Fall 2013 Physics Unit Syllabus Lecturer:Professor Brian Greene Lecture 1: Special Relativity, or what happens when things travel very fast? Special Relativity (SR) is the theory that helps us address the question of what happens when things travel very fast. Specifically, we learn about what happens when things travel at, or near, the speed of light. Einstein’s answers to these questions radically altered our understanding of space, time and matter. We will derive the basic mathematical structure of SR using simple facts and assumptions, and show how this framework transcends the everyday world of our common sense. It is important to note that although most apparent at speeds close to the speed of light, the effects of SR are present for all relative motion including speeds that humans experience in everyday life. Key questions addressed in the lecture: 1.What scale region in mass, size and speed do we occupy? What scale is the focus of each of the three lectures? 2.Why was the observation that the speed of light is constant puzzling to physicists? How did Einstein resolve this puzzle? 3.How does the constancy of the speed of light change our conception of time? What is the implication for ‘simultaneity’? Describe the example of the peace-signing treaty. 4.What is time dilation? Why does time slow down in a moving light clock? 5.What happens to space when things are moving near the speed of light? Describe the example of a moving train.
