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