Physics
609 Preliminary
A Distance Learning Course for Teachers of Physics
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Instructor: Richard A. Lindgren, Research Professor of
Physics
Lecturer and Demonstrator: Steve Schnatterly, Professor of
Physics
Graduate Credits 3
This course explores how humankind's perceptions of the universe developed over time from the ancient Greeks to Einstein. Our solar system played the role of a valuable laboratory in the development of these ideas. The celestial objects--the moon, sun, planets, and stars--once seen as deities, were eventually realized to be material objects obeying the same laws of motion as objects here on Earth. This synthesis was achieved within the assumption that space and time are absolute, and have nothing to do with each other. Einstein realized that this was not the whole truth; space and time are not as straightforward as they at first appear, but are related to each other in a simple way.
These two achievements, understanding the physical nature of our solar system and understanding the complex nature of space and time, are two of the greatest revolutions in the history of human thought. How this came about and the remarkable individuals who played key roles in the development of these ideas are the foci of this course.
Lecture 2 - Ancient Scholarship
Lecture 2 - Pythagoras, Thales and Triangulation
Lecture 4 - Measuring the Solar System
Lecture 7 - Ptolemy and Copernicus
Lecture 11 - Galileo's Acceleration Experiment
Lecture 12-13 - Describing Motion
Lecture 13 - Galilean Relativity
Lecture 14 - Galileo on Scaling
Lecture 22 - Electromagnetism II
Link to lecture slides for an earlier edition of the course. Information on this web page will not be updated, but will be referred to from time to time.