In this webpage, you will find notes and homework solutions for Thomas P. Kling's undergraduate seminar on general relativity. The notes come directly from a variety of sources, including standard GR texts and the Professor Kling's lecture notes of the graduate relativity course taught by Professor Carlo Rovelli at the University of Pittsburgh in 1997.
Lecture 1: What is Space?
Lecture 1 Supplement: History of
the concept of Space
Lecture 2: Special Relativity for Spacetime
Lecture 2 Supplement: Brian Keith
thesis
Lecture 3: Equivalence
Lecture 3 Supplement: Brown
Astrophysics Journal Club talk on Precision Measurements
Lecture 4: Math 1 -
Manifolds
Lecture 5: Math 2 -
Vectors
Lecture 6: Math 3
- Dual Vectors
Lecture
7: Math 4 - Tensors
Lecture 8: Math 5 -
Metrics
Lecture 8 Supplement:
Curvature
Lecture 9: Gravity
and Metrics
Lecture 10: Curves
Lecture 10
Supplement: Geodesics
Lecture 11: Coordinates
Lecture 12: Riemann Tensor
Lecture
12 Supplement: Parallel Transport
Lecture 13: General
Covariance
Lecture 14: The
Einstein Field Equation
Lecture 15:
Schwarzschild Space-time and Black Holes 1
Lecture 16: Schwarzschild Space-time and Black Holes 2
Lecture 17: Schwarzschild Space-time and Black Holes 3
Lecture 18:
Orbits Near Black Holes
Lecture 19: Hawking
Radiation and reading . . .
Helfer, Mathur,
Smolin,
Hsu
Lecture 20:
Introduction to Cosmology
Lecture
20 Supplement: Newtonian Cosmology
Lecture 21:
Robertson Walker Dynamics
Lecture 22: Big Bang Misconceptions
General Reading Assignment Instructions (follow every time)
Homework 1: Library and relativity archives
Homework 2: Time dilation and Length contraction
Homework 3: Newtonian cosmology
Homework 4: Properties of Manifolds
Homework 5: Vectors
Homework 6: Dual Vectors
Homework 7: Tensors
Homework 8: Metrics
Homework 2 Solutions
Homework 3 Solutions
Homework 4 Solutions
Homework 5 Solutions
Homework 6 Solutions
Homework 7 Solutions
Homework 8 Solutions
Wigner's "Unreasonable effectiveness of
mathematics"
NYTimes article: Penrose and
Gurzadyan
Martin Gardner on M-Theory and the Weak Anthropic Principle
More famous article -- at least the start of it - will try to distribute entire
article
Los Alamos Archive -- preprint server for
physics and astronomy (see gr-qc and astro-ph)
NASA ADS -- preprint server for
astronomy
Living Reviews -- requested review
articles in GR, solar physics
Gravity book website
-- by James
Hartle
Topology website -- seems reasonable, haven't fully verified
Web-based course on
gravitational waves -- by Kip Thorne
Black hole interviews -- site with
10-15 video interviews with prominent people
Baryonic Acoustic
Oscillations -- site by D. Eisenstein.
HST Public Site -- for various Hubble related links.
Einstein Exhibit -- American Museum of Natural History Special Exhibit on
Einstein.
The time we thought we knew – NY Times Op-Ed on January 1, 2004 by Brian
Greene.
Black Hole Observations – NY Times article on observed tidal effects
from black holes.
Profile of Lisa Randall -- NY Times article on the
prominent String Theorist
Dangling Particles -- NY Times Op-Ed by Lisa Randall
The Raelians – because their funny.