- Walter Lewin Lectures on Physics
The Walter Lewin Lectures on Physics are a set of three courses including video lectures on
physics byMIT Physics ProfessorWalter Lewin . He explains in a fun and intellectual way the basics ofclassical mechanics ,electricity ,magnetism ,vibrations ,waves and introductory topics onastrophysics . It was prepared in theMassachusetts Institute of Technology and it has been used by more than four million students, teachers and self-learners around the world Fact|date=March 2008.Overview
Lewin's lectures at
MIT are legendaryFact|date=March 2008. Many have been shown for over six years on UWTV inSeattle , reaching an audience of about four million people. He personally responded to all e-mail requests he received (hundreds per year) from UWTV viewers, who varied in age from 7 to 90Fact|date=March 2008. Forfifteen years he was onMIT Cable TV helpingfreshmen with their weekly homework assignments. His programs, which were aired 24 hours per day, were also frequently watched by upper-class students. Lewin is the soul ofPIVoT , a video course onNewtonian mechanics with a total of 53 hours of video clips. Additionally, his 36 lectures on Electricity and Magnetism and 23 lectures on Vibrations and Waves can also be viewed from the course's web site. Finally, his special lectures given atMIT for science teachers and for middle school students can be viewed onMIT World . The three sets of video lectures are separated into:classical mechanics , electricity and magnetism and vibrations and waves. The video lectures are available for free fromMIT OpenCourseWare .Classical mechanics
8.01 is a first-semester
freshman physics class inNewtonian mechanics ,fluid mechanics , and kinetic gas theory atMIT . In addition to the basic concepts of Newtonian mechanics,fluid mechanics , and kinetic gas theory, a variety of interesting topics are covered in this course:binary star s,neutron star s,black hole s,resonance phenomena ,musical instrument s,stellar collapse ,supernovae , Astronomical observations from very high flyingballoons (lecture 35), and a peek into the intriguingquantum world.Electricity and magnetism
8.02 is a second-semester freshman
physics class inelectromagnetism atMIT . The 36 video lectures onElectricity andMagnetism , by Professor Lewin, were recorded on theMIT campus during the Spring of2002 . Prof. Lewin is well-known atMIT and beyond for his dynamic and engaging lecture style.This class includes many topics, specially the classical theory of
electromagnetism . In addition to the basic concepts ofelectromagnetism , a vast variety of interesting topics are covered in this course:lightning , pacemakers,electric shock treatment,electrocardiogram s,metal detector s,musical instrument s,magnetic levitation ,bullet train s,electric motor s,radio s,TV ,car coils,superconductivity ,aurora borealis ,rainbow s,radio telescope s,interferometer s,particle accelerator s (a.k.a. atom smashers orcollider s),mass spectrometer s, redsunset s, blue skies, haloes aroundSun andMoon ,color perception,Doppler effect , Big-Bangcosmology .Vibrations and waves
8.03 deals with lots of topics in
physics dealing withVibrations andWaves . Topics include: Mechanicalvibrations andwaves ;simple harmonic motion ,superposition , forced vibrations andresonance ,coupled oscillation s and normal modes; vibrations of continuous systems;reflection andrefraction ; phase andgroup velocity .Optics ; wave solutions toMaxwell's equations ;polarization ;Snell's Law ,interference ,Huygens' principle ,Fraunhofer diffraction andgratings .In addition to the traditional topics of mechanical
vibrations andwaves , coupled oscillators, and electro-magneticradiation , students also learn aboutmusical instruments , redsunsets , glories,coronae ,rainbows , haloes,X-ray binaries,neutron stars,black holes and big-bangcosmology .External links
* [http://web.mit.edu/physics/facultyandstaff/faculty/walter_lewin.html Professor Walter Lewin's Webpage at MIT]
* [http://ocw.mit.edu/OcwWeb/Physics/8-01Physics-IFall1999/VideoLectures/ Lewin's MIT Physics 8.01 video: Classical Mechanics]
* [http://ocw.mit.edu/OcwWeb/Physics/8-02Electricity-and-MagnetismSpring2002/VideoLectures/ Lewin's MIT Physics 8.02 video: Electricity and Magnetism]
* [http://ocw.mit.edu/OcwWeb/Physics/8-03Fall-2004/VideoLectures/ Lewin's MIT Physics 8.03 video: Vibrations and Waves]
* [http://www.usnews.com/articles/education/e-learning/2008/01/10/a-new-physics-superstar.html A New Physics Superstar] -- usnews.com
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