Portal:General relativity

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General Relativity
Topic within the Astrophysics department

Topic description

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General relativity (GR) is an advanced topic within the department of Astrophysics and requires a high level of knowledge in calculus, algebra and physics in general. Tensor fields are a critical part of general relativity.

Prerequisites

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  • Topic:Special relativity (SR) - the spacetimes of GR have the spacetime of SR as a limiting case at a point in spacetime, so you must first understand SR
  • Topic:Differential geometry - you need to understand tensors, tensor fields and differential geometry in general in order to understand GR; elements of these are frequently taught within a GR course as an alternative to a full differential geometry course

Courses

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Lectures

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See: Learning Projects and the Wikiversity:Learning model.

Learning materials and learning projects can be used by multiple departments. Cooperate with other departments that use the same learning resource.

Relevant topics: Covariance, Vectors/ Fields, Tensor Calculus, Euler-Lagrange equations, Equivalence principle, Curvature, Riemann Tensor, Gravitational Waves

Problem Reviews

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External learning resources

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  • The website for a GR class taught at Caltech by Kip Thorne and Lee Lindblom. Contains problems, solutions and some lecture notes. [1]
  • The first of a sequence of videos of lectures of an "Introduction to General Relativity" class taught by Kip Thorne. [2]
  • "Lecture Notes on General Relativity" by Sean Carroll. Coincidentally the basis for his book. [3]
  • The General Relativity Tutorial, John Baez: online tutorials and reading list.

Wikipedia

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