Unit 00: Introduction to Course

  1. Video 1: Welcome to the course [3:52]
  2. Video 2: Introductions to the course characters [3:56]
  3. Quiz 1: Names
  4. Video 3: Course logistics and thoughts [3:08]

Unit 01: The Principle of Relativity

  1. Video 1: Initial Statement of Principle of Relativity [3:18]
  2. Video 2: Events and Spacetime Coordinates [5:04]
  3. Video 3: Reference Frames [3:38]
  4. Quiz 1: Events
  5. Video 4: Quiz Solution [1:50]
  6. Video 5: Inertial Reference Frames and the Principle of Relativity [5:47]
  7. Quiz 2: Principle of Relativity
  8. Video 6: Deriving the Galilean Relativity Equations [10:10] (sorry it's so long.)
  9. Video 7: Galilean Transformation Example [7:29]
  10. Quiz 3A: Galilean Transformations
  11. Quiz 3B: Galilean Transformations
  12. Video 8: Galilean Velocity Transformations [3:35]
  13. Video 8.5: Velocity Transformation Example [3:32]
  14. Quiz 4: Galilean Velocity Transformations
  15. Video 9: Summary [5:36] [pdf of slides]

Optional Related Videos

  1. Sal Khan on Reference Frames

Unit 2A: SR Units and Scientific Notation

  1. Video 1: Welcome to Unit 2A [1:15]
  2. Video 2: Review of Scientific Notation [6:35]
  3. Quiz 1: Scientific Notation
  4. Video 3: SR Units and Light-Seconds [7:15]
  5. Video 4: SR Units for Velocity [7:23]
  6. Quiz 2: SR Units
  7. Video 5: Unit 2A Conclusion [1:38]

Optional Related Videos

  1. Sal Khan: Introduction to Scientific Notation
  2. Quiz on scientific notation on Khan academy.

Unit 2B: Synchronizing Clocks

  1. Video 1: Introduction to Maxwell's Equations [6:45]
  2. Video 2: The Ether and the Speed of Light [8:40]
  3. Video 3: Einstein Rejects Galilean Relativity [5:45]
  4. Video 4: Introduction to Relativistic Clock Synchronization [4:02]
  5. Video 5: Clock Synchronization Example [4:32]
  6. Quiz 1: Clock Synchronization
  7. Video 6: Introduction to Spacetime Diagrams [7:04]
  8. Quiz 2: Spacetime Diagrams [pdf]
  9. Video 7: Solution to Spacetime Diagram Quiz [2:48]
  10. Video 8: The Radar Method for Determining Spacetime Coordinates [7:30]
  11. Quiz 3: The Radar Method
  12. Video 9: Conclusion and Summary [5:31] [pdf of slides]

Related Videos

  1. Sal Khan Light and the luminiferous ether
  2. The Michelson Morley Experiment from the Mechanical Universe series by Caltech. Highly recommended!

Unit 3: Different Types of Time

  1. Video 1: Introduction to Unit 3 [1:30]
  2. Video 2: Coordinate Time Part I: The Moving Frame [6:05]
  3. Video 3: Coordinate Time Part II: The At-Rest Frame [5:54]
  4. Video 4: Clock Synchronization is Frame Dependent [2:38]
  5. Video 5: Coordinate Time and the Radar Method [6:17]
  6. Video 6: Maps I: Coordinate Values [7:14]
  7. Video 7: Maps II: Distance and Pathlength [8:46]
  8. Quiz 1: Distance and Coordinate Differences
  9. Video 8: The Spacetime Interval [10:17]
  10. Video 9: Proper Time [4:36]
  11. Quiz 2: Proper Time and the Spacetime Interval
  12. Video 10: Hafele-Keating Experiment [3:43]
  13. Video 11: Summary and Conclusion [6:36] [pdf of slides]

Optional Related Material

  1. Short snippet of a Documentary about the Hafele-Keating experiment. (Original source unknown.)
  2. A webpage with information about the Hafele-Keating experiment by physicist Ben Crowell

Unit 4: The Metric Equation

  1. Video 1: Introduction to Unit 04 [3:58]
  2. Video 2: Metric Equation Derivation Preliminaries [2:12]
  3. Quiz 1: Metric Equation Preliminaries
  4. Video 3: Metric Equation Derivation [16:09]
  5. Video 4: Metric Equation Example [7:09]
  6. Quiz 2: Using the Metric Equation
  7. Video 5: Muons Part I: Half lives [8:59]
  8. Quiz 3: Muons and Half Lives
  9. Video 6: Muons Part II: Experimental Evidence for the Metric Equation [14:20]
  10. Video 7: The Earth is not Flat [9:45]
  11. Video 8: Circles and Hyperbolas [too:long] I'm going to record a better version of this.
  12. Video 9: Summary and Conclusion. Coming soon

Optional Related Material

  1. Link to Frisch and Smith's paper on their relativistic muon experiment "Measurement of the Relativistic Time Dilation Using mu-Mesons".

