Special theory of relativity: lectures and applications

This book is a clear and complete presentation of restricted relativity in which the author follows the historical path from puzzling experimental facts to the building of a new theory. It is shown how scientists had to challenge intuitive notions of time and space to explain and give consistency to experimental results. The text is spread with a lot of explanatory notes that contribute to a better understanding of the topic. This book aims at an audience of people already acquainted with general physics: students, scientists or teachers looking for a pedagogical reference book. This work is divided into 10 chapters: 1) The speed of light; 2) The Galilean transformation and optics; 3) Michelson's experiment and the relativity principle; 4) The Lorentz transformation; 5) Lorentz contraction and time dilation; 6) Relativistic kinematics; 7) Energy and momentum; 8) Relativistic dynamics; 9) Tensor calculus - Space-time, and 10) The invariance of Maxwell equations. (A.C.)