Class Central is learner-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Understanding Modern Physics I: Relativity and Cosmology

The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology via Coursera

Go to class Write review

Details

Go to class

Provider

Coursera
Pricing

Paid Course
Languages

English
Certificate

Certificate Available
Effort

5 weeks, 2 hours a week
Sessions

Self-Paced
Level

Beginner
Subtitles

English, Kazakh, German, Hindi, Russian, Swedish, Korean, Portuguese, Greek, Italian, French, Chinese, Spanish, Arabic, Thai, Ukrainian, Japanese, Indonesian, Polish, Dutch, Turkish, Pashto, Farsi

Found in

Overview

Google, IBM & Meta Certificates – 40% Off

One Coursera Plus subscription covers most Professional Certificates on Coursera.

Unlock All Certificates

Course Overview: https://youtu.be/xyF-MmGNxd0 The 20th century was known as the century of physics. In the past 120 years, concepts such as space, time, energy, entropy and particles were understood to much deeper levels. New paradigms of thinking such as relativity and quantum mechanics emerged. This course is the first course in the Understanding Modern Physics series, which covers an introduction to special relativity, general relativity and cosmology. We will find: (i) How space and time are relative to observers, and unified into a more fundamental construction of spacetime; (ii) Why the spacetime is not absolute, but rather curves in response to matter, and how gravity emerge as a result of such spacetime curvature; and (iii) What is the framework to understand the evolution of the whole universe, and how that is related to problems such as the origin of space and matter, and the fate of our universe. Who this is for: Physics students and science enthusiasts looking to advance their theoretical knowledge. Note: the videos with a (*) are optional. They provide complementary information but not in the learning objective or assignment questions. Feel free to choose to watch them or not.

Syllabus

Special Relativity: Relativity of Space and Time
- In this module, learners will describe the key ideas that launched modern physics and explain why classical notions of absolute time must be revised. Learners will apply the postulates of special relativity to derive time dilation using simple thought experiments such as the light clock. By the end of this module, learners will be able to calculate time dilation in basic scenarios and explain how different inertial observers can legitimately measure different time intervals.
Special Relativity: Length, Simultaneity and Lorentz Transformation
- In this module, learners will derive length contraction and explain how measurements of distance depend on the observer’s motion. Learners will analyze the relativity of simultaneity and use spacetime diagrams to reason about “same time,” causal order, and common relativity paradoxes. By the end of this module, learners will be able to use Lorentz transformations to convert event coordinates between inertial frames and determine how time, position, and velocity measurements change between observers.
Special Relativity: Geometry, Energy and Momentum
- In this module, learners will interpret special relativity through spacetime geometry by using the invariant interval to identify what all inertial observers agree on. Learners will explain why classical definitions of momentum and energy break down at high speeds and apply relativistic expressions to solve conservation problems. By the end of this module, learners will be able to connect relativistic dynamics to spacetime structure and calculate relativistic momentum and energy in introductory applications.
General Relativity
- In this module, learners will explain gravity as a consequence of spacetime curvature and use the equivalence principle to link gravitational effects to acceleration and free fall. Learners will derive and interpret gravitational time dilation and predict phenomena such as light bending and gravitational lensing. By the end of this module, learners will be able to explain how general relativity leads to black holes and gravitational waves and describe the observational signatures of these effects.
Cosmology
- In this module, learners will apply basic gravity and symmetry assumptions to model an expanding universe and connect observations to cosmic expansion using Hubble’s law. Learners will derive how the universe’s contents change with time and relate the thermal history of the universe to key physical processes at different temperatures. By the end of this module, learners will be able to use simple cosmological equations to reason about the universe’s evolution and explain why inflation resolves the horizon problem.