Gravity from the Ground Up: An Introductory Guide to Gravity and General Relativity (Hardcover)

by Bernard Schutz (Author) "Gravity is everywhere..." (more)
Key Phrases: gravitoelectric field, moving experimenter, distant experimenter, Big Bang, Solar System, Standard Model (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"...the text is...inviting, with exercises that have real-world application, such as exploring the energy of photons that cause sunburn." Stuart J. Goldman, Sky & Telescope

"Delightfully throrough yet easy to read." American Scientist

Product Description
This book provides an accessible introduction to astronomy and general relativity, aiming to explain the Universe, not just to describe it. Written by an expert in relativity who is known for his clearly-written advanced textbooks, the treatment uses only high-school level mathematics, supplemented by optional computer programs, to explain the laws of physics governing gravity from Galileo and Newton to Einstein.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 488 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press; 1 edition (November 30, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0521455065
• ISBN-13: 978-0521455060
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 8 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #134,621 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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  #8 in	Books > Science > Physics > Gravity
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  #49 in	Books > Science > Physics > Relativity

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

54 of 55 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Nearly perfect, October 31, 2004

By	physics (??) - See all my reviews

This is possibly the best book i own. The book basically covers "all" the important topics in gravity, cosmology and astrophysics. For example equivalence principle, general relativity, gravitational waves, neutron stars, black holes, even a bit of quantum gravity (especially in last chapter) etc etc.

Though i must warn that anyone who reads this book might accidentally turn into a theoretical physicist. Its that fascinating/exciting really and it really makes one feel that this is a special time in theoretical physics (waiting for quantum gravity and new astronomical observations and theories). In this respect it is somewhat similar to popular books.

But i wouldnt call this a popular science book, since it goes deeper into things. For example i have Schutz's "First course in general relativity" and i think that up to the chapter on Einstein's equation it is easier than this. The reason is probably that this book doesnt use explicit calculus (well in a way it does with finite differences) or tensors; for example the chapter dealing with differential geometry and general relativity was pretty difficult to understand without tensors, but it gives very nice intuitive understanding for differential geometry/general relativity. There were other places were i understood something i havent really ever understood but was well explained here. All in all, this is an excellent book on gravity and cosmology and i recommend it to anyone.

30 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book makes me happy, May 6, 2005

By	E. Debie (Belgium) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I wanted to understand relativity, and tried many books. Up to know i met two kinds of books, the ones which i could not understand because they are to difficult, and the ones with a minimum of math, which are incomplete and oversimplified. I did not understand everything (e,g the Einstein equation and tensors) but most of this book gives me a deep insight in the beauty of relativity, cosmology and astronomy in a way no other book has done.

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A real treasure, August 2, 2006

By	John F. Leamons - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

How many authors of popular science books begin their books by boasting that they can teach real science to readers who have no math--or no math beyond basic algebra? And then what do you get? Either a tub full of metaphors sloshing about promiscuously or else a math course so compressed it would leave Newton saying, "Duh?" But not in this book. Bernard Schutz takes the reader by the hand and leads him gently on. There is scarcely a bump in the road; yet, by the end of the book, you've not only learned a good deal of physics, astrophysics and cosmology, you've also gotten an inkling of how a physicist thinks. How does Schutz manage to succeed where failure is the rule? Well, partly by magic, I think. But partly by the clever use of simple computer simulations (downloadable for free) and partly by means of a very carefully thought out pedagogical strategy. This gentleman is a teacher par excellence. If you're only going to read one science book in your life, read this one. Just be prepared to spend some time with it.