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In this concise primer it is shown that, with simple diagrams, the phenomena of time dilatation, length contraction and Lorentz transformations can be deduced from the fact that in a vacuum one cannot distinguish physically straight and uniform motion from rest, and that the speed of light does not depend on the speed of either the source or the observer. The text proceeds to derive the important results of relativistic physics and to resolve its apparent paradoxes. A short introduction into the covariant formulation of electrodynamics is also given. This publication addresses, in particular, students of physics and mathematics in their final undergraduate year.

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Structures of Spacetime.- Time and Distance.- Transformations.- Relativistic Particles.- Electrodynamics.- The Lorentz Group.- References.- Index.

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From the reviews:

"This book is a concise primer on the geometry of special relativity theory, divided into six chapters ... . chapters are accessible to non-physicists with little mathematical knowledge. ... Many other important results in special relativity are briefly presented as well." (Abraham A. Ungar, Mathematical Reviews, March, 2013)

"This book arises from several years of the author´s teaching special relativity; it gives an interesting ... overview of the subject. ... All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. ... it is to be highly recommended as a book to come to after a first exposure to the ideas, and will provide a great deal of new insight into the material." (Robert Low, General Relativity and Gravitation, Vol. 45, 2013)

"This is a remarkable introduction to special relativity. ... this book is enjoyable to read, and gives a detailed ... account of many topics in special relativity in a short space. ... it is certainly thought provoking, which makes it a very valuable account on the topic." (Marc Mars, zbMATH, Vol. 1271, 2013)

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