Black Holes: An Introduction (2nd Edition)

by Edwin George Thomas and Derek J. Raine

Book Overview

This introduction to the fascinating subject of black holes fills a significant gap in the literature which exists between popular, non-mathematical expositions and advanced textbooks at the research... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1848163827
• ISBN13: 9781848163829
• Release Date: October 2009
• Publisher: Imperial College Press
• Length: 212 Pages
• Weight: 1.15 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 6.2" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

No Heavy Math, Partial DE's don't come in until Page 5

This rather small (only 168 pages is pretty small for a college text) book is aimed at the advanced undergraduate or early graduate student in astronomy or astrophysics. It is a non-heavy-math introduction to black holes, but at times it says that things would be easier to explain if you had another half dozen math classes. This is not your basic introduction for the layman. The first chapter is on Relativistic Gravity. And while the mathematics may not be as complex as it can get, the partial differential equaions start on page 5. And there aren't many pages from then on that don't have at least one equasion. The surprising thing about the book is the caliber of the writing. These guys write like people speak. Reading the book is interesting. (I skipped the math, it's been too many years since I got a degree in physics.) And you get an understanding of where the current understanding of black holes is. You also get a feeling of where research is headed and some hints of what might be found.