Six Not-So-Easy Pieces: Einstein’s Relativity, Symmetry, and Space-Time Paperback – March 22, 2011

The title of this book probably scares off many readers, but it need not do so. This book is a sequel to Feynman's "Six Easy Pieces". Both books consist of lectures taken from Feynman's three volume lecture series, which was used for a two-year introductory physics course at Cal Tech. "Six Not So Easy Pieces" is not as easy as "Six Easy Pieces". The latter is accessible to most high school students, but the former is not. The not so easy pieces are:· Vectors· Symmetry in Physical Laws· Relativistic Energy and Momentum· Space-Time· Curved Space"Six Easy Pieces" was a bit unfocused because it covered a number of different topics. In contrast, "Six Not So Easy Pieces" is focused on just one topic, Relativity Theory. Feynman uses each topic to build up to Einstein's theory of gravitation, which is not the easiest subject to grasp.Relativity theory is generally covered in one of two ways. Some books give a general treatment, focusing on the many implications of the theory, with no mathematics. At the other extreme are texts that require considerable knowledge of matrix algebra and differential equations. This book takes a middle ground. There is some math, but only some simple algebra and vector analysis. (The vector analysis does go beyond what is taught in high school, venturing into 4 dimensional vectors, but Feynman shows this to be only a modest extension from the typical 3 dimensional vectors.) Feynman dispenses with the usual introduction to relativity theory that employs moving trains and lightening strikes. Instead he starts with a superb analysis of the Michelson-Morley experiment (alone this is worth the price of the book) and the Lorenz transformation that was developed to explain the null result that Michelson-Morley obtained. He then uses this as the starting point for the analysis of special relativity. This is followed with a discussion of relativistic energy and momentum, subjects that are generally left out of "popular" treatments of relativity theory. The final chapter discusses curved space and Einstein's theory of gravity. These topics will be hard for people without some basic physics background, but are not too advanced for the intended audience of college undergraduates, although Feynman admitted that only the best students did as well as he had hoped.As with all of Feynman's books there is a wealth of knowledge packed a small package (in this case a bit less than 150 pages) and while these six lectures are not a substitute for a complete course in the special and general theories of relativity, it does hit the highlights and as usual provides very valuable insights for readers with all levels of knowledge.

Brilliant lecture; quite clearly informative about some of those difficult theoretical science "tangles" of modern day physics. I plan to read R. P. Feynman's other published lectures. But for now, at least I have a better, basic understanding of how one gets from point A to point B, and why it matters. However, it is helpful to remember some Euclidean geometry and vector equations to keep from getting totally lost along the way. Sometimes I found myself reading several sections twice or three times over, just to make certain that I was grasping the material.Given the world's growing population and the looming climate change America's governments are especially so unwilling to deal with, I would recommend that more of earth's inhabitants acquaint themselves with Professor Feynman lecture materials, in preparation for moving to another planet, or perhaps another galaxy, even. Astrophysicists have been quietly discovering thousands of planetary systems, outside of the Milky Way. And they appear remarkably unique. In some, a gas giant, like Jupiter, has it orbit closest to its sun, while planets of smaller masses are further out. A brave new world! No one is certain if the current acceleration of our expanding universe, as we know it, will ever slow down, for our space probes and our inhabited space ships to reach any of those alternatives "to life on earth."So, as one prepares for the eventual colonization of other planets, we had better make certain that Plan B, "living on earth," remains viable for us to fall back on, if absolutely necessary.

Great read, what a life, a brilliant man

Though the title implies it, this book is not really a sequal to the Six Easy Pieces. They can be read seperately. It treats some of the concepts centered around Special and General Relativity that revolutionized physics near the turn of the century. It would be impossible to find another book that can dive so deeply into topics such as symmetry and space-time, while bypassing formalism and exposing the fundemental ideas and signficance in every-day terms. The delivery is in lecture form, and while that makes it more authentic and real, the fact that this is a book and the reader is not really in a lecture, makes it a little awkward. One often gets the feeling that one had to be there to get the full benefit. There is little attempt at explaining the historical context and other niceties and focus is solely on the concepts themselves. One needs to have at least college level math background to follow the derivations. Feynman has done a phenomenal job in reducing such complex concepts into digestable pieces of conversation. There is no abstraction, everything is quantified. I especially enjoyed the chapter Curved Space, as I had never seen it treated so intimately. The self consistency of all these topics and how they are interrelated is elegantly presented.