Excitatory Topics in Physics (MIT)





Course description:

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.

Course topics:

What is Physics. Modern Physics. Walking Through a Wall. Special Relativity. Relativity Demonstration. Addition of Velocities. Addition of Velocities. Simultaneity. Time Dilation. Length Contraction. Time and Space. Time Travel to the Future. Time Travel to the Past. Mass and Spacetime. Black Holes. Wormholes. Wave/Particle Duality. Basics of Quantum Mechanics. Schrodinger's Box. Quantum Tunnelling. Parallel universes and the Big Bang Theory. Finite and Infinite Space Infinite Universe. Level II Multiverse. Level III and Level IV Multiverses.



Quantum Physics (130A, Spring 2003, UC San Diego)





Course topics:

Problems with Classical Physics. Wave Packets. Operators. Expectation Values. Commutators. Schoedinger Equation. Eigenfunctions and Vector Spaces. Particle in a Box. One Dimensional Potentials. More Fun With Operators. Two Particles in 3 Dimensions. Identical Particles. Separation of Variables in Cartesian Coordinates. Central Potentials. Angular Momentum. Radial Equation. Hydrogen Atom.

Quantum Physics (130B, Fall 2003, UC San Diego)





Course topics:

Matrix Operators. State Vectors and Spin. Electrons in an Electromagnetic Field. Addition of Angular Momentum. Time Independent Perturbation Theory. Fine Structure in Hydrogen. Hyperfine Structure. Helium Atom, Atomic Physics. Molecules. Time Dependent Perturbation Theory. Radiation in Atoms. Radiation Theory.

Quantum Physics (130C, Spring 2003, UC San Diego)





Course topics:

Electrons in an Electromagnetic Field. Addition of Angular Momentum. Fine Sturcture in Hydrogen. Time Dependent Perturbation Theory. Radiation in Atoms. Covariant equations. Classical Field Theory. Maxwell Field. Scattering of photons. Electron self energy. Lamb shift. Dirac Equation. Simple solutions. Dirac Operators. Negative Energy Solutions. Hydrogen. Hole Theory. Quantization of Dirac Field.

Quantum Mechanics I (University of New Mexico)





Course topics:

Basic Concepts and Principles. Space-time translations. Symmetries and Conserved Quantities. Dynamics. Schroedinger's equation. Hilbert Space. Angular Momentum. Spin. Isospin. Clebsch-Gordan coefficients. Ehrenfest's theorem. The Hydrogen Atom. Virial Theorem. Feynman's Path Integral. Approximation Methods. Variational method. Spin-orbit coupling. Dirac Equation. Dyson expansion. Time-energy uncertainty principle. Interaction of photons with atoms. Absorption and emission of photons by atoms.

Quantum Field Theory (Physics 253, Harvard University)

Sidney R. Coleman

Description:

Professor Coleman's wit and teaching style is legendary and, despite all that may have changed in the 35 years since these lectures were recorded, many students today are excited at the prospect of being able to view them and experience Sidney's particular genius second-hand.

Course topics:

Relativistic fermions, Quantized spinor fields, Dirac equation, Lorentz invariance, representation independence. Charge conjugation and antiparticles, massless fermions & neutrinos, Grassmann integration and Grassmann functional integrals. Symmetries, and Noether's theorem. Quantization of scalar fields and spin 1/2 fields. Interacting fields and Feynman diagrams. And a lot more.

Quantum Field Theory (University of New Mexico)

Course topics:

Feynman diagrams for fermion-boson scattering. Current conservation. Energy-momentum tensor (symmetric and antisymmetric case). Belinfante's symmetric energy-momentum tensor. Angular-momentum operators. Spin of the proton. Boson-boson scattering. Boson-boson scattering. Quantization of the theory of a massive vector bosons. Quantization of the theory of a massive vector boson. Dirac brackets. Quantum electrodynamics. Gauge fixing and Dirac brackets to quantize electrodynamics. Photon propagator and the Feynman rules for QED. Compton scattering. Path integrals. Fermionic path integrals. Path-integral formulation of QED. Poles and renormalization. Vacuum polarization in QED. Energy of an atomic electron due to vacuum polarization. Anomalous magnetic moment of the electron. Magnetic moments and on the self-energy of the electron. Infra-red singularities. Non-abelian gauge theory. Higgs mechanism. Quantization of non-Abelian gauge theories. Faddeev-Popov trick. Ghosts. Goldstone bosons.

Applied Group Theory:



The Foundations of Theoretical Physics Using Lie Groups & Algebras





Course topics:

Overview of Math. Overview of Classical mechanics. Overview of the Theory of Relativity. Overview of Relativistic Electromagnetic Theory in Covariant Form. Overview of Lie Algebras & Groups. The Heisenberg group – Foundations of quantum theory. The Harmonic Oscillator group. The Rotation group O3 = SU2. The Lorentz group – particle theory. The Poincare group – particle theory. XPM group – relativistic position operators. Internal Symmetry – SUn. TCP & discrete symmetry groups. The General Linear & Affine Group. The DeSitter Group. The Markov Group. Foundations of Lie Algebras and Lie Groups. Course Summary and Conclusions. Applications of the Markov group to Fibonacci numbers. Applications of the Markov group to Logic, Numbers, & Information. Network Theory. Applications of Information theory to Quantum Theory.

