http://www.compadre.org/relativity/ The latest material additions to the Spacetime Emporium. en-US Copyright 2012, ComPADRE.org relativity@compadre.org relativity@compadre.org Sat, 07 Jan 2012 02:57:21 EST http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss http://www.compadre.org/portal/services/images/LogoSmallRelativity.gif http://www.compadre.org/relativity/ 125 35 http://www.compadre.org/relativity/items/detail.cfm?ID=1647 This page includes a short biography of Albert Einstein as part of the citation and record of his Nobel Prize. Included are links to his Nobel Lecture and the presentation of his prize. General Physics/History http://www.compadre.org/relativity/bulletinboard/Thread.cfm?ID=1647 Sat, 07 Jan 2012 02:57:21 EST http://www.compadre.org/relativity/items/detail.cfm?ID=1647 http://www.compadre.org/relativity/items/detail.cfm?ID=10758 This work is an attempt to see how physics undergraduates view the basic ideas of general relativity when they are exposed to the topic in a standard introductory course. Since the subject is conceptually and technically difficult, we adopted a “case studies” approach, focusing in depth on about six students who had just finished a one semester course on special relativity. The methodology of investigation involved a combination of text comprehension questionnaire and detailed clinical interviews. The aim was not to investigate the technical proficiency of the students, but to probe in detail the nuances of their conceptions of several basic points of the subject. Analysis of their responses reveals a large number of “alternative conceptions” of students in the domain. The study should be useful to physics education researchers as well as to teachers of introductory general relativity at about the senior undergraduate level. Relativity/General Relativity http://www.compadre.org/relativity/bulletinboard/Thread.cfm?ID=10758 Fri, 18 Nov 2011 09:55:22 EST http://www.compadre.org/relativity/items/detail.cfm?ID=10758 http://www.compadre.org/relativity/items/detail.cfm?ID=7705 This web site contains media-illustrated articles on various physical phenomena related to the Coriolis effect. Almost all of the articles are illustrated with animations and java simulations. The main subjects covered include the Coriolis and Centrifugal effects, rotation-vibration coupling, the consequences of Earth's rotation on oceanography and weather, the Foucault pendulum, and angular momentum conservation. There are also articles on the Eötvös effect and special and general relativity. Classical Mechanics/Relative Motion/Coriolis Effect http://www.compadre.org/relativity/bulletinboard/Thread.cfm?ID=7705 Fri, 18 Nov 2011 09:53:44 EST http://www.compadre.org/relativity/items/detail.cfm?ID=7705 http://www.compadre.org/relativity/items/detail.cfm?ID=1820 Spacetime 101 provides basic background covering how mathematical models of space and time have evolved since ancient times, from the Pythagorean Rule to Newtonian mechanics, Special Relativity and General Relativity. Relativity/General Relativity http://www.compadre.org/relativity/bulletinboard/Thread.cfm?ID=1820 Fri, 03 Sep 2010 18:13:37 EST http://www.compadre.org/relativity/items/detail.cfm?ID=1820 http://www.compadre.org/relativity/items/detail.cfm?ID=640 This is a selective list of some short stories and novels that use more or less accurate science. They can be used for teaching or reinforcing astronomy or physics concepts. Both traditional "science-fiction" and (occasionally) more serious fiction that derives meaning or plot from astronomy or physics ideas are included. Almost 200 stories in 40 subject categories are listed, including a good number that relate to relativity, black holes, and cosmology. General Physics/General http://www.compadre.org/relativity/bulletinboard/Thread.cfm?ID=640 Sun, 15 Nov 2009 10:21:46 EST http://www.compadre.org/relativity/items/detail.cfm?ID=640 http://www.compadre.org/relativity/items/detail.cfm?ID=9638 This web site provides pedagogical material to use with Real Time Relativity, a virtual relativistic world simulator. Included are a lab using the software, student evaluations, and web resources for teaching relativity. Relativity/Special Relativity http://www.compadre.org/relativity/bulletinboard/Thread.cfm?ID=9638 Tue, 10 Nov 2009 21:47:59 EST http://www.compadre.org/relativity/items/detail.cfm?ID=9638 http://www.compadre.org/relativity/items/detail.cfm?ID=3717 