Understanding Relativity

Wouter J.M. Schmitz, born 1970, studied physics in Amsterdam. He worked at CERN for an assignment at the Spin Muon Collaboration (SMC) and later as a summer student at a LEP experiment. He graduated at Nikhef Amsterdam in 1994. He has subsequently worked in IT and also holds an MBA degree. Today, Wouter works as a leading digital architect, retaining nonetheless a deep and informed interest in conceptual problems in physics.His lifelong quest for a profound conceptual understanding of the foundations of physics has led him to develop and collect a substantial set of insights. In recent years Wouter managed to combine these insights into a consistent end-to-end story of how quantum field theory works conceptually. This, in turn, led to the publication of his highly praised book "Particles, Fields and Forces" (Springer, 2019). Until then, anyone seeking a deeper insight than popular science has to offer, was obliged to confront the mathematical treatment of the subject. But for those without mathematical training, this step is too challenging. Wouter's mission is to provide every interested person with a deeper insight into the workings of the universe without having to go through the math. His presentations thus bridge the huge gap between popular science and the mathematical treatment of fundamental theory. The present book on relativity follows the same concept.

• Introduction.- What is (the) matter?.- On the velocity of massless waves.- On the velocity of massive waves.- The relative, the absolute, and the paradoxical.- The Minkowski metric.- The equivalence principle.- The curvature of spacetime.- How waves change shapes and volumes.- The effects of curvature.- A journey to the centre of a black hole.- Black hole phenomena.- Gravitational waves.- All that matters in the dark universe.- An alternative theory and conclusion.- References and sources.