In November 2010, I had given a twelve-hour course on Einstein's theories of special and general relativity as part of my science outreach programme. I now intend to publish the PowerPoint slides of the course. The course aims/objectives for the Strathclyde University presentation give a good summary of what was intended and are reproduced below.
Some of the introductory material was published on this blog - links to those blog items are provided in the following.
Albert Einstein and the
Theory of Relativity
Einstein
is considered the greatest physicist of the 20th century. Einstein’s theory of relativity forever
altered our understanding of the Universe. In this series of talks, we shall learn about
Einstein’s life and how working in isolation he was able to resolve many of the
serious difficulties that physics faced around 1900 AD and prepared the ground
for the development of modern physics on which most industry is based.
Speed
of light plays a fundamental role in the theory of relativity. It is fascinating to learn how light appears
to behave both as a wave and as a stream of particles.
Without
using mathematics, we shall learn about the nature of gravity and make sense of
some of the bizarre effects that the theory of relativity predicts.
Einstein
is best remembered for his theory of relativity but it was his work regarding
the nature of light that won him the Nobel Prize in 1921. Einstein established the existence of atoms and molecules and determined their sizes.
The theory of lasers was developed by Einstein more than 40 years before
they were invented.
The importance of Einstein's contributions and their impact on the scientific understanding is best demonstrated by remembering the very large number of Nobel Prizes awarded in research engendered by Einstein's work.
The importance of Einstein's contributions and their impact on the scientific understanding is best demonstrated by remembering the very large number of Nobel Prizes awarded in research engendered by Einstein's work.
Class Content:
·
Brief biography of Albert Einstein
·
Physics before 1900 AD – The classical physics
·
Problems with classical physics - Black-body Radiation, Specific heat of solids
·
On the nature of light – wave or particle?
·
Einstein’s many contributions to the quantum
theory
·
Experimental verification of the theory of
relativity
·
The scientific method – testing of
hypotheses
Main learning outcomes:
·
Learn about Einstein’s life and the impact
of his contributions on modern life
·
Appreciate how the behaviour of atoms and molecules determines the properties
of the macroscopic world
·
Appreciate that light appears to behave both as a wave and as a stream of particles
·
Understand the role played by the speed of
light in the theory of relativity
·
Understand the nature of gravity
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