General Relativity (Physics 6938, Fall 2007, Florida Atlantic University)

Course topics:

The Principle of Relativity. Relativistic Kinematics. Relativistic Dynamics. The Equivalence Principle. Gravity and Geometry. Vector Spaces. Differential Geometry. Tensor Analysis. Diffeomorphisms and the Lie Derivative. Connections and Torsion. Curvature. Riemannian Geometry. Structure of the Einstein Equations. Post-Minkowski Gravity. The Newtonian Limit. The Schwarzschild Solution. Geodesics of the Schwarzschild Geometry. The Schwarzschild Black Hole. The Interior of the Schwarzschild Black Hole. Black Holes. Physics of Black Holes. Weak Gravitational Waves. Energy Loss to Gravitational Radiation. Maximal Symmetry. Homogeneity and Isotropy. The Dynamics of the Universe. Cosmological Phenomenology.

Cosmology for Beginners

Course topics:

General Relativity for the Common Man. Expanding Universes. Cosmological Distances. Spatially Non-Flat Cosmologies. Inflation, Dark Energy and the Cosmological Constant.

Frontiers and Controversies in Astrophysics





Course topics:

Planetary Orbits. Our Solar System and Pluto Problem. Discovering Exoplanets: Hot Jupiters. Planetary Transits. Microlensing, Astrometry and Other Methods. Direct Imaging of Exoplanets. Introduction to Black Holes. Special and General Relativity. Tests of Relativity. Stellar Mass Black Holes. Pulsars. Supermassive Black Holes. Hubble's Law and the Big Bang. Omega and the End of the Universe. Dark Matter. Dark Energy and the Accelerating Universe. Supernovae. Other Constraints: The Cosmic Microwave Radiation. The Multiverse and Theories of Everything.

Scientific Computing: Computational Physics





Course topics:

Introduction to Computational Physics. Computing Basics. Number Representations. IEEE Floating Point Numbers. Machine Precision. Errors. Object Oriented Programming. Numerical Integration. Random Numbers for Monte Carlo Techniques. Monte Carlo Simulations. High Performance Computing (HPC) Hardware. Numerical Differentiation. Trial and Error Searching. N-Dimensional Searching. Matrix Computing. Interpolation. Least Square Fitting. Ordinary Differential Equations (ODEs). ODE Algorithms.

Thermodynamics and Phase Diagrams

Course topics:

The Thermodynamic Functions. Nature of Solutions. Models of Solutions. Mechanical Alloying. Computer Calculation of Phase Diagrams. Thermodynamics of Irreversible Processes. Quasichemical Solutions.

Fundamentals of Physics (Yale University)

Course topics:

Newtonian Mechanics. Vectors in Multiple Dimensions. Newton's Laws of Motion. Inclined Planes. Work-Energy Theorem. Law of Conservation of Energy. Kepler's Laws. Dynamics of a Multiple-body System. Rotations. Dynamics of Rigid Bodies. Rotations. Parallel Axis Theorem. Torque. Introduction to Relativity. Lorentz Transformation. Introduction to the Four-Vector. Four-Vector in Relativity. The Taylor Series. Simple Harmonic Motion. Waves. Fluid Dynamics and Statics and Bernoulli's Principle. Thermodynamics. The Boltzmann Constant and First Law of Thermodynamics. The Second Law of Thermodynamics. The Second Law of Thermodynamics.

bonus course

mathematics

Gödel, Escher, Bach: A Mental Space Odyssey

Course description:

What do one mathematician, one artist, and one musician all have in common? Are you interested in zen Buddhism, math, fractals, logic, paradoxes, infinities, art, language, computer science, physics, music, intelligence, consciousness and unified theories? Get ready to chase me down a rabbit hole into Douglas Hofstadter's Pulitzer Prize winning book Gödel, Escher, Bach. Lectures will be a place for crazy ideas to bounce around as we try to pace our way through this enlightening tome. You will be responsible for most of the reading as lectures will consist primarily of motivating the material and encouraging discussion.

Course topics:

Tools for Thinking. MU Puzzle. Meta-thinking. PQ. Reality: A Formal System? Music in Gödel, Escher, Bach. Introduction to recursion and fractals. Recursive Tree Function. Koch Curve. Serpinski Triangle. Answers to student questions. Fractal Fern. Mandlebrot Set. Recursion in music. Gödel's Incompleteness theorem. Alternate Geometries. Little Harmonic Labyrynth. The Development of Calculus. Recursion and Isomorphism. The Meaning of Meaning. Contracrostipunctus Revisted. Defining Meaning. Encoding Information. Lindenmeyer Systems. Cellular Automata. Theory of Meaning. Universal Information. Information and Entropy. Number Theory. Context Free Grammar. Emergent Properties. Human Consciousness. Class Wrap-up and Discussion.

Related Posts

This month I present to you a mind blowing collection of physics video lectures! I am getting my physics degree in two months and I am excited about these lectures as never before! :)This month lectures on: Modern Physics. Quantum Physics. Quantum Mechanics. Quantum Field Theory. Applied Group Theory. General Relativity. Cosmology. Astrophysics. Computational Physics. Thermodynamics. Basic Physics.Course read by Dr. Jim BransonFifty four (54) lectures by. Recorded in 1975-1976.Lectures from University of South Carolina.Lectures by Paul Stankus, Oak Ridge National Lab.Lectures by by RH Landau, Oregon State University.Here is a very interestinginfrom MIT.Have fun watching these and until next time! :)