Relativity and Common Sense (Paperback)

by Hermann Bondi (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Radically reoriented presentation of Einstein’s Special Theory and one of most valuable popular accounts available. 60 illus.

Product Details

• Paperback: 177 pages
• Publisher: Dover Publications (July 1, 1980)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0486240215
• ISBN-13: 978-0486240213
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.7 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #820,478 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Bondi is a not a teacher., January 27, 2000

By	[e-mail] (Providence, RI) - See all my reviews

One must give Hermann Bondi credit for his unique presentation of the concepts from Einstein's Theory of Relativity. To well-educated (at least in physics and mathematics) readers who are familiar with Einstein's Theory, Bondi's approach is insightful. However, for those looking for an alternative way to understand the Theory, prepare to be disappointed by Bondi's presentation. The book continuously uses mathematical jargon which is of course unstandable to those familiar with university mathematics, but that is not at all familiar to everyday folk (example: describing the origin of a graph as the point where the coordinate values "vanish" would confuse those who don't realize that "vanishing" is somewhat of a math slang for the values equaling zero.) At times Bondi trivializes sequential math steps in order to simplify his presentation, but then offers every detail in describing the order of events he offers for his characters; in effect, he loses touch with less familiar readers and creates a loathesome Abbott-and-Costello-type dialogue for familiar readers. For the typical reader that wants a general familiarity with Relativity, I would recommend Einstein's own offering for such readers, RELATIVITY: THE SPECIAL AND GENERAL THEORY.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Simple, Excellent Derivation, April 14, 1999

By A Customer

After several chapters reviewing concepts, many of which are quite irrelevant to the subsequent discussion, Bondi gives one of the most original derivation of Special Relativity that I have ever seen.

Unfortunately, Bondi does make some serious mistakes. For example, he conflates "time" and "elapsed time", which is analogous to conflating "position" and "distance". Second, by claiming that the laws of physics only apply to inertial reference frames, I think the author impedes the understanding of general relativity.

The author does deserve credit for using the correct formula for time dilation, not the naive gamma factor.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a favorite of mine, June 15, 2000

By	Ernest L. Sparks "erniesparks" (Portland, OR USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

For an introduction to special relativity from the K-calculus standpoint, this book has no peer. The K-calculus approach is, arguably, the soundest approach for conceptual clarity all the way to the composition of velocities and twin paradoxes. You won't feel you are being snowed by math tricks. In paperback, this book is high value for the money. Don't look for recent stuff like superluminal physics or details on relativity experiments.