The Curvature of Spacetime [Hardcover]

Harald Fritzsch (Author), Karin Heusch (Translator)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0231118201 | ISBN-13: 978-0231118200 | Publication Date: February 15, 2002

The internationally renowned physicist Harald Fritzsch deftly explains the meaning and far-flung implications of the general theory of relativity and other mysteries of modern physics by presenting an imaginary conversation among Newton, Einstein, and a fictitious contemporary particle physicist named Adrian Haller. In this entertaining and involving account of relativity, Newton serves as the skeptic and asks the questions a modern reader might ask. Einstein himself does the explaining, while Haller explains the new developments that have occurred since the general theory was proposed.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"In his latest book, the renowned German physicist Harold Fritzsch adopts an interesting method of explaining Einstein's relativity theory and its implications." -- Toronto Globe & Mail

"Fritzsch's The Curvature of Spacetime is a time-travel dialogue set in 1996 between three men: Isaac Newton, Albert Einstein... and an imaginary modern expert, Adrian Haller.... As an expository device, the dialogue form is quite successful. It lets Haller teach Einstein and Newton (and us) the current status, experimental and theoretical, of particle physics, drawing the reader into exchanges of view and conflicting ideas more readily than conventional exposition would allow." -- Francis Everitt, Nature

"There have been many admirable attempts to bring Einstein's ideas to a wider public, and I am sure The Curvature of Spacetime makes a contribution to that process" -- Robert Pepperell, Leonardo Review

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: German

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 368 pages
• Publisher: Columbia University Press (February 15, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0231118201
• ISBN-13: 978-0231118200
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.3 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #665,133 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #61 in Books > Professional & Technical > Professional Science > Physics > Gravity

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Conversations About Curvature, December 28, 2005

By 

G. Turner "healthphysicist" (detroit, mi usa) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Curvature of Spacetime (Hardcover)

In general, I am not particularly fond of books that explain physical concepts in this format. Through coversations with Newton, Einstein, and a fictional physicist named Haller we are given the priviledge of learning the basics of newtonian gravity, the special and general relativity, the standard model, and cosmology.

Once I started reading the book I could not put it down. The real gems are found in passages that explain the concepts of the metric and spacetime cuvature. I also found the chapter on the origin of mass particularly interesting.

I rate this material five stars because the conversational style of Dr. Fritzsch's book worked eceptionally well in this case. I wholeheartedly recommend this book.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Curvature Of Spacetime: Newton, Einstein, And Gravitation, January 9, 2007

By 

John K. Brady "A Curious Philosopher" (Melbourne, Florida, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Curvature of Spacetime: Newton, Einstein, and Gravitation (Paperback)

Although this book is a general public level presentation in the fields of special and general relativity, it reads like a novel, presents many historically accurate facts about the lives of two famous individuals - Albert Einstein and Sir Isaac Newton - and presents the material in an extraordinarily understandable manner.
A good comparison would be the popular work of Stephen Hawking, albeit with a little more math than most of Hawking's.
All in all, an enjoyable read and an easy way to increase one's comprehension of several difficult concepts.
John Brady

5.0 out of 5 stars Happy Physicist, October 4, 2011

By 

Stephane Blanchard (HK) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Curvature of Spacetime: Newton, Einstein, and Gravitation (Paperback)

Was looking for a book that would explain the Theory of General Relativity, not only the basics, but without losing me on the way... Well, I found it! The approach is very interesting, it reads like a novel rather than like a textbook. The content is accessible, become challenging, and start questioning your own understanding of the world around you, to figure out what it is really about.

Would recommend this book to anyone with a scientific background, but not the mathematical ease to develop the theoretical part of this theory. It will give a good sense of the physical aspect of General relativity