Physics 514: General Relativity PHYSICS 514: GENERAL RELATIVITY (Winter 2011) Handouts Syllabus Lectures Lecture 1: Notes, Recording. Note: The lecture notes are in tiff format; if you have trouble viewing them (or if only the first page shows up) try downloading the file and opening with a document viewer such as preview (on macs) or windows picture and fax viewer (on windows). Problem Sets Useful Resources Einstein for Everyone Einstein for Everyone Nullarbor Press 2007revisions 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 Copyright 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 John D. Norton Published by Nullarbor Press, 500 Fifth Avenue, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15260 with offices in Liberty Ave., Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 15222 All Rights Reserved John D. An advanced sequel is planned in this series:Einstein for Almost Everyone 2 4 6 8 9 7 5 3 1 ePrinted in the United States of America no trees were harmed web*bookTM This book is a continuing work in progress. January 1, 2015. Preface For over a decade I have taught an introductory, undergraduate class, "Einstein for Everyone," at the University of Pittsburgh to anyone interested enough to walk through door. With each new offering of the course, I had the chance to find out what content worked and which of my ever so clever pedagogical inventions were failures. At the same time, my lecture notes have evolved. This text owes a lot to many. i i i
Einstein's Most Famous Thought Experiment John D. Norton Department of History and Philosophy of Science University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh PA 15260 Homepage: www.pitt.edu/~jdnorton This page (with animated figures) is available at www.pitt.edu/~jdnorton/goodies Einstein recalled how, at the age of 16, he imagined chasing after a beam of light and that the thought experiment had played a memorable role in his development of special relativity. For more details, see: "Chasing the Light: Einstein's Most Famous Thought Experiment," prepared for Thought Experiments in Philosophy, Science and the Arts, eds., James Robert Brown, Mélanie Frappier and Letitia Meynell, Routledge. Sections 5-6 of "Einstein's Investigations of Galilean Covariant Electrodynamics prior to 1905," Archive for History of Exact Sciences, 59 (2004), pp. 45105. 1. How could we be anything but charmed by the delightful story Einstein tells in his Autobiographical Notes of a striking thought he had at the age of 16? The thought is simplicity itself. 2. 3. 4. 1.
Experimental Basis of Special Relativity Physics is an experimental science, and as such the experimental basis for any physical theory is extremely important. The relationship between theory and experiments in modern science is a multi-edged sword: It is required that the theory not be refuted by any undisputed experiment within the theory's domain of applicability. It is expected that the theory be confirmed by a number of experiments that: cover a significant fraction of the theory's domain of applicability. examine a significant fraction of the theory's predictions. At present, Special Relativity (SR) meets all of these requirements and expectations. Other than their sheer numbers, the most striking thing about these experimental tests of SR is their remarkable breadth and diversity. There are several useful surveys of the experimental basis of SR: Modern Tests of Lorentz Invariance on LivingReviews.Y.Z. Zhang's book is especially comprehensive. Textbooks with good summaries of the experimental basis of relativity are: M.
One-Minute Astronomer - Star Gazing and Basic Astronomy Particle Creation previous home next PDF Michael Fowler, Pion Production We have mentioned how, using a synchrocyclotron, it is possible to accelerate protons to relativistic speeds. The rest energy of a proton mpc2 is 938 MeV, using here the standard high energy physics energy unit: 1 MeV = 106 eV. The standard operating procedure of high energy physicists is to accelerate particles to relativistic speeds, then smash them into other particles to see what happens. What is actually observed in p-p scattering at relativistic energies is that often more particles come out than went in—particles called pions, p+, p0, p- can be created. Possible scenarios include: and The neutral pion mass is 135 MeV, the charged pions have mass 140 MeV, where we follow standard high energy practice in calling mc2 the “mass”, since this is the energy equivalent, and hence the energy which, on creation of the particle in a collision, is taken from kinetic energy and stored in mass. Antiproton Production and using we find so
Sociological Research Online Astronomy | Video Courses on Academic Earth Astronomers use tools like telescopes, cameras and spectrographs to study interactions between materials and energy within the universe. These scientists learn about galaxies, solar systems, planets and stars through careful observation and measurement recording. Astronomers also refer to natural sciences and mathematics to form and test theories. Sample Courses Astronomy majors at the undergraduate level will gain an introduction to this field by taking a survey course that covers the Milky Way Galaxy, the orbital behaviors of planets, telescope basics, star identification and cosmology. Possible Specializations One of the most popular specializations within astronomy is astrophysics, or the study of how physics operates in the universe. Degree Types Students can pursue astronomy at three major degree levels: bachelor’s, master’s and Ph.D.. Bachelor’s Master’s Ph.D. Ideal Candidates for Astronomy Career Pathways
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