Trailer
Synopsis
The Mechanical Universe... And Beyond, is a 52-part telecourse filmed at the California Institute of Technology, and produced by Caltech and INTELECOM Intelligent Telecommunications. The series introduces university level physics, covering topics from Copernicus to quantum mechanics. Produced starting in 1985, the videos make heavy use of historical dramatizations and visual aids to explain physics concepts. The latter were state of the art at the time, incorporating almost 8 hours of computer animation created by computer graphics pioneer Jim Blinn. Each episode opens and closes with a "phantom" lecture by Caltech professor David Goodstein. After more than a quarter century, the series is still often used as a supplemental teaching aid, for its clear explanation of fundamental concepts such as special relativity. The Mechanical Universe lectures are actual freshman physics lectures from Physics 1a and 1b courses at the California Institute of Technology. The room seen in the videos is the Bridge lecture hall. The series can be purchased, or viewed by streaming from the Annenberg website, or can be viewed on other video streaming sites such as YouTube and Google Video.
Episode 52 : The Quantum Mechanical Universe
January. 01,0001
A last look at where we've been and a peek into the future.
Episode 51 : From Atoms to Quarks
January. 01,0001
Electron waves attracted to the nucleus of an atom help account for the periodic table of the elements and ultimately lead to the search for quarks.
Episode 50 : Particles and Waves
January. 01,0001
Evidence that light can sometimes act like a particle leads to quantum mechanics, the new physics.
Episode 49 : The Atom
January. 01,0001
A history of the atom, from the ancient Greeks to the early 20th century, and a new challenge for the world of physics.
Episode 48 : Low Temperatures
January. 01,0001
With the quest for low temperatures came the discovery that all elements can exist in each of the basic states of matter.
Episode 47 : Entropy
January. 01,0001
The Carnot engine, part two, with profound implications for the behavior of matter and the flow of time through the universe.
Episode 46 : Engine of Nature
January. 01,0001
The Carnot engine, part one, beginning with simple steam engines.
Episode 45 : Temperature and Gas Laws
January. 01,0001
Hot discoveries about the behavior of gases make the connection between temperature and heat.
Episode 44 : Mass, Momentum, Energy
January. 01,0001
The new meaning of space and time make it necessary to formulate a new mechanics.
Episode 43 : Velocity and Time
January. 01,0001
Einstein is motivated to perfect the central ideas of physics, resulting in a new understanding of the meaning of space and time.
Episode 42 : The Lorentz Transformation
January. 01,0001
If the speed of light is to be the same for all observers, then the length of a meter stick, or the rate of a ticking clock, depends on who measures it.
Episode 41 : The Michelson-Morley Experiment
January. 01,0001
In 1887, an exquisitely designed measurement of the earth's motion through the ether results in the most brilliant failure in scientific history.
Episode 40 : Optics
January. 01,0001
Many properties of light are properties of waves, including reflection, refraction, and diffraction.
Episode 39 : Maxwell's Equations
January. 01,0001
Maxwell discovers that displacement current produces electromagnetic waves or light.
Episode 38 : Alternating Current
January. 01,0001
Electromagnetic induction makes it easy to generate alternating current while transformers make it practical to distribute it over long distances.
Episode 37 : Electromagnetic Induction
January. 01,0001
The discovery of electromagnetic induction in 1831 creates an important technological breakthrough in the generation of electric power.
Episode 36 : Vector Fields and Hydrodynamics
January. 01,0001
Force fields have definite properties of their own suitable for scientific study.
Episode 35 : The Magnetic Field
January. 01,0001
The law of Biot and Sarvart, the force between electric currents, and Ampère's law.
Episode 34 : Magnetism
January. 01,0001
Gilbert discovered that the earth behaves like a giant magnet. Modern scientists have learned even more.
Episode 33 : Electric Circuits
January. 01,0001
The work of Wheatstone, Ohm, and Kirchhoff leads to the design and analysis of how current flows.
Episode 32 : The Electric Battery
January. 01,0001
Volta invents the electric battery using the internal properties of different metals.
Episode 31 : Voltage, Energy, and Force
January. 01,0001
When is electricity dangerous or benign, spectacular or useful?
