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Special Relativity

Offered By: Brilliant

Tags

Physics Courses Newtonian Mechanics Courses Special Relativity Courses Thought Experiments Courses Mathematical Physics Courses Relativistic Physics Courses

Course Description

Overview

This course was written in collaboration with Aaron Miller, a PhD in physics from Penn State University, and was integrated into a YouTube video series on MinutePhysics.

Beginning with famous thought experiments and a few intuitive principles from Newtonian mechanics, this course closely follows Einstein's arguments leading to the epiphany that time and space are a single entity, spacetime, where physical processes unfold.
After gaining experience with the mathematical machinery of relativistic physics, you will open the door to high-energy phenomena and Einstein's famous relationship, E = mc². In the end this course will boost you to the cusp of the most elegant of physical theories: general relativity.

Syllabus

  • Reference Frames and Observers: Let there be light... and observers.
    • Relative Motion of Observers: Refresh yourself on reference frames and relative speeds on the high seas.
    • Propagation of Light: Retrace the steps of the first measurement of the speed of light.
    • The Mystery of the Luminiferous Aether: How Michaelson and Morley used light to prove that space is empty after all.
    • Einstein's Postulates: Can two events ever be simultaneous to all observers?
    • Derive: Lorentz Transformations: Derive the set of equations that connect events in two different inertial frames.
    • Length Contraction & Time Dilation: Learn how relativistic effects wreck havoc with space and time by solving these puzzles.
    • Relativistic Laser Tag: Explore the real-world effects of relativity by playing a game of relativistic laser tag.
  • Spacetime and Paradoxes: Face reality in four-dimensional spacetime.
    • Cosmic Ray Muons: One of the most basic tests of relativity is raining down around you constantly.
    • Spacetime Intervals and Causality: Could faster-than-light particles send information back in time?
    • Chimp Twin Paradox: Can a deep-space voyage put years between two identical twins?
    • Rotations in Spacetime: A different perspective on Lorentz transformations can simplify some difficult problems.
    • Plight of the ABC Jungle Fruit: Solve this space-time paradox and save a starship from certain destruction.
    • Superluminal Observations: Is it possible to measure a particle's velocity greater than the speed of light?
    • UFO Encounter: A rotating orb flies past you, but its rotation is an illusion.
  • Energy and Dynamics: A high-energy ride on the particle safari.
    • Four-Velocity: Four-dimensional Space Invaders is a much harder game.
    • Energy-Momentum Conservation: You rely on conservation of 4-momentum and energy each and every day.
    • High-Energy Particles: Understand the invisible ballet of particle decay that bombards the Earth with cosmic rays.
    • Photons: A moving light source is a brighter light source.

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