Re: [Phys-L] proper acceleration, proper time, proper length, spacetime geometry and trigonometry

[John Denker <jsd@av8n.com>]

On 11/04/2014 05:20 PM, Larry Smith asked:

> Which introductory (freshman, sophomore level) Modern Physics
> textbooks would you recommend that adopt and espouse the modern (post
> 1908) spacetime viewpoint?

I probably understand the question only partially, but
let me say a few things that might be helpful:

1) A decent stand-alone reference is
   Thomas Moore
  _Six Ideas That Shaped Physics: Unit R_
  _Laws of Physics are Frame-Independent_

  It is remarkably pricey for a slim ill-manufactured
  booklet, but most of the good stuff is there.

2) The first edition of
  Taylor & Wheeler
  _Spacetime Physics_

 was very influential.  Very impressive little book.  For
 some students, this was the first physics book they ever
 saw that had any semblance of class, of panache.  It took
 something that seemed ugly and complicated and showed it
 to be simple and elegant.

 Then, as sometimes happens with people, the book gained 
 weight and got uglier as it got older.  I'm referring 
 to the second edition, which spends far too much time 
 talking about length contraction, time dilation, various
 notions of velocity-dependent mass, and other stuff that 
 really should be left out entirely.  I assume there was 
 market pressure from people who "expected" the book to
 cover the archaic (pre-1908) approach, not just the
 modern (post-1908) approach.

 Still, under the guidance of a skillful teacher, the
 2nd edition could be used to excellent effect.

3) If the question was intended to ask about an all-
 purpose intro physics text incorporating a decent
 discussion of relativity, I've got nothing for you.
 We agree that relativity "ought" to be integrated into
 the curriculum at all levels;  I've just never seen it
 done competently at the intro level, except as noted
 in item (4) below.

 Indeed, I've got nothing squared, because even if we
 skip any discussion of relativity, I'm not happy with
 any of the current intro physics books I've seen.

 Naturally, there could be some perfectly fine books 
 out there that I don't know about.

4) To answer a slightly different question:
 At the introductory /high school/ level the PSSC
 physics book says a few things about relativity.
 It doesn't exactly "espouse" or emphasize the
 modern viewpoint, but everything it says is fully 
 /consistent/ with the modern viewpoint.

 This is significant insofar as it serves as an
 existence proof:  you can talk about relativity to
 a very young audience without saying anything they
 will have to unlearn later.

5) At the other end of the scale in terms of thoroughness,
 the first few chapters of MTW provide excellent coverage 
 of special relativity, using a fully modern no-nonsense 
 approach.
   Misner, Thorne, Wheeler
   _Gravitation_

 This book is a masterpiece.  Classic.  Classy.  The
 track-1 sections are easy to read (at the level of 
 an upper-division physics major), even poetic in
 paces.  Some of the track-2 sections are very, very
 advanced.

6) If the question was meant to ask about a "Modern
 Physics" book, again I've got nothing.  The books
 I know that fit that description are not aimed at
 the introductory level, nor at the general population.
 They tend to be aimed at physics majors who have 
 already completed the introductory course.

 Again there could be perfectly fine books out there
 that I don't know about.