HARPER’S MODERN SCIENCE SERIES
THE A B C OF RELATIVITY
BY
BERTRAND RUSSELL
AUTHOR OF
“THE PRINCIPLES OF MATHEMATICS”
“PROPOSED ROADS TO FREEDOM”
AND “WHY MEN FIGHT”
PUBLISHERS
HARPER & BROTHERS
NEW YORK AND LONDON
THE A B C OF RELATIVITY
Copyright, 1925, by Harper & Brothers
Printed in the United States of America
Contents
| CHAPTER | PAGE | |
| I. | TOUCH AND SIGHT: THE EARTH AND THE HEAVENS | 1 |
| II. | WHAT HAPPENS AND WHAT IS OBSERVED | 14 |
| III. | THE VELOCITY OF LIGHT | 28 |
| IV. | CLOCKS AND FOOT RULES | 43 |
| V. | SPACE-TIME | 58 |
| VI. | THE SPECIAL THEORY OF RELATIVITY | 71 |
| VII. | INTERVALS IN SPACE-TIME | 91 |
| VIII. | EINSTEIN’S LAW OF GRAVITATION | 111 |
| IX. | PROOFS OF EINSTEIN’S LAW OF GRAVITATION | 131 |
| X. | MASS, MOMENTUM, ENERGY AND ACTION | 144 |
| XI. | IS THE UNIVERSE FINITE? | 163 |
| XII. | CONVENTIONS AND NATURAL LAWS | 177 |
| XIII. | THE ABOLITION OF “FORCE” | 192 |
| XIV. | WHAT IS MATTER? | 206 |
| XV. | PHILOSOPHICAL CONSEQUENCES | 219 |
THE A B C OF RELATIVITY
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CHAPTER ONE:
TOUCH AND SIGHT:
THE EARTH AND THE HEAVENS
Everybody knows thatEinstein has done something astonishing, but very few people knowexactly what it is that he has done. It is generally recognized thathe has revolutionized our conceptio
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