Relativity: The Special and the General Theory

Albert Einstein

Written by Albert Einstein, Relativity: The Special and the General Theory started out as a paper before it was published in book format. The original German edition was published in 1916 and it wasn't until 1920 that it was translated into English. The book is divided into three parts, each dealing with a different form of relativity and universal thought. Interestingly, Einstein is known to have written the book for readers who are interesting in the science and philosophy it, but are not particularly equipped with the mathematics of theoretical physics. Hence, the book serves as an excellent introduction to the theory of relativity to those fascinated with the workings of the cosmos. At its core, the book provides a fascinating insight into the relationship between space and time and the universe as a whole. This modern-day masterpiece is considered to be one of the most popular and noteworthy works in physics in the 20th century, greatly impacting physics as we have known and understood in myriad ways.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright
• CONTENTS
• Chapter 00 - PUBLISHER’S NOTE
• Chapter P1 - PREFACE
• Chapter 01 - PART I THE SPECIAL THEORY OF RELATIVITY$$$$I PHYSICAL MEANING OF GEOMETRICAL PROPOSITIONS
• Chapter 02 - II THE SYSTEM OF COORDINATES
• Chapter 03 - III SPACE AND TIME IN CLASSICAL MECHANICS
• Chapter 04 - IV THE GALILEIAN SYSTEM OF CO-ORDINATES
• Chapter 05 - V THE PRINCIPLE OF RELATIVITY IN THE RESTRICTED SENSE
• Chapter 06 - VI THE THEOREM OF THE ADDITION OF VELOCITIES EMPLOYED IN CLASSICAL MECHANICS
• Chapter 07 - VII THE APPARENT INCOMPATIBILITY OF THE LAW OF PROPAGATION OF LIGHT WITH THE PRINCIPLE OF RELATIVITY
• Chapter 08 - VIII ON THE IDEA OF TIME IN PHYSICS
• Chapter 09 - IX THE RELATIVITY OF SIMULTANEITY
• Chapter 10 - X ON THE RELATIVITY OF THE CONCEPTION OF DISTANCE
• Chapter 11 - XI THE LORENTZ TRANSFORMATION
• Chapter 12 - XII THE BEHAVIOUR OF MEASURING-RODS AND CLOCKS IN MOTION
• Chapter 13 - XIII THEOREM OF THE ADDITION OF VELOCITIES. THE EXPERIMENT OF FIZEAU
• Chapter 14 - XIV THE HEURISTIC VALUE OF THE THEORY OF RELATIVITY
• Chapter 15 - XV GENERAL RESULTS OF THE THEORY
• Chapter 16 - XVI EXPERIENCE AND THE SPECIAL THEORY OF RELATIVITY
• Chapter 17 - XVII MINKOWSKI’S FOUR-DIMENSIONAL SPACE
• Chapter 18 - PART II THE GENERAL THEORY OF RELATIVITY$$$$XVIII SPECIAL AND GENERAL PRINCIPLE OF RELATIVITY
• Chapter 19 - XIX THE GRAVITATIONAL FIELD
• Chapter 20 - XX THE EQUALITY OF INERTIAL AND GRAVITATIONAL MASS AS AN ARGUMENT FOR THE GENERAL POSTULATE OF RELATIVITY
• Chapter 21 - XXI IN WHAT RESPECTS ARE THE FOUNDATIONS OF CLASSICAL MECHANICS AND OF THE SPECIAL THEORY OF RELATIVITY UNSATISFACTORY?
• Chapter 22 - XXII A FEW INFERENCES FROM THE GENERAL PRINCIPLE OF RELATIVITY
• Chapter 23 - XXIII BEHAVIOUR OF CLOCKS AND MEASURING-RODS ON A ROTATING BODY OF REFERENCE
• Chapter 24 - XXIV EUCLIDEAN AND NON-EUCLIDEAN CONTINUUM
• Chapter 25 - XXV GAUSSIAN CO-ORDINATES
• Chapter 26 - XXVI THE SPACE-TIME CONTINUUM OF THE SPECIAL THEORY OF RELATIVITY CONSIDERED AS A EUCLIDEAN CONTINUUM
• Chapter 27 - XXVII THE SPACE-TIME CONTINUUM OF THE GENERAL THEORY OF RELATIVITY IS NOT A EUCLIDEAN CONTINUUM
• Chapter 28 - XXVIII EXACT FORMULATION OF THE GENERAL PRINCIPLE OF RELATIVITY
• Chapter 29 - XXIX THE SOLUTION OF THE PROBLEM OF GRAVITATION ON THE BASIS OF THE GENERAL PRINCIPLE OF RELATIVITY
• Chapter 30 - PART III CONSIDERATIONS ON THE UNIVERSE AS A WHOLE$$$$XXX COSMOLOGICAL DIFFICULTIES OF NEWTON’S THEORY
• Chapter 31 - XXXI THE POSSIBILITY OF A "FINITE" AND YET "UNBOUNDED" UNIVERSE
• Chapter 32 - XXXII THE STRUCTURE OF SPACE ACCORDING TO THE GENERAL THEORY OF RELATIVITY
• Chapter A1 - APPENDIX I SIMPLE DERIVATION OF THE LORENTZ TRANSFORMATION [SUPPLEMENTARY TO SECTION XI]
• Chapter A2 - APPENDIX II MINKOWSKI’S FOUR-DIMENSIONAL SPACE ("WORLD") [SUPPLEMENTARY TO SECTION XVII]
• Chapter A3 - APPENDIX III THE EXPERIMENTAL CONFIRMATION OF THE GENERAL THEORY OF RELATIVITY
• Chapter A4 - APPENDIX IV THE STRUCTURE OF SPACE ACCORDING TO THE GENERAL THEORY OF RELATIVITY [SUPPLEMENTARY TO SECTION XXXII]