Contents

Resources and References

The Classical Theory of Fields, L. D. Landau and E. M. Lifshitz, translated by M. Hamermesh.
If you have 2 years of calculus, this is a superb reference not only for special relativity, but also for electrodynamics and general relativity. The exposition is very elegant and clear.

Spacetime Physics, E. F. Taylor and J. A. Wheeler
A less technical book than the one cited above, and better suited as a first introduction.

Die Grundgleichungen für die elektromagnetischen Vorgänge in bewegten Köpern, H. Minkowski (1908).
This seems to be the first article in a scientific journal where the term space-time played a central role. Minkowski used the German term Raum-Zeit. (This article was also reprinted in 1910 in a second journal.) In his book The Road To Reality, Roger Penrose said that, in his opinion, SR was not really complete until Minkowski made his contribution.

Space and Time, H. Minkowski (1908).
Minkowski's papers are, in a sense, more complete and modern than the 1905 paper by A. Einstein. For Minkowski, the starting point is a group of transformations and the corresponding invariance of the interval. For Einstein's 1905 paper, this is not the case. In this article, intended for a less technical audience, he uses the term die Welt (the world) instead of space-time.

The Ultimate Speed, W. Bertozzi.
An interesting and convincing demonstration of the speed limit, as seen with electrons in a linear accelerator. Video created in 1962, 37 minutes. American Journal of Physics, 32, 551-555 (1964).

Time Dilation, D. H. Frisch and J. H. Smith.
A demonstration of the time dilation of muons travelling at β=0.99. Video created in 1962, 34 minutes. American Journal of Physics, 31, 342 (1963).

In search of the "starbow": The appearance of the starfield from a relativistic spaceship, John M. McKinley and Paul Doherty.
Delightful paper, covering many effects: Doppler effect, aberration, changes in brightness, Doppler shift of blackbody radiation, shift of blackbody temperature, and change in stellar magnitudes. American Journal of Physics, 47, 309 (1979).

Yale Bright Star Catalog, Revision 5.
An extract of this data is used in the starfield simulation.

Tycho-2 Star Catalog.
An extract of this data is used in the creating diagrams regarding the starfield simulation. This data is large, and is too large to be used in the simulation itself.