These resources are a selection of audio and video podcasts from a first year Dynamics class MAM1044H at the University of Cape Town. The lectures cover a wide range of topics. Systematic introduction to the elements of mechanics kinematics in three dimensions Newtons laws of motion models of forces friction elastic springs fluid resistance Conservation of energy and momentum Simple systems of particles including brief introduction to rigid systems Orbital Mechanics with applications to the planning of space missions to the outer planets

Students create a fictional narrative on the beginning of time. Grades 8-10.

Students explore the cosmic microwave background to understand why it permeates the Universe and why it peaks as microwave radiation. Grades 9-12.

Thermal backgrounds in space. Cosmological principle and its consequences: Newtonian cosmology and types of "universes"; survey of relativistic cosmology; horizons. Overview of evolution in cosmology; radiation and element synthesis; physical models of the "early stages." Formation of large-scale structure to variability of physical laws. First and last states. Some knowledge of relativity expected. 8.962 recommended though not required. This course provides an overview of astrophysical cosmology with emphasis on the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) radiation, galaxies and related phenomena at high redshift, and cosmic structure formation. Additional topics include cosmic inflation, nucleosynthesis and baryosynthesis, quasar (QSO) absorption lines, and gamma-ray bursts. Some background in general relativity is assumed.

This class will study some of the changing ideas within modern physics, ranging from relativity theory and quantum mechanics to solid-state physics, nuclear and elementary particles, and cosmology. These ideas will be situated within shifting institutional, cultural, and political contexts. The overall aim is to understand the changing roles of physics and of physicists over the course of the twentieth century.

Study of physical effects in the vicinity of a black hole as the basis for understanding general relativity, astrophysics, and elements of cosmology. Extension to current developments in theory and observation. Energy and momentum in flat spacetime; the metric; curvature or spacetime near rotating and nonrotating centers of attraction; the Global Positioning System and its dependence on general relativity; trajectories and orbits of particles. Subject has online component and classroom lectures are replaced with online interactions: manipulation of visualization software, access to websites describing current research, electronic submission of homework, and structured online discussions between undergraduates and alumni and with instructors and graduate specialists in the topics covered.

This course covers the basic principles of Einstein's general theory of relativity. Also discussed are differential geometry, experimental tests of general relativity, black holes, and cosmology.

The basic principles of Einstein's general theory of relativity. Differential geometry. Experimental tests of general relativity. Black holes. Cosmology.

Astronomers estimate the age of the universe in two ways: by looking for the oldest stars, and by measuring the rate of expansion of the universe and extrapolating back to the Big Bang. This site explains how these measurements are made and points out the discrepancy in ages derived from the two methods. It features images, background information, and links to other resources regarding the age of the universe.

This compilation video contains visualizations of Earth and Space Sciences resulting from supercomputer models. The excerpted visualizations include: Ocean Planet, El Nino, Ozone 1991, Clouds, Changes in Glacier Bay, Alaska, Biosphere, Lunar Topography from the Clementine Mission, Musculoskeletal Modeling Dynamic Simulations, Simulations of the Breakup and Dynamical Evolution of Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9, Convective Penetration in Stellar Interiors, Topological Features of a Compressible Plasma Vortex Sheet: A Model for the Outer Heliospheric Solar Wind, R-Aquarii Jet, The Evolution of Distorted Black Holes, Rayleigh-Taylor Instability in a Supernova, Galaxy Harassment, N-Body Simulation of the Cold Dark Matter Cosmology.

history, art and science, art vs. science, history of science, religion, natural philosophy, mathematics, literature, cosmology,physics, astronomy, alchemy, chemistry, plays, theater history, cultural studies, Shakespeare, Ford, Tate, Behn, Francis Bacon, Burton, Hobbes, Boyle, 17th century, England, English history, Charles I, Charles II, Cromwell,

" This class explores the creation (and creativity) of the modern scientific and cultural world through study of western Europe in the 17th century, the age of Descartes and Newton, Shakespeare, Milton and Ford. It compares period thinking to present-day debates about the scientific method, art, religion, and society. This team-taught, interdisciplinary subject draws on a wide range of literary, dramatic, historical, and scientific texts and images, and involves theatrical experimentation as well as reading, writing, researching and conversing. The primary theme of the class is to explore how England in the mid-seventeenth century became "a world turned upside down" by the new ideas and upheavals in religion, politics, and philosophy, ideas that would shape our modern world. Paying special attention to the "theatricality" of the new models and perspectives afforded by scientific experimentation, the class will read plays by Shakespeare, Tate, Brecht, Ford, Churchill, and Kushner, as well as primary and secondary texts from a wide range of disciplines. Students will also compose and perform in scenes based on that material."

Applications of physics (Newtonian, statistical, and quantum mechanics) to fundamental processes that occur in celestial objects. Includes main-sequence stars, collapsed stars (white dwarfs, neutron stars, and black holes), pulsars, supernovae, the interstellar medium, galaxies, and as time permits, active galaxies, quasars, and cosmology. Observational data discussed. No prior knowledge of astronomy is required.

How people make sense of their worlds symbolically through myth, ritual, metaphor, and cosmology. The structure of symbols, the natural and social elements they draw on, their social use, and the messages they convey. Students learn to record and analyze myth and ritual.

Basics of general relativity, standard big bang cosmology, thermodynamics of the early universe, cosmic background radiation, primordial nucleosynthesis, basics of the standard model of particle physics, electroweak and QCD phase transition, basics of group theory, grand unified theories, baryon asymmetry, monopoles, cosmic strings, domain walls, axions, inflationary universe, and structure formation.

Students examine the idea of inflation in the Universe using raisin bread as a model for Universal expansion. Grades 7-12.

This subject introduces the history of science from antiquity to the present. Students consider the impact of philosophy, art, magic, social structure, and folk knowledge on the development of what has come to be called "science" in the Western tradition, including those fields today designated as physics, biology, chemistry, medicine, astronomy and the mind sciences. Topics include concepts of matter, nature, motion, body, heavens, and mind as these have been shaped over the course of history. Students read original works by Aristotle, Vesalius, Newton, Lavoisier, Darwin, Freud, and Einstein, among others.

The information and activities found in StarChild can be used to engage, excite, and educate students in your classrooms. Helps elementary school students learn about the sun and moon, planets, the asteroid belt, meteoroids and comets, astronauts and space suits, space travel and space probes, the Hubble space telescope, the Columbia accident, galaxies, the Milky Way, stars, quasars, black holes, cosmology, and dark matter.

This site provides an in-depth discussion of "Big-Bang" cosmological theory. Topics include: foundations of the theory, observational tests, limitations and extensions of the theory, and some properties of the universe itself such as the amount and type of matter, its expansion, age, shape, occurrence of life, and its ultimate fate. The site features text, photographs, remote sensing imagery, graphs, and scientific illustrations. Links to other related topics are provided.