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MTF066 Theory of Relativity 3.0 ECTS credits | |
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TIMEPERIOD: Q III LANGUAGE:English/Swedish EXAMINER Claes Uggla Docent 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/CREDITS | |
| Homework/Written exam | 3.00ECTS |
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COURSE LITTERATURE Will be given later. Further information: Claes Uggla |
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