press).
A classic.
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M. Begelman & M. Rees (1996)
``Gravity's Fatal Attraction: Black Holes in the Universe''
(Scientific American Library).
A popular book by CU's own
Mitch Begelman
and Britain's Astronomer Royal Sir Martin Rees.
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Carl Sagan (1985)
``Contact'' (Pocket Books $7).
The book that eventually became a film.
Kip Thorne was the consulting general relativistic expert on this novel.
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John Cramer (1997)
``Einstein's Bridge'' (Avon $13).
This is a science fiction novel involving wormholes.
The author is a practicing physicist, and knows his general relativity.
A compelling read.
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John F. Hawley & Katherine A. Holcomb (1997)
``Foundations of Modern Cosmology''
(Oxford University Press, $50).
Entry level undergraduate text aimed at non-science majors.
Mostly on cosmology, but includes chapters on special and general relativity,
and even discusses wormholes.
There has long been a need for a text like this.
Its price is a bit steep.
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Timothy Ferris (1997)
``The Whole Shebang : A State-Of-The-Universe(S) Report''
(Simon & Shuster $25).
There are many popular books on cosmology, and this is one of them,
written by a science journalist.
Wide-ranging. Zero math.
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Martin Rees (1997)
``Before the Beginning: Our Universe and Others''
(Addison-Wesley $25).
Another popular book, a personal view of cosmology,
by Britain's Astronomer Royal.
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Check out
Ned Wright's
Cosmology bibliography,
and his
Cosmology tutorial,
which includes a
Cosmology FAQ,
and sections on the
Age of the Universe and on astronomical
Distances.
Ned Wright also offers a set of graduate level
Cosmology lecture notes (gzip'd PostScript).
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Sean Carroll's (1997)
Lecture Notes on General Relativity
the full text of which is available as a single gzip'd PostScript file
(and other formats) at
http://xxx.lanl.gov/abs/gr-qc/9712019.
Graduate level.
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Several
graduate level texts in Cosmology.
ASTR 3740 Homepage
description
|
syllabus
|
problems
|
books
|
relativity
|
cosmology
|
ASTR 5720
Updated 24 Mar 1998