Unit 5: Proper Time

  1. Video 1: Introduction to Unit Five [3:41]
  2. Video 2: Curved Paths in Space: Part I [8:44]
  3. Video 3: Curved Paths in Space: Part II [10:39]
  4. Video 4: Curved Paths in Space: Example [4:26]
  5. Video 5: Proper Time: Part I [11:51]
  6. Video 6: Proper Time: Part I [7:44]
  7. Video 7: Proper Time Example [9:10]
  8. Quiz 1: Proper Time
  9. Video 8: Quiz Solution [5:01]
  10. Video 9: The Binomial Approximation [10:32]
  11. Quiz 2: Using the Binomial Approximation
  12. Video 10: Quiz Solution [9:48]
  13. Video 11: Relations among Δt, Δs, and Δτ: Part I [4:44] Figure: [png] [pdf]
  14. Video 12: Relations among Δt, Δs, and Δτ: Part II [9:40]
  15. Quiz 3: Proper Time, Coordinate Time, and the Spacetime Interval
  16. Quiz 4: Proper Time, Coordinate Time, and the Spacetime Interval
  17. Video 13: Twin Paradox: Part I [8:43]
  18. Video 14: Twin Paradox: Part 2 [8:54]
  19. Video 15: Summary and Conclusion [9:30] [pdf of slides]

Unit 6: The Lorentz Transformation

  1. Video 1: Two-observer Diagrams in Space [13:59]
  2. Video 2: Some Facts about Hyperbolas and Spacetime [13:18] [hyperbolas on mathisfun.com]
  3. Quiz 1: Circles and Hyperbolas
  4. Video 3: Constructing the Time Axis: Part 0 [5:30]
  5. Video 4: Constructing the Time Axis: Part 1 [10:10]
  6. Video 5: Constructing the Time Axis: Part 2 [10:47]
  7. Quiz 2: Constructing the Time Axis
  8. Video 6: Solution to Quiz 2 [5:01]
  9. Video 7: Constructing the Space Axis: Part 1 [9:24]
  10. Video 8: Constructing the Space Axis: Part 2 [7:08]
  11. Video 9: Reading a Two-Observer Spacetime Diagram [11:07] [jpg of diagram]
  12. Quiz 3: Reading a Two-Observer Spacetime Diagram
  13. Video 10: Deriving the Lorentz Transformations: Part I [5:44]
  14. Video 11: Deriving the Lorentz Transformations: Part II [14:38]
  15. Video 12: Lorentz Transformation Example [5:28]
  16. Quiz 4: Lorentz Transformation
  17. Video 13: Summary and Conclusion [9:39] [pdf]

Resources

  1. Hyperbolic Graph Paper

Unit 7: Length Contraction

  1. Video 1: Introduction and Definition of Length [2:54]
  2. Video 2: Lorentz Contraction Derivation [13:10]
  3. Quiz 1: Lorentz Contraction
  4. Video 3: Quiz Solution [5:56]
  5. Video 4: Lorentz Contraction is Symmetric: Part I [7:17]
  6. Video 5: Lorentz Contraction is Symmetric: Part I [13:04]
  7. Video 6: Lorentz Contraction? WTF. Part I [9:47]
  8. Video 7: Lorentz Contraction? WTF. Part II [5:54]
  9. Video 8: Barn and Pole Paradox. Part I [4:18]
  10. Video 9: Barn and Pole Paradox. Part II [18:09]
  11. Video 10: Summary and Conclusion [5:26]

Unit 8: The Structure of Spacetime

  1. Video 1: Introduction and Causality [11:06]
  2. Video 2: Types of Spacetime Intervals: Introduction [4:56]
  3. Video 3: Types of Spacetime Intervals: Timelike [8:18]
  4. Video 4: Types of Spacetime Intervals: Spacelike [9:15]
  5. Video 5: Types of Spacetime Intervals: Lightlike and Summary [3:49]
  6. Quiz 1: Types of Spacetime Intervals
  7. Video 6: The Past, The Future, and Elsewhere [6:50]
  8. Quiz 2: The Past, The Future, and Elsewhere
  9. Video 7: Velocity Transformations: Graphical [10:43]
  10. Quiz 3: Graphical Velocity Transformations
  11. Video 8: The Einstein Velocity Transformation Equations [10:09]
  12. Quiz 4: Using the Velocity Transoformation Equations
  13. Video 9: Analyzing the Velocity Transformation Equations [8:06]

Unit 9: Introduction to Relativistic Momentum and Energy

  1. Video 1: Introduction to Momentum [4:21]
  2. Video 2: Momentum in Classical Physics [6:56]
  3. Video 3: Defining Momentum in Special Relativity [10:04]
  4. Video 4: Properties of the four-momentum: Part I [8:08]
  5. Video 5: Properties of the four-momentum: Part II [8:13]
  6. Video 6: Four-Momentum is Conserved in All Frames [13:53]
  7. Video 7: Relativitic Energy: Part I [7:18]
  8. Video 8: Relativitic Energy: Part II [5:40]
  9. Video 9: Relativistic Momentum [5:41]
  10. Quiz 1: Momentum and Energy
  11. Video 10: Quiz Solution [5:27]
  12. Video 11: Summary and Conclusions [6:21]