The Road to Einstein's Relativity: Following in the Footsteps of the Giants

CHOICE Highly Recommended Title, August 2019

Expertly guided by renowned cosmologist Dr. David Lyth, learn about the pioneering scientists whose work provided the foundation for Einstein’s formulation of his theories of relativity, and about Einstein's groundbreaking life and work as well.

This highly readable and accessible panorama of the field delicately balances history and science as it takes the reader on an adventure through the centuries. Without complex mathematics or scientific formulae, this book will be of interest to all, even those without a scientific background, who are intrigued to find out more about what paved the way for one of our most famous physicists to push the boundaries of physics to new lengths.

Features:

• Written by an internationally renowned physicist and cosmologist
• Describes the life and times of Einstein and his important predecessors
• Focuses on one of the most famous areas of science, Einstein’s Relativity Theory

David Lyth is an Emeritus Professor of Physics at Lancaster University, UK. He has made several key advances in cosmology, and received the Hoyle medal and prize from the Institute of Physics in 2012. He has written three academic physics books.

Dr. Lyth has been responsible for many of the key advances in the theory of inflation, and has devised many of the analytical tools that are now widely used by the theoretical cosmology community. His work is always characterised by an incisive clarity. Although mathematically sophisticated, it always maintains contact with observation. The methods he developed have become the standard language for those who compare observational data obtained by the Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE) and the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) with the predictions of inflationary theory. While much work on inflation has been purely phenomenological, Lyth has linked cosmology with fundamental physics, particularly extensions of the Standard Model.

In 2000, together with Andrew Liddle, he published a textbook on cosmological inflation and large-scale structure that has become the standard reference and an essential resource for everyone in the field. They followed this up in 2009 with the first graduate level textbook devoted specifically to the primordial density perturbation. Both books exemplify David's dedication to accurate scholarship and his ability to make complex concepts accessible.