Table of Contents

* The Rennaissance of General Relativity * The Straight Road to Curved Space-Time * The Gravitational Red Shift of Light and Clocks * The Departure of Light from the Straight and Narrow * The Perihelion Shift of Mercury: Triumph or Trouble? * The Time Delay of Light: Better Late Than Never * Do the Earth and the Moon Fall the Same? * The Rise and Fall of the Brans-Dicke Theory * Is the Gravitational Constant Constant? * The Binary Pulsar: Gravity Waves Exist! * Is it Twilight Time for the Fifth Force? * The Frontiers of Experimental Relativity * Astronomy after the Renaissance: Is General Relativity Useful?

About the Author

Clifford M. Will is professor of physics and member of the McDonnell centre for the Space Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis.

Reviews

In a word, the answer is yes! According to Will, every test that physicists have been able to devise to date has yielded results consistent with the theory of general relativity. What is surprising is how well he is able to explain the implications of this highly complex theory without using any mathematics beyond geometry. He also shows why use of the most sophisticated technology available is required to measure the effects predicted by Einstein and his followers. All in all a pleasing book for the educated layperson who wishes to gain some insight into this most esoteric subject. Harold D. Shane, Mathematics Dept., Baruch Coll., CUNY