First Steps in Space-Time: A Brief Introduction to Special Relativity (Discovering Physics)
Author: Ed Macaulay (Author)
Publisher finelybook 出版社: CRC Press
Publication Date 出版日期: 2025-06-10
Edition 版本: 1st
Language 语言: English
Print Length 页数: 88 pages
ISBN-10: 1032908386
ISBN-13: 9781032908380
Book Description
First Steps in Space-Time: A Brief Introduction to Special Relativity provides an accessible, authentic, and readable introduction to the theory of special relativity. The academic level of the book builds only on skills that would be covered in a GCSE maths course, such as Pythagoras’s theorem, and rearranging equations, and no prior knowledge of relativity (or physics) is assumed. The key benefits of the work are to bridge the gap between popular science books and university textbooks, and make the theory of relativity as broadly accessible as physically possible. The book allows the reader to discover and appreciate that relativity is not an intractable esoteric curiosity, but a beautiful and succinct theory that profoundly shaped the course of history and our interpretation of our day-to-day lives.
This book is ideal for readers with an interest in physics and a little working knowledge of maths, who have studied mathematics at about A-level standard: professionals such as accountants, bankers, doctors, economists, engineers, lawyers, pharmacists and teachers, or high school students who might be considering studying physics or a related subject at university.
Review
This is a lovely book on one of the most profound theories of the modern physics. Ed Macaulay has taken an incredibly gentle approach to introducing the main concepts, using the bare essential of mathematics to construct the scaffolding of, what often seems like, bizarre phenomena which arise if one embraces the Special Theory of Relativity. The pacing is just right, one idea at a time, suitably backed up by a calculation and with the consequences clearly laid out. He takes pleasure in writing it clearly and concisely but is also inspired by the narrative style of another era making it a real pleasure to read.
– Professor Pedro Ferreira, University of Oxford, May 2025 (author of The Perfect Theory and The State of the Universe)
First Steps in Spacetime is a fantastic introduction to special relativity, and a must-read for anyone who wants to extend their knowledge beyond the popular science shelf without picking up a university textbook. Written clearly and compellingly, the book takes the reader on a journey of discovery, starting with simple observations and building to explain the momentous revelations that, at the start of the 20th Century, rocked physics to its core. Anyone looking to dig a little deeper into the science and maths behind relativity will find plenty to enjoy here. Very readable!
– Dr Matthew Bothwell, University of Cambridge, June 2025
About the Author
Ed Macaulay is a lecturer in Physics and Data Science at Queen Mary University of London, where he’s keen on making physics more accessible. His research background is in cosmology and dark energy, and he has interests in outreach and Physics Education Research. He is originally from London, and he has an MSci in Physics from Imperial College, London, and a DPhil in Astrophysics from the University of Oxford.
