The A B C of Relativity, by Sam Williams, is part of the HackerNoon Books Series. Read this book online for free on HackerNoon!

The A B C of Relativity, by Sam Williams, is part of the HackerNoon Books Series. Read this book online for free on HackerNoon!

Everybody knows that Einstein has done something astonishing, but very few people know exactly what it is that he has done.

A remark made in a language we know will be heard, whereas an equally loud remark in an unknown language may pass entirely unnoticed.

Jupiter’s moons are sometimes eclipsed by Jupiter, and it is easy to calculate the times when this ought to occur.

The world is full of periodic occurrences, and fundamental mechanisms, such as atoms, show an extraordinary similarity in different parts of the universe.

The A B C of Relativity, by Bertrand Russell, is part of the HackerNoon Books Series. Read this book online for free on HackerNoon!

The special theory of relativity arose as a way of accounting for the facts of electromagnetism.

This interval is already a generalization of the traditional notion of distance in space and time.

The reasons for accepting Einstein’s law of gravitation rather than Newton’s are partly empirical, partly logical. We will begin with the former.

Before tackling Einstein’s law, it is as well to convince ourselves, on logical grounds, that Newton’s law of gravitation cannot be quite right.

The pursuit of quantitative precision is as arduous as it is important. Physical measurements need to be made with extraordinary exactitude.

One of the most fascinating of the speculations to which I have been alluding is the suggestion that the universe may be of finite extent.

In the Newtonian system, bodies under the action of no forces move in straight lines with uniform velocity.

One of the most difficult matters in all controversy is to distinguish disputes about words from disputes about facts.

The question “What is matter?” is of the kind that is asked by metaphysicians, and answered in vast books of incredible obscurity.