Preview
  • The Einstein Theory of Relativity

  • By: H. A. Lorentz
  • Narrated by: Brian Troxell
  • Length: 41 mins
  • 4.3 out of 5 stars (402 ratings)

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The Einstein Theory of Relativity

By: H. A. Lorentz
Narrated by: Brian Troxell
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Publisher's summary

Whether it is true or not that not more than 12 persons in all the world are able to understand Einstein's Theory, it is nevertheless a fact that there is a constant demand for information about this much-debated topic of relativity. The books published on the subject are so technical that only a person trained in pure physics and higher mathematics is able to fully understand them. In order to make a popular explanation of this far-reaching theory available, the present book was written.

Public Domain (P)2012 Audible, Inc.
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Editorial reviews

H. A. Lorentz was a Dutch physicist and Nobel Prize winner whose transformation equations were later used by Albert Einstein to describe space and time. Despite his intimidating credentials, Lorentz managed to write a book on Einstein's theory that anyone with basic scientific knowledge will understand. Building on this accessibility, narrator Brian Troxell's performance has the informal quality of a friendly discussion rather than the stiffness of a lecture. While Lorentz doesn't cover the theory in great detail, listeners will leave with a basic understanding of the theory and the experiments used to validate it.

What listeners say about The Einstein Theory of Relativity

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I'm lost, lol

I consider myself an intelligent person, not a genius, just average intelligence. This sounds way over my head.

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1 person found this helpful

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Great summary

This is a great summary of one of physics greatest achievements. Lorentz highlights the pertinent common sense points made by Einstein.

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    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Confused

No bias here. Just consumed the book but cannot remember not recall a memorable moment…

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

This probably makes sense

Okay, okay, I shouldn't try to learn about the Theory of Relativity in the background when I'm a bit distracted, but also why not? I understood this a bit more than I had previously and it's so brief and straightforward that I can happily listen again to pull a few more pieces of the puzzle together

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It explains the theory in the most simple way

This theory has been very useful for human history and science. As all common knowledge it will be surpassed by many other theories.

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Nice

This was very impressive! I enjoyed listening to it a lot. I feel like I have a much better understanding about the theory now.

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    3 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Deceptive Title

The author obfuscates the simplicity of the Theory of Relativity. You will be further mystified after reading this book, if you really are seeking to understand the theory. Reminded me of tests in college where you had to fill a 'Blue Book' with words to pass a Psychology test. After listening to this book three times, I conclude that the theory is sometimes an improvement on Newtonian theory of gravitation, but probably needs further correction and fails altogether in predicting the red shift of light for stars with light passing near our Sun. The author states that no reconciliation for that discrepancy has been made. That alone requires a change to be forthcoming and requires the theory to not be regarded as a fact but a step in the right direction for many properties of high velocity particles. One wonders at the other claims of the theory, with regard to twins separated by rocket travel. Do they also demonstrate no red shift parallel in discrepancy. I do not recommend this book as a helpful tool in your quest to understand Einstein's theory. The first few sentences in chapter 4 exemplify the author's obfuscation ability completely. The statement that "...the form of comparison used by Einstein to present the theory is the only possible one." begs further elaboration that is not provided, especially in light of the theory's failure in one area. I realize that this negative review will probably cause many physicists to read the book in defense. Oh well...

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short and not simple.

I liked it. thought it was a little short. Though if it was any longer I believe my head would have exploded.

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Excellent narration! Read along in Kindle.

Interesting that the language written in this book is so relevant today. Besides the old ether theory, it's amazing that almost 100 years later, the theory of general and special relativity holds so true even now. Had Einstein never discovered this, our calculations would still remain slightly miscalculated by the Newtonian Laws of gravity. Although they still serve an important purpose, they never could explain the orbit of Mercury, discover black holes, account for satellites time dilation correction, etc.

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Historically Interesting

as a historical account, it was pretty interesting to hear what another scientist thought of Einstein's discoveries. however, given the breadth and quantity of materials I've poured over concerning Einstein's theory of relativity, it gave me very little to no insight into the theory nor into Einstein's process. in developing the theory. It was simply an interesting analysis of Einstein's development of the theory.

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