--- title: Relativity description: This area of physics covers Albert Einstein's theories of special and general relativity. Learners will understand how gravity bends spacetime, the relationship between mass and energy, time dilation, and the dynamics of black holes and gravitational waves. category: sciences subcategory: physics difficulty: beginner, intermediate, advanced url: /subject/relativity --- # Relativity This area of physics covers Albert Einstein's theories of special and general relativity. Learners will understand how gravity bends spacetime, the relationship between mass and energy, time dilation, and the dynamics of black holes and gravitational waves. ## Available Resources 2 Books • 6 Courses • 1 Websites ## Courses ### 1. Special Relativity Learn Special Relativity with Prof. David Kaiser! Explore the fascinating concepts of relativity in this engaging physics course. **Difficulty:** Advanced | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLdgVBOaXkb9CkdpdSWT9oPDSvQ8BjjNTq **Tags:** special-relativity, spacetime, lorentz-transformations, mit-ocw, physics ### 2. General Relativity Learn general relativity with Leonard Susskind! Explore spacetime, gravity, and Einstein's theory in this complete physics course. **Difficulty:** Advanced | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLpGHT1n4-mAvcXwzOIz3dHnGZaQP1LEib **Tags:** general-relativity, tensor-calculus, spacetime-curvature, stanford, physics ### 3. Introduction to Relativity and Spacetime Physics (MIT 8.033) **Author:** Scott Hughes A thorough treatment of special relativity with an introduction to the core ideas of general relativity, pitched at sophomores after first-year physics. Detailed prose lecture notes that read as an open textbook teach spacetime diagrams, four-vectors, relativistic dynamics and curved spacetime. **Difficulty:** Intermediate | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://ocw.mit.edu/courses/8-033-introduction-to-relativity-and-spacetime-physics-fall-2024/ **Tags:** special-relativity, spacetime-diagrams, four-vectors, relativistic-dynamics, general-relativity ### 4. General Relativity (MIT 8.962) **Author:** Scott Hughes Graduate general relativity: differential geometry and tensors, Einstein's field equations, experimental tests, black holes, gravitational waves and cosmology. 23 full lecture videos, prose lecture notes and problem sets give learners the working tools used in Carroll-level study. **Difficulty:** Advanced | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://ocw.mit.edu/courses/8-962-general-relativity-spring-2020/ **Tags:** general-relativity, differential-geometry, black-holes, cosmology, einstein-field-equations ### 5. Introduction to Special Relativity (MIT 8.20) **Author:** Markus Klute A compact course on Einstein's special relativity: time dilation, length contraction, Lorentz transformations, relativistic kinematics, Doppler shifts and the classic paradoxes. 52 short lecture videos, problem sets and exams with solutions let learners solve standard relativity problems confidently. **Difficulty:** Beginner | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://ocw.mit.edu/courses/8-20-introduction-to-special-relativity-january-iap-2021/ **Tags:** special-relativity, lorentz-transformations, time-dilation, relativistic-kinematics, spacetime ### 6. Relativistic Quantum Field Theory I (MIT 8.323) **Author:** Hong Liu A self-contained first course in quantum field theory, developing concepts and basic techniques through applications in particle and condensed matter physics. 26 lecture videos, problem-solving notes, readings, and 12 problem sets with solutions take learners from canonical quantization toward perturbative calculations. **Difficulty:** Advanced | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://ocw.mit.edu/courses/8-323-relativistic-quantum-field-theory-i-spring-2023/ **Tags:** quantum-field-theory, canonical-quantization, path-integrals, perturbation-theory, particle-physics ## Youtubes ### 1. MinutePhysics **Author:** Henry Reich Henry Reich's YouTube channel of short hand-drawn physics explainers covering special and general relativity, quantum mechanics, gravity, energy and thought experiments. Each video isolates one idea, helping viewers grasp the core concept and common misconceptions before studying it formally. **Difficulty:** Beginner | **Language:** English | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://www.youtube.com/user/minutephysics **Tags:** physics, relativity, quantum-mechanics, physics-explainers ## Books ### 1. Spacetime Physics **Author:** Edwin F. Taylor, John Archibald Wheeler Special relativity taught through the invariant spacetime interval rather than Lorentz transformations, using worked paradoxes and problem sets. After it you can reason about simultaneity, time dilation and momentum-energy geometrically instead of algebraically. **Difficulty:** Intermediate | **Language:** English | **Price:** Paid **Link:** https://www.amazon.com/dp/071670336X?tag=edmonddante07-20 **Tags:** books, science-research, physics ### 2. Spacetime and Geometry: An Introduction to General Relativity **Author:** Sean M. Carroll Graduate textbook on general relativity by physicist Sean Carroll, covering special relativity, manifolds and tensors, curvature, Einstein's equations, the Schwarzschild solution and black holes, perturbation theory and gravitational waves, and cosmology. Readers learn to do calculations in curved spacetime. **Difficulty:** Advanced | **Language:** English | **Price:** Paid **Link:** https://www.amazon.com/dp/1108488390?tag=edmonddante07-20 **Tags:** general-relativity, differential-geometry, black-holes, gravitational-waves, cosmology ## Websites ### 1. einstein-online.info Einstein Online is an educational resource that explains special and general relativity through clear articles, interactive simulations, and visualizations. It covers topics like black holes, gravitational waves, spacetime, and cosmology, making relativity accessible for students and teachers. **Difficulty:** Intermediate | **Language:** English | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://einstein-online.info **Tags:** websites, science-research, physics --- *This content is part of Dantes.io - Your Treasure Map to Knowledge* *Curated by humans at Dantes.io. Personal study use welcome; republishing this curation requires permission (team@dantes.io).* View this page online: https://dantes.io/subject/relativity