Introduction to Relativity and Spacetime Physics

Lecture Notes

Note: Please be aware that these notes were developed for the Fall 2024 semester, and are presented in an “as is” state.  There are likely to be typographical errors in the text, though to our knowledge no major errors have propagated into the equations.

All 8.033 Introduction to Relativity and Spacetime Physics lecture notes in one file (PDF)

Lecture 1: Introduction; Newtonian Mechanics and Relativity (PDF)

Lecture 2: Electromagnetic Radiation and Galilean Relativity (PDF)

Lecture 3: From Galilean Relativity to …? (PDF)

Lecture 4: Spacetime, Simultaneity, and the Consequences of Lorentz (PDF)

Lecture 5: Introduction to 4-Vectors (PDF)

Lecture 6: Kinematics in Spacetime (PDF)

Lecture 7: 4-Momentum and 4-Velocity (PDF)

Lecture 8: Using 4-Momentum (PDF)

Lecture 9: Some More Math: The Metric Tensor, 1-Forms AKA Dual Vectors, Tensors More Generally (PDF)

Lecture 10: Describing Matter in Bulk (PDF)

Lecture 11: A Covariant Formulation of Electrodynamics (Part I) (PDF)

Lecture 12:  A Covariant Formulation of Electrodynamics (Part II) (PDF)

Lecture 13: Accelerations and Forces  (PDF)

Lecture 14: Prelude to Gravity: More on the Uniformly Accelerated Observer (PDF)

Lecture 15: Introduction to Gravity (PDF)

Lecture 16: The Calculus of Variations, The Principle of Maximum Aging, and the Motion of Bodies in Spacetime (PDF)

Lecture 17: Goodbye Global Lorentz Frames, Hello Principle of Equivalence; Initial Considerations of Relativistic Gravity (PDF)

Lecture 18: Some Important Solutions of the Einstein Field Equation; Using Those Solutions (PDF)

Lecture 19: From Weak Gravity to Strong Gravity (PDF)

Lecture 20: Exploring Strong Gravity (PDF)

Lecture 21: Data on Strong Gravity (PDF)

Lecture 22: Our Universe at Large (PDF)