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  • Einstein's Relativity and the Quantum Revolution: Modern Physics for Non-Scientists, 2nd Edition

  • Written by: Richard Wolfson, The Great Courses
  • Narrated by: Richard Wolfson
  • Length: 12 hrs and 17 mins
  • 4.6 out of 5 stars (146 ratings)

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Einstein's Relativity and the Quantum Revolution: Modern Physics for Non-Scientists, 2nd Edition cover art

Einstein's Relativity and the Quantum Revolution: Modern Physics for Non-Scientists, 2nd Edition

Written by: Richard Wolfson, The Great Courses
Narrated by: Richard Wolfson
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Publisher's Summary

"It doesn't take an Einstein to understand modern physics," says Professor Wolfson at the outset of these twenty-four lectures on what may be the most important subjects in the universe: relativity and quantum physics. Both have reputations for complexity. But the basic ideas behind them are, in fact, simple and comprehensible by anyone. These dynamic and illuminating lectures begin with a brief overview of theories of physical reality starting with Aristotle and culminating in Newtonian or "classical" physics. After that, you'll follow along as Professor Wolfson outlines the logic that led to Einstein's profound theory of special relativity and the simple yet far-reaching insight on which it rests. With that insight in mind, you'll move on to consider Einstein's theory of general relativity and its interpretation of gravitation in terms of the curvature of space and time.

From there, you'll embark on a dazzling exploration of how inquiry into matter at the atomic and subatomic scales led to quandaries that are resolved-or at least clarified-by quantum mechanics, a vision of physical reality so profound and so at odds with our experience that it nearly defies language.

By bringing relativity and quantum mechanics into the same picture, you'll chart the development of fascinating hypotheses about the origin, development, and possible futures of the entire universe, as well as the possibility that physics can produce a "theory of everything" to account for all aspects of the physical world. But the goal throughout these lectures remains the same: to present the key ideas of modern physics in a way that makes them clear to the interested layperson.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your My Library section along with the audio.

©2000 The Teaching Company, LLC (P)2000 The Great Courses

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What listeners say about Einstein's Relativity and the Quantum Revolution: Modern Physics for Non-Scientists, 2nd Edition

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Perfect for the science hobbyist

A massive amount of physics is covered but you learn just enough about each topic to get the context you need to understand the next one. He also explains concepts to a detailed level so you feel that you understand it without getting bogged down in the math. The lecturer was passionate and keeps you engaged. Awesome!

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3 people found this helpful

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Good content! But not the right format...

This courses original format was a video and it shows. Especially when ever he wants to show off space-time with his tennis balls. My minds eye is good at generating representations but you may want to consider that.

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2 people found this helpful

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good credit purchase

Mildly dated. I seemed to follow along but I'm not sure if I really get it. Still a good jumping off point. The only complaint is the accompanying PDF doesn't contain all the visuals he references. In this series it really helps to use the PDF.

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Good overall

This course would have benefited from visual accompaniment and may not be best suited for an audio only platform. That said, the narrator does a fair job at describing what would be seen in most cases and is still a good comprehensive overview of the subject, albeit a little out of date now.

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Excellent bit a little dated

Great presentation, easy to listen to an understand, but really the content is out of date. It sounded like it was from the late 90s or 00s. Still worth a listen if you’ve never listened to a high level overview like this. It’s a great place to start.

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Pretty Good

Pretty good intro to such a vast and interesting topic. The presenter is enthusiastic and passionate. The beginning will be a little slow (a review of high school physics) but things really pick up and become more interesting in later lectures. Overall I would recommend this course.

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Informative book

Loved the content and the energy of the delivery, well read. Keeps you very interested

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Highly recommended

If you want to understand relativity without the complicated math, this is for you.
It is very well laid out, in logical order, so that everything makes sense.
it's lectures format, which is not bad. the lecturer (R. Wolfson), sometime speaks very quickly when he gets excited. but lecture format gives you a feeling of interactivity.
The only downfall of this book, is that it's "relatively" old. so, don't be surprised if there is no mention of very recent scientific discoveries.

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great!

Informative ,well presented, easily digestible. I plan on listening again and again. You won't be disappointed!

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let children listen to this. it's way cool

no complex mathematics required to comprehend. explains how black holes are spotted and what exactly they are

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