General Relativity (book)
Encyclopedia
In physics
and especially relativity
, General Relativity is a popular textbook on Einstein's theory of general relativity
written by Robert Wald
.
It was published by the University of Chicago in 1984. The book, a tome of almost 500 pages, covers many aspects of the General Theory of Relativity. It is divided into two parts, the second of which covers more advanced topics such as causal structure, spinors and quantum effects. The book uses the −+++ sign convention
(except in chapter 13) and in general the sign conventions used in the textbook Gravitation (book)
. The book uses the Abstract index notation
for tensors.
Physics
Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
and especially relativity
Theory of relativity
The theory of relativity, or simply relativity, encompasses two theories of Albert Einstein: special relativity and general relativity. However, the word relativity is sometimes used in reference to Galilean invariance....
, General Relativity is a popular textbook on Einstein's theory of general relativity
General relativity
General relativity or the general theory of relativity is the geometric theory of gravitation published by Albert Einstein in 1916. It is the current description of gravitation in modern physics...
written by Robert Wald
Robert Wald
Robert M. Wald is a physicist who specializes in general relativity and the thermodynamics of black holes. He is well known as the author of a widely used graduate textbook, General Relativity . Wald is a professor at the Enrico Fermi Institute and the University of Chicago...
.
It was published by the University of Chicago in 1984. The book, a tome of almost 500 pages, covers many aspects of the General Theory of Relativity. It is divided into two parts, the second of which covers more advanced topics such as causal structure, spinors and quantum effects. The book uses the −+++ sign convention
Sign convention
In physics, a sign convention is a choice of the physical significance of signs for a set of quantities, in a case where the choice of sign is arbitrary. "Arbitrary" here means that the same physical system can be correctly described using different choices for the signs, as long as one set of...
(except in chapter 13) and in general the sign conventions used in the textbook Gravitation (book)
Gravitation (book)
In physics, Gravitation is a very important reference book on Einstein's theory of gravity by Charles W. Misner, Kip S. Thorne, and John Archibald Wheeler. Often considered the "Bible" of General Relativity by researchers for its prominence. It is frequently called MTW after its authors' initials....
. The book uses the Abstract index notation
Abstract index notation
Abstract index notation is a mathematical notation for tensors and spinors that uses indices to indicate their types, rather than their components in a particular basis. The indices are mere placeholders, not related to any fixed basis and, in particular, are non-numerical...
for tensors.