Special Relativity and Motions Faster than Light

While the theory of special relativity is often associated with the idea of traveling faster than light, this book shows that in all these cases subtle forces of nature conspire to prevent these motions being harnessed to send signals faster than the speed of light.
The author tackles these topics both conceptually, with minimal or no mathematics, and quantitatively, making use of numerous illustrations to clarify the discussion. The result is a joy to read for both scientists familiar with the subject and laypeople wishing to understand something of special relativity.


Spis treści:
Introduction
Light and relativity
Imaginary paradoxes
The velocities′ play
Superluminal motions
Slow light and fast light
Tachyons and tachyon–like objects
The speed of light as a fundamental constant of Nature

Nota biograficzna:
Moses Fayngold is Special Lecturer at the Physics Department of the New Jersey Institute of Technology, where he is also involved in the research activities of the Multi–Disciplinary Optical Science and Engineering Program. He has been lecturing for some 20 years on special relativity, both to non–specialized audiences in public planetariums as well as to undergraduate and graduate students.