--- title: Special Relativity description: Special relativity is the physics of objects moving at speeds approaching the speed of light. Learners will understand time dilation, length contraction, Lorentz transformations, and the equivalence of mass and energy. category: mathematics subcategory: mathematical-physics difficulty: beginner, intermediate, advanced url: /subject/special-relativity --- # Special Relativity Special relativity is the physics of objects moving at speeds approaching the speed of light. Learners will understand time dilation, length contraction, Lorentz transformations, and the equivalence of mass and energy. ## Available Resources 2 Books • 3 Courses • 3 Websites ## Courses ### 1. 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 ### 2. 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 ### 3. Special Relativity Learn special relativity from Leonard Susskind's lectures! Explore spacetime, Lorentz transformations, and relativistic physics. **Difficulty:** Advanced | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL9YY-u_YWqQSSCltKKjimXhISmTUsAOuO **Tags:** special-relativity, physics, lecture-series, spacetime, electromagnetism ## Websites ### 1. Spacetime Physics Companion Website Edwin Taylor's free download page for Spacetime Physics, second edition, by Taylor and Wheeler: the complete text, individual chapters, the Lorentz transformation supplement, and answers to odd-numbered problems, all released under a Creative Commons license. **Difficulty:** Beginner | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://www.eftaylor.com/pub/spacetime/ **Tags:** special-relativity, spacetime, physics, textbook, open-access ### 2. Eigenchris YouTube Channel YouTube channel with long lecture series on tensor calculus, special relativity, and general relativity, building the index notation and differential geometry needed to read Einstein's field equations rather than only describing them qualitatively. **Difficulty:** Beginner | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://www.youtube.com/c/Eigenchris **Tags:** special-relativity, general-relativity, tensor-calculus, differential-geometry, video-lectures ### 3. Wolfram MathWorld **Author:** Eric W. Weisstein MathWorld is an online mathematics encyclopedia from Wolfram Research offering detailed, browsable articles on topics across the math spectrum, including algebra, geometry, calculus, and number theory. Each entry includes definitions, theorems, formulas, diagrams, worked examples, and links to further reading. **Difficulty:** Intermediate | **Language:** English | **Price:** Free **Link:** https://mathworld.wolfram.com **Tags:** mathematics-reference, encyclopedia, abstract-algebra, number-theory, geometry ## Books ### 1. Special Relativity **Author:** N. David Mermin Mermin's short undergraduate treatment derives the kinematics of special relativity from the two postulates using spacetime diagrams and elementary algebra, covering time dilation, length contraction, the twin paradox, and momentum without requiring tensor machinery. **Difficulty:** Intermediate | **Language:** English | **Price:** Paid **Link:** https://www.amazon.com/dp/0881334200?tag=edmonddante07-20 **Tags:** books, science-research, mathematical-physics ### 2. Introduction to Special Relativity **Author:** Wolfgang Rindler Rindler's concise Oxford text builds special relativity from the postulates through Lorentz transformations, four-vectors, relativistic mechanics, and electromagnetism, with an eye toward general relativity. Assumes calculus and introductory mechanics; readers gain fluency in four-vector calculations. **Difficulty:** Intermediate | **Language:** English | **Price:** Paid **Link:** https://www.amazon.com/dp/0198539525?tag=edmonddante07-20 **Tags:** books, science-research, mathematical-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/special-relativity