8.962

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General Relativity

Prereqs

  • 8.07- No material from 8.07 is used in 8.962. However, 8.07 calculations are a good introduction to easy tensor calculus techniques.
  • The real requirement for this class is comfort performing tensor calculus (basically keeping track of 4+ indices while taking a bunch of derivatives).

Textbook

  • Caroll- Basically the easiest GR book available. Vaguely useful to draw examples/formulas from.

Comments

The MIT GR class is probably the easiest of any college. GR contains a lot of difficult theoretical concepts (different geometry), but 8.962 only requires that you perform tensor calculus with a minimal understanding of the theoretical underpinnings. PSETs don't test theoretical understanding, but rather ability to push indices around.