BEYOND SPECIAL RELATIVITY
Looking for the intrinsic properties of spacetime
Below you can read the presentation of our new book, which will be available in the coming months. We hope it will intrigue you!
What is time? And space? How are these two apparently opposed elements indissolubly linked?
The book starts from man’s intrinsic need to ask himself questions and elaborate answers, and tries to analyze, through a simple and intuitive physical-mathematical language, some aspects of Einstein’s Special and General Relativity, accompanied by equally clear and immediately understandable images.
The beginning is given by a philosophical-literary premise that analyzes the consequences of Relativity in other fields of knowledge, necessary to remember that everything is extremely connected.
The work, following a brief introduction and the main mathematical prerequisites necessary for reading, aims to investigate the reasons that led intellectuals to develop a new theory that would explain reality, with particular attention to the experiment of Michelson-Morley and the proof of the non-existence of the aether.
Subsequently, the main postulates and definitions are described, so as to be able to face the in-depth analysis of the light clock experiment conceived by Einstein and which represents the beginning of the Theory of Relativity.
The Lorentz transformations are then studied and demonstrated, an interesting discussion of simultaneity and causality is presented, with reference to some paradoxes, which are represented and explained.
And so follows the kinematics section where, after a chapter dedicated to the Lorentz-Minkowsky space-time, accompanied by a series of interesting exercises carried out, the uniformly accelerated motion is presented, the true heart of the work, treated in a completely original way, through a detailed analysis of its laws of motion. It is subsequently exploited to solve the “accelerated” version of the original twin paradox.
Finally, the book briefly focuses on dynamics, presenting the notions of energy and momentum, to move on to General Relativity, where the main experimental evidence confirming the latter theory is analyzed.
The conclusion analyzes the data detailed in the book and tries to distinguish the invariants among the various frames of reference, distinguishing them from what varies.
What sets our book apart from the many others that exist on the same subject?
In this book the concepts are analyzed and explained in an intuitive way with simple and clear images, there are original and interesting exercises aimed at changing the point of view with which relativity is perceived. Furthermore, there are exempt or rare treatises in other books and completely original, with particular reference to the chapter of relativistic accelerated motion. Although it is a work that fits into a context saturated with treatises on relativity, it tries to get out of the box to present with interest what in other contexts is carried out with cold rigour.
Who is this book for?
The book is not aimed at a specific group of readers, but on the contrary, it aims to involve anyone with a base of physical-mathematical knowledge who has an interest in deepening the topic of Relativity. This does not mean that it can be defined as a work carried out in an approximate way, far from it: it tries to be simple and understandable where possible without distorting the concepts presented but rather, deepening them with greater enthusiasm.
Authors:
Riccardo Zancan: Riccardo Zancan was born in Abano Terme (PD), Italy, on June 28, 2002. He attended the Federigo Enriques scientific high school in Livorno and is currently a student of Energy Engineering at the University of Pisa. He loves sailing and is passionate about mathematics, physics, and culture in general.
ORCID ID: 0000-0002-7496-6882
Raul Tozzi: Raul Tozzi was born in Livorno, Italy, on November 7, 1981. He graduated in mathematics and currently teaches mathematics and physics. He is curious about sciences and enjoys working in multicultural environments.
ORCID ID: 0000-0002-3456-1151
