Courses and Tutorials

See also:

• Science: Physics: Education: Tutorials  (35)
• Science: Physics: Relativity: Black Holes: Education  (10)

• Lecture Notes on General Relativity (Sean Carroll)   - Lecture notes for a one-semester course in General Relativity.

  Bondi K-Calculus - A simple derivation of Einstein's theory of relativity in six short lessons. Bondi's K-calculus relies on local quantities (e.g. times actually measured on specific clocks) instead of introducing coordinates, hence, no more than elementary maths is required..

  FX2/H97: General Relativity - Lecture notes for the course on general relativity held in 1997 at the Physics Institute of NTNU, Trondheim by Petr Hadrava (the lecture notes themselves are Postscript files)..

  General Relativity - Lecture notes and problem sheets for a course taught by N.M.J. Woodhouse at Oxford University in 2003..

  General Relativity Tutorial - Highly recommendable collection of interconnected web pages that serve as an informal introduction to general relativity. While some mathematics is used, the focus is on the key ideas. By John Baez (University of California at Riverside)..

  General Relativity Tutorials - Notes about the linearized Einstein equations, written by a graduate student (Kristen Wecht) for graduate students. Current content: one step-by-step description of how to derive the linearized Einstein equations..

  Interactive Program for Learning about the Lorentz Transformation - The player takes on the role of job applicant at the Galactic Company; in order to optimize the company's operations, the player will need to measure precisely the length of its transporters - learning about the fundamentals of special relativity at the same time (uses Java). By Stanislaw Glazek and Michal Kulik..

  Introduction to Differential Geometry and General Relativity - A course from the Department of Mathematics at Hofstra University on differential geometry and general relativity, from basic ideas like sets and parametric surfaces to black holes and neutron stars. By Stefan Waner (last chapter by Gregory C. Levine)..

  Modern Relativity - Set of notes outlining general relativity and its applications, including cosmology and gravitational waves, but also "fringe physics" topics such as faster-than-light travel and wormholes. By David Waite..

  PHY 312: Relativity and Cosmology - Syllabus, lecture notes and revision sheets, homework problems, and project suggestions for an undergraduate course taught by Simon Catterall (Syracuse University) in 2004..

  Physics 237-2002: Gravitational Waves - Collection of materials from a graduate-student-level course on Gravitational Waves taught at the California Institute of Technology, January through May of 2002; includes Quicktime videos of the lectures, lists of suggested and supplementary reading, copies of some of the readings, and many exercises with solutions..

  Physics 8.20: Introduction to Special Relativity - Material for an undergraduate course held at MIT by Bruce Knuteson in January, 2005, which introduces the basic ideas and equations of special relativity from the Lorentz contraction to E=mc-squared. Part of MIT OpenCourseWare..

  Physics 252: Modern Physics - A second year course including twelve lectures on special relativity taught by Michael Fowler at the University of Virginia in 1999. Includes lecture notes in HTML format (from Galilei transformations to relativistic mechanics, including some thoughts on general relativity) and problem sets. introducing special relativity and quantum mechanics. All of the lecture notes are posted online..

  Physics 8.033: Relativity - Undergraduate course held by Max Tegmark at MIT in Fall, 2006; the main focus is special relativity, although the basics of the general theory (the equivalence principle, the effect of gravity on light, and some cosmology) are also discussed. Part of MIT OpenCourseWare; a complete set of lecture notes, assignments and exams is available for download..

  Physics 200: Relativity and Quanta - Course taught by Jess H. Brewer (University of British Columbia) in 1996 about relativity and quantum fields, including quantum fields in curved spacetime. Page contains course description, outline, and handouts..

  Physics 7: Relativity, Space-time and Cosmology - Notes, syllabus and exercises for an undergraduate course taught by Jose Wudka at the University of California, Riverside, in 2000. The course itself starts out with Ancient cosmological models before working its way to Newtonian physics, special and general relativity..

  Reflections on Relativity - Comprehensive online book about special and general relativity, from the fundamentals to cosmological applications, including a number of philosophical questions raised by Einstein's theory. Suitable for undergraduates and up..

  Relativity Tutorial - Tutorial by Ned Wright (UCLA) featuring a step-by-step introduction to special relativity (focusing on spacetime diagrams) and the basic ideas of general relativity..

  A Short Course on General Relativity - A graduate level course which includes weak field theory, gravitational waves, radiation damping, cosmology, the Friedmann and Lemaitre dusts, singularities, black holes, the Schwarzschild metric and Kruskal's extension of it. This is a single postscript document..

  SPAC 205: From Space and Time to Space-Time - Course description, reading material, notes, and problem sets for a basic course on relativity taught by Yuri Balashov at Rice University in 1999..

  Spacetime 101 - Tutorial by Patricia Schwarz (Caltech); accessible for a general audience. Covers the basics of spacetime, special and general relativity using simple diagrams..

  Special Relativity - Part of a course in modern physics (Physics 1501) taught by Randy Kobes and Gabor Kunstatter at the University of Winnipeg in 1999. Covers the basics from the two postulates to the Lorentz transformations plus selected further topics; uses no more than high-school level mathematics..

  Tensor Calculus and Continuum Mechanics - A free downloadable textbook on introductory tensor analysis and continuum mechanics, in PDF format, from Professor John J. Heinbockel at Old Dominion University..

  Tensors and Relativity (Peter Dunsby) - A complete online course in tensors and relativity.

  Theory of Relativity - Website for an online relativity class. Covers special relativity in depth and general relativity at a more qualitative level. Contains tutorial material, references, a reading list, and links. By Gabriel G. Lombardi (Seattle Teachers College)..

  Theory of Relativity Class - Learn about Einstein's Theory of Relativity online. The class covers cosmology, the Twin Paradox, space travel, and black holes..

  Understanding General Relativity - Step-by-step introduction to general relativity, from the basic principles via a heuristic account of the mathematics of curved spaces to the Einstein field equations, plus brief sections on advanced topics such as black holes and cosmology. By Rafi Moor..

  Student understanding of time in special relativity - A report on the ineffectiveness of standard university instruction in Einstein's concept of time, by Rachel E. Scherr, Peter S. Shaffer, and Stamatis Vokos. Published in Physics Education Research (American Journal of Physics Supplement). [PDF] (July 26, 2002).

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