The Nature of Space and Time

Additional resources for my FYS class on the nature of space and time

  • Frames of Reference (High school physics video created in the 50's by the "Physical Sciences Study Committee" (Which has an interesting history, and which was highly influential in my deciding to be a physicist.) This video is relevant to chapter 1 in our textbook.
  • An article (in The Atlantic a non-science magazine) about a recent conference on Time in the Cosmos (closely related to the reading in chapter 5)
  • A video of Newton's Bucket Experiment

  • Gravitational Lensing compared with optical lensing by the bottom of a wine glass
  • Alcubierre drive Several students have asked about the "Alcubierre drive", an idea about how one might exceed the speed of light without violating the laws of General Relativity. The idea is speculative, and this Wikipedia article seems to give a good account: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcubierre_drive
  • Visualizing curved space (suggested by a student)
  • Space and Time into a single Continuum (with Brian Greene). Recommended by a student
  • Space-Time Versus the Quantum (recommended by a student)