What happens when you approach the speed of light? This video segment adapted from NOVA follows one of Albert Einstein's thought experiments and his quest to find the answer.

What sorts of things get physicists (or wannabe physicists, like the teacher of this class) excited? Is it the dream of building grand intellectual edifices capable of describing the Universe with amazing accuracy and elegance? Or, perhaps, discovering something so unexpected that it totally blows your mind? Maybe it's simply the act of doing physics! Whatever the case, there are certainly many things in physics to get excited about, and we'll explore some of them in this class.

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 is a collection of Web-based games developed from selected hands-on exhibits at the Lederman Science Center introduces students in grades 6-12 to the science and technology of Fermilab. The site is equally valuable for classroom and home use.

Explore how different frames of reference affect your perception of motion in this interactive activity from the American Museum of Natural History.

This course provides a thorough introduction to the principles and methods of physics for students who have good preparation in physics and mathematics. Emphasis is placed on problem solving and quantitative reasoning. This course covers Newtonian mechanics, special relativity, gravitation, thermodynamics, and waves.

This 52-page booklet provides an overview of the history, science and technology of this mission, including an introduction to Einstein's theory of curved spacetime. The guide also contains 18 pages of hands-on classroom activities related to gyroscopes, curved spacetime, frame-dragging and other concepts related to the GP-B experiment.

In this course, the student will first learn about waves and oscillations in extended objects using classical mechanics. The course will then examine the sources and laws that govern static electricity and magnetism. A brief look at electrical measurements and circuits will help establish how electromagnetic effects are observed, measured, and applied. These topics lead to an examination of how Maxwell's equations unify electric and magnetic effects and how the solutions to Maxwell's equations describe electromagnetic radiation, which will serve as the basis for understanding all electromagnetic radiation, from very low frequency radiation emitted by power transmission lines to the most powerful astrophysical gamma rays. The course also investigates optics and launches a brief overview of Einstein's special theory of relativity. A basic knowledge of calculus is assumed. (Physics 102; See also: Biology 110, Chemistry 002, Mechanical Engineering 006)

The course covers principles and concepts of Special and General Relativity; origins of Quantum Mechanics; quantum structure of atoms, molecules, solids; applications to lasers and microelectronics; nuclear and particle physics; and cosmology.

This book addresses the following topics: Relativity, rules of randomness; light as a particle; matter as a wave; the atom.

Quantum mechanics is said to describe a world in which physical objects often lack "definite" properties, indeterminism creeps in at the point of "observation," ordinary logic does not apply, and distant events are perfectly yet inexplicably correlated. Examination of these and other issues central to the philosophical foundations of quantum mechanics, with special attention to the measurement problem, no-hidden-variables proofs, and Bell's Inequalities. Rigorous approach to the subject matter nevertheless neither presupposes nor requires the development of detailed technical knowledge of the quantum theory.

Kinematics and dynamics are presented here in multimedia, at introductory and also at deeper levels. Individual video clips and animations are suitable for use by teachers, while students may use the whole package for self instruction or for reference.

Physics for Humanists is intended for those who are intellectually and emotionally curious but do not intend to specialize in the natural sciences. The course covers facts and concepts of classical and modern physics; eminent scientists and the emotions that have impelled them; nuclear energy and nuclear bombs; and the interaction, both constructive and destructive, between science and society.

This is the second part (chapters 13-24) of a pdf textbook for a one-year introductory physics course. The text was developed out of an alternate beginning physics course at New Mexico Tech designed for students with a strong interest in physics. A broad outline of the text is as follows: Newton's Law of Gravitation; Forces in Relativity; Electromagnetic Forces; Generation of Electromagnetic Fields; Capacitors, Inductors, and Resistors; Measuring the Very Small; Atoms; The Standard Mode; Atomic Nuclei; Heat, Temperature, and Friction; Entropy, The Ideal Gas and Heat Engines.

Normally taken by physics majors in their sophomore year. Einstein's postulates; consequences for simultaneity, time dilation, length contraction, clock synchronization; Lorentz transformation; relativistic effects and paradoxes; Minkowski diagrams; invariants and four-vectors; momentum, energy and mass; particle collisions. Relativity and electricity; Coulomb's law; magnetic fields. Brief introduction to Newtonian cosmology. Introduction to some concepts of General Relativity; principle of equivalence. The Schwarzchild metric; gravitational red shift, particle and light trajectories, geodesics, Shapiro delay. This course, which concentrates on special relativity, is normally taken by physics majors in their sophomore year. Topics include Einstein's postulates, the Lorentz transformation, relativistic effects and paradoxes, and applications involving electromagnetism and particle physics. This course also provides a brief introduction to some concepts of general relativity, including the principle of equivalence, the Schwartzschild metric and black holes, and the FRW metric and cosmology.

This illustrated essay from the NOVA Web site introduces the basic concepts of Einstein's General Theory of Relativity and what we know about cosmology as a result.

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.

This book represents course notes for a one semester course at the undergraduate level giving an introduction to Riemannian geometry and its principal physical application, Einstein’s theory of general relativity. The background assumed is a good grounding in linear algebra and in advanced calculus, preferably in the language of differential forms.

This book covers the following topics: The principal curvatures; rules of calculus; Levi-Civita Connections; bundle of frames; connections on principal bundles; Gauss's lemma; special relativity; Die Grundlagen der Physik; submersions; Petrov types; and Star.

COURSE OUTLINE: General Physics1, Mathematical Tools2, Linear Algebra and Tensors, Relativity1, General Relativity2, Mathematics3, Tensors4, Special Relativity. The image used above is Special Relativity by Wonderlane and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license