Description
What is the nature of space and time? Can my twin ever age faster than me? What happens if I jump inside of a black hole? Explore these questions and more through Einstein’s theories of special and general relativity. This course serves as an introduction to both of these theories. We will see how Einstein revolutionized physics in the 20th century through these two theories. We’ll begin the semester by discussing what we mean by relativity in physics and the mathematical language we will need to understand the physical predictions of the theories. After a brief discussion of pre-relativity physics, we will learn the postulates of special relativity and where the most famous equation in physics, E=mc2 , comes from. Next, we will study the best theory of gravity that we have, Einstein’s general relativity, where we will develop the tools needed to understand black holes. All relevant mathematical concepts will be introduced in the course.