Mechanical Engineering

MTF066 Theory of Relativity 3.0 ECTS credits

DENNA SIDA FINNS OCKSÅ PÅ SVENSKA

General information about studying at Luleå University
TIMEPERIOD: Q III

LANGUAGE: English/Swedish

EXAMINER
Sverker Fredriksson Prof

PREREQUISITES
The compulsary first-year courses in Mathematics.

COURSE AIM
This course gives an insight into Einetein's theory of relativity and its consequences for other disciplines, such as particle and nuclear physics, astrophysics and cosmology. The focus is on special relativity, but an introduction will also be given to general relativity, gravitation and cosmology.

CONTENTS
Einstein's postulates for special relativity. The concept of a four-dimensional space-time. Definitions of measurements of time, distances, masses etc. Causality. Cartesian tensors and tensor formulations of natural laws. Translations and rotations in space-time, and their connections to the conservation laws of Nature. Translation laws for velocities, accelerations, masses etc. The classical and ultra-relativistic approximations. Specific effects, e.g. length contraction, time dilation, relativistic Doppler shift. Conceptual difficulties and "paradoxes" (e.g. the Twin Paradox). Consequences for applied areas of physics and other disciplines. Philosophical questions. The ideas behind Einstein's general theory of relativity. Curved space-time and tensors in non-Euclidean space. The four-momentum tensor and Einstein's law of gravitation. Gravitation and cosmology. The curved and expanding Universe. Difficulties and efforts to generalise Einstein's theory (negative vacuum energy, anti-gravity, inflation, quantum gravity, superstrings etc).

TEACHING
The education consists of lessons and solution of problems.

EXAMINATION
Homework assignment.
COURSE GRADE SCALE: 3, 4, 5

ITEMS AND CREDITS 
Homework                                                    	3.0 ECTS

COURSE LITERATURE
A.P. French, Special Relativity (Chapman & Hall). Additional written material.

REMARKS
Lessons in English on request.
Last modified 97-03-05
Further information: Sverker Fredriksson
Back to departement menu