Re: Modern Physics Textbooks Online
For online resources I would do a search on "tensors and relativity", as an example this might be useful for further searches,
http://www.physics.sfsu.edu/~lea/courses/grad/705notes-1.PDF
or just first get tensors under your belt, they are really quite useful :)
Usually, what I see happen is once you have an understanding of SR, the next step is to understand the importance of formulating relativity in a frame independent way. This is what tensors allow us to do. So a good textbook usually takes what is familiar in SR (lorentz invariance) and formulate it using tensors and then go on to get your feet wet with the Einstein field equations.
I'll see if I can dig up a couple good online references for you, of course there is always Einstein's work posted here on PlanetPhysics :). Chow.
Ben
http://www.physics.sfsu.edu/~lea/courses/grad/705notes-1.PDF
or just first get tensors under your belt, they are really quite useful :)
Usually, what I see happen is once you have an understanding of SR, the next step is to understand the importance of formulating relativity in a frame independent way. This is what tensors allow us to do. So a good textbook usually takes what is familiar in SR (lorentz invariance) and formulate it using tensors and then go on to get your feet wet with the Einstein field equations.
I'll see if I can dig up a couple good online references for you, of course there is always Einstein's work posted here on PlanetPhysics :). Chow.
Ben