Physics This link provides access to the full written set of the first volume of lectures given by Richard Feynman in the 1960s to his Caltech students. These lectures are truly a gem and provide some level of understanding for all levels of physics students. Topics range mechanics, light, waves, and quantum mechanics, and includes the toy block analogy that we use extensively throughout the year. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology offers, free of
charge, full courses of lecture and coursework in their physics
program.
You can download videos, do assigned problems, take quizzes, etc.
You don't
get college credit because you aren't paying
for them, but you can take the material we are learning and go
that much
deeper. If you would like to explore other areas of physics in
addition
to our introduction to classical mechanics, they also offer
Electricity
& Magnetism, Vibrations & Waves, Relativity, and Quantum
Physics. Yale
Open Courseware - Physics & Astronomy Similar to the situation described above for MIT open courses. Simply a different university offering the opportunity to take a calculus-based physics or astronomy course. The Mechanical Universe...and Beyond 52 different episodes available online (free) with topics that include: classical physics, relativity, atomic physics, particle physics, and the quantum revolution. The videos are viewed with Windows Media Player. The Elegant Universe (NOVA) Based on Brian Greene's best-selling book of the same name, all three episodes of this program are available online (free). The video series follows the quest in physics for unification of the fundamental forces of nature. String theory purports to be the panacea for this problem. The site contains additional resources concerning the video series as well as animations to help the viewer further grasp multiple dimensions. Atmospheric
Optics A collection of photographs showing different atmospheric phenomenon, such as sundogs, parhelic arcs, crepuscular rays, and ice pillars. Each of these phenomenon and more are explained in detail in Robert Greenler's book, Rainbows, Halos, and Glories, available in my collection for checkout. Also check out his Science Bag website below. Historical Physics Teaching Apparatus Contains over 1000 photos of classic physics apparatus that have been used to teach various concepts. HyperPhysics A physics resource that might be used on occasion in the classroom. American
Institute of Physics' Online History Exhibits Contains extensive historical information on a few prominent physicists, including Marie Curie, Albert Einstein, and Werner Heisenberg. The Scale of the Universe (Powers of Ten revisited) A fascinating look at the universe at all scales. You zoom in and out, starting at the scale of human size and zooming in to the smallest object known or zooming out to the size of the known universe. This is a YouTube channel dedicated to "big bang" physics and chemistry demonstrations performed by Denmark's Aarhus University. They include some very interesting demonstrations done with liquid nitrogen. Unfortunately, they don't discuss what is happening, only show the result. Impressive nevertheless. This is a YouTube channel dedicated to addressing topics in physics in a short and sweet vignettes. This is an episode from Minute Physics that sums up the evolution of the universe, from beginning until present, in 8 minutes. This is a link to another page with links. I have perused the links and they look like a decent collection. Some of them are links that I have already identified on this page, but others were new to me. The links cover a wide variety of topics ranging from scientist biographies to practice quizzes to simulations to tips for being successful in learning physics. This is a YouTube channel also dedicated to addressing topics in science, often by asking and answering an interesting question. Science Minds
of our Own
Free online video series that documents how children learn science and create knowledge and misconceptions. The videos are viewed with Windows Media Player. A Private Universe Free online video that documents how our best students misunderstand basic scientific concepts and how our initial misconceptions endure. The videos are viewed with Windows Media Player. The Whys Guy Physics professor Mats Selen at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champagne does a weekly science spot on his local news station. This page is an archive of the video collection. He does a mix of chemistry and physics and does some "dangerous" demonstrations that you might not see otherwise. The Engineer Guy Bill Hammock of the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana offers a series of short videos (2-3 minutes) discussing and analyzing in a humorous and engaging manner some "engineering marvels," such as the pop-can tab, matches, light bulbs, and hard drives. PhD TV Some neat videos, interviews, and animated comic books that tackle some pretty heavy topics such as extra dimensions, dark matter, gravitational waves, quantum entanglement, and the Higgs boson. The
Why Files The University of Wisconsin-Madison offers this online magazine devoted to explaining the science behind topics of current interest. Astronomy Spaceweather.com News and information about meteor showers, solar flares, auroras, and near-Earth asteroids. Heavens-Above! Allows you to track satellites and observe satellites with the naked-eye. Includes local times for Iridium flares and fly-bys of the International Space Station. Astronomy Picture of the Day A new astronomical picture each day with a description of the image. It may not be a "real planet" by our current definition, but the findings of this mission are providing a lot of excitement for planetary scientists.
Phil Plait's Bad Astronomy This site is great resource for looking at current astronomical news without looking through the lens of popular media hype. I first became enamored with it when he debunked the myth that NASA never flew to the moon. Fox television's airing in 2001 of a 1-hour "documentary" on the Apollo mission "conspiracy" reinvigorated this myth among today's students. Sky & Telescope A great site that gives current astronomical news and also allows users to create aids to view their local night sky. Solar Terrestrial Dispatch A site devoted to following the aurora (northern lights). Includes an aurora warning system, satellite imagery of aurora, and reports of aurora sightings from around the world. Music and Song
This site has created music videos that speak to scientific themes in a profoundly different way. These music videos compile video clips and interviews with famous scientists and put them to music using, in part, Auto-Tune pitch correction software. These music videos are in the same genre as videos produced by The Gregory Brothers, a YouTube sensation that offers videos coupling their original music tracks with Auto-Tuned versions of mundane evening news video clips, lampooning famous celebrities and politicians. It really is mesmerizing. This is a You Tube channel created by a graduate physics student. He takes difficult advanced physics concepts and puts them to music. You have to see them to appreciate the work that went into them. His Bohemian Gravity is genius. Miscellaneous
A commercial that
uses all parts of a Honda Accord in a Rube-Goldberg device. Very
cool!
Make sure you turn on the sound.
Optical Illusions and Visual Phenomena Michael Bach's collection of visual/perceptual phenomena with animations, applets, and explanations. |
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