Episode 30 : Potential and Capacitance
January. 01,0001
Franklin proposes a successful theory of the Leyden jar and invents the parallel plate capacitor.
Episode 29 : The Electric Field
January. 01,0001
Faraday's vision of lines of constant force in space laid the foundation for the modern force field theory.
Episode 28 : Static Electricity
January. 01,0001
Eighteenth-century electricians knew how to spark the interest of an audience with the principles of static electricity.
Episode 27 : Beyond the Mechanical Universe
January. 01,0001
The world of electricity and magnetism, and 20th-century discoveries of relativity and quantum mechanics.
Episode 26 : Harmony of the Spheres
January. 01,0001
A last lingering look back at mechanics to see new connections between old discoveries.
Episode 25 : Kepler to Einstein
January. 01,0001
From Kepler's laws and the theory of tides, to Einstein's general theory of relativity, into black holes, and beyond.
Episode 24 : Navigating in Space
January. 01,0001
Voyages to other planets use the same laws that guide planets around the solar system.
Episode 23 : Energy and Eccentricity
January. 01,0001
The precise orbit of a heavenly body — a planet, asteroid, or comet — is fixed by the laws of conservation of energy and angular momentum.
Episode 22 : The Kepler Problem
January. 01,0001
The deduction of Kepler's laws from Newton's universal law of gravitation is one of the crowning achievements of Western thought.
Episode 21 : Kepler's Three Laws
January. 01,0001
The discovery of elliptical orbits helps describe the motion of heavenly bodies with unprecedented accuracy.
Episode 20 : Torques and Gyroscopes
January. 01,0001
From spinning tops to the precession of the equinoxes.
Episode 19 : Angular Momentum
January. 01,0001
An old momentum with a new twist.
Episode 18 : Waves
January. 01,0001
With an analysis of simple harmonic motion and a stroke of genius, Newton extended mechanics to the propagation of sound.
Episode 17 : Resonance
January. 01,0001
Why a swaying bridge collapses with a high wind, and why a wine glass shatters with a higher octave.
Episode 16 : Harmonic Motion
January. 01,0001
The music and mathematics of periodic motion.
Episode 15 : Conservation of Momentum
January. 01,0001
What keeps the universe ticking away until the end of time?
Episode 14 : Potential Energy
January. 01,0001
Potential energy provides a powerful model for understanding why the world has worked the same way since the beginning of time.
Episode 13 : Conservation of Energy
January. 01,0001
According to one of the major laws of physics, energy is neither created nor destroyed.
Episode 12 : The Millikan Experiment
January. 01,0001
A dramatic recreation of Millikan's classic oil-drop experiment to determine the charge of a single electron.
Episode 11 : Gravity, Electricity, Magnetism
January. 01,0001
Shedding light on the mathematical form of the gravitational, electric, and magnetic forces.
Episode 10 : Fundamental Forces
January. 01,0001
All physical phenomena of nature are explained by four forces: two nuclear forces, gravity, and electricity.
Episode 9 : Moving in Circles
January. 01,0001
A look at the Platonic theory of uniform circular motion.
Episode 8 : The Apple and the Moon
January. 01,0001
The first real steps toward space travel are made as Newton discovers that gravity describes the force between any two particles in the universe.
Episode 7 : Integration
January. 01,0001
Newton and Leibniz arrive at the conclusion that differentiation and integration are inverse processes.
Episode 6 : Newton's Laws
January. 01,0001
Newton lays down the laws of force, mass, and acceleration.
Episode 5 : Vectors
January. 01,0001
Physics must explain not only why and how much, but also where and which way.
Episode 4 : Inertia
January. 01,0001
Galileo risks his favored status to answer the questions of the universe with his law of inertia.
Episode 3 : Derivatives
January. 01,0001
The function of mathematics in physical science and the derivative as a practical tool.
Episode 2 : The Law of Falling Bodies
January. 01,0001
Galileo's imaginative experiments proved that all bodies fall with the same constant acceleration.
Episode 1 : Introduction
January. 01,1985
This preview introduces revolutionary ideas and heroes from Copernicus to Newton, and links the physics of the heavens and the earth.
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