Thread: ?? Difference between general and special relativity

As general and special relativity are very famous. I would like to ask you guys what the difference between those two is. Can someone explain me via Minkowski space, Riemann surface,Schwarzschild metric or Geodesic?

Originally Posted by TheWonderer

As general and special relativity are very famous. I would like to ask you guys what the difference between those two is. Can someone explain me via Minkowski space, Riemann surface,Schwarzschild metric or Geodesic?

Special relativity is the concerned with physics, particularly mechanics and electromagnetics in the absence of gravity.

General relativity extends special relativity to the case in which one considers gravity. GR is in fact the best available theory of gravitation and SR is the local approximation to GR. Another way to look at it is that SR is GR in flat spacetime.

GR is much more mathematically demanding than SR. SR reqires not much more than simple algebra, while GR involves deep aspects of differential geometry.

Thx but is there any way to show it mathematically?

Originally Posted by TheWonderer

Thx but is there any way to show it mathematically?

Of course.

Study the theory.

The best book on GR is Gravitation by Misner, Thorne and Wheeler

Another good one, not so mathematically demanding, is Essential Relativity, Special, General and Cosmological by Rindler.


Two good books on SR are Introduction to Special Relativity by Rindler and The Geometry of Minkowski Spacetime: An Introduction to the Mathematics of the Special Theory of Relativity by Naber.

Originally Posted by TheWonderer

Thx but is there any way to show it mathematically?

Yes, Rocky gave you a clue, id est linear algebra vs. differential geometry (of a rather particular kind). But given that you say

....via Minkowski space, Riemann surface,Schwarzschild metric or Geodesic?

one might be forgiven for assuming you know the math already.

Or are you just spouting stuff you found on the internet?

Originally Posted by Guitarist

Originally Posted by TheWonderer

Thx but is there any way to show it mathematically?

Yes, Rocky gave you a clue, id est linear algebra vs. differential geometry (of a rather particular kind). But given that you say

....via Minkowski space, Riemann surface,Schwarzschild metric or Geodesic?

one might be forgiven for assuming you know the math already.

Or are you just spouting stuff you found on the internet?

no lol my teacher gave me some clues but i have no idea where to begin.. :P