This web site hosts a computer program that allows the user to interactively experience a virtual relativistic world. It is available for both Windows and Mac computers. This software is a central element of the project Teaching Physics Using Virtual Reality. It provides a conceptual introduction to special relativity by experiencing it in a virtual world. Relativity/Special Relativity http://www.compadre.org/relativity/bulletinboard/Thread.cfm?ID=3717 Tue, 10 Nov 2009 21:34:25 EST http://www.compadre.org/relativity/items/detail.cfm?ID=3717 http://www.compadre.org/relativity/items/detail.cfm?ID=8810 This project hosted by the California Institute of Technology is collecting all of Albert Einstein's papers into a single series. The papers cover everything from relativity and quantum mechanics to pacifism and Zionism. The website also includes a link to the Princeton University Press for many published papers by Einstein. General Physics/History http://www.compadre.org/relativity/bulletinboard/Thread.cfm?ID=8810 Wed, 04 Nov 2009 16:42:31 EST http://www.compadre.org/relativity/items/detail.cfm?ID=8810 http://www.compadre.org/relativity/items/detail.cfm?ID=3632 This book discusses the history of the concept of mass and its properties. It guides you through the philosophy, conceptualization, and mathematics of one of the most fundamental concepts of science. Classical Mechanics/Gravity http://www.compadre.org/relativity/bulletinboard/Thread.cfm?ID=3632 Tue, 20 Oct 2009 15:53:37 EST http://www.compadre.org/relativity/items/detail.cfm?ID=3632 http://www.compadre.org/relativity/items/detail.cfm?ID=9130 A graduate text, at a level between Schutz and Wald. Techniques of differential geometry (such as the description of congruences and hypersurfaces) are introduced to prepare the way to an in-depth discussion of black holes. Relativity/Mathematics/Differential Geometry http://www.compadre.org/relativity/bulletinboard/Thread.cfm?ID=9130 Sat, 22 Aug 2009 15:32:07 EST http://www.compadre.org/relativity/items/detail.cfm?ID=9130 http://www.compadre.org/relativity/items/detail.cfm?ID=7528 This Physlets page is Chapter 10 covering Modern Physics. The site uses applets and problems to help users gain a better understanding of the subject. Subjects covered by Chapter 10 are Special Relativity, Wavefunctions, and Quantum Wells. Relativity/Special Relativity http://www.compadre.org/relativity/bulletinboard/Thread.cfm?ID=7528 Sat, 22 Aug 2009 15:04:57 EST http://www.compadre.org/relativity/items/detail.cfm?ID=7528 http://www.compadre.org/relativity/items/detail.cfm?ID=1049 This is an online text for an introductory college physics course that approaches the subject through topics in modern physics. It is written specifically to engage students interested in becoming physics majors. The course starts from the physics of waves, relativity, and quantum physics. Appropriate level problems are included. General Physics/Curriculum http://www.compadre.org/relativity/bulletinboard/Thread.cfm?ID=1049 Sat, 22 Aug 2009 15:04:29 EST http://www.compadre.org/relativity/items/detail.cfm?ID=1049 http://www.compadre.org/relativity/items/detail.cfm?ID=598 These online notes outline the history of Western thought on cosmology and the structure of space and time. Included is an introduction to the scientific method and large numbers, astronomy, Newton's laws, and the aspects of electricity and magnetism and optics that lead to 20th century physics. The final sections cover special and general relativity, and their impact on astronomy and cosmology. Important contributions by the Babylonians, the Egyptians, the Greeks, Ptomely, Copernicus, Kepler, Galileo, Newton, and Einstein are included. Relativity/History http://www.compadre.org/relativity/bulletinboard/Thread.cfm?ID=598 Sat, 22 Aug 2009 15:03:18 EST http://www.compadre.org/relativity/items/detail.cfm?ID=598 http://www.compadre.org/relativity/items/detail.cfm?ID=1247 This online book examines the evolution of the principle of relativity in its classical, special, and general incarnations. It includes both technical and historical perspectives of the topic. Conceptual and mathematical aspects of the theory are covered. This text is part of a larg collection of essays on math and physics at www.mathpages.com Relativity/Spacetime Fundamentals http://www.compadre.org/relativity/bulletinboard/Thread.cfm?ID=1247 Sat, 22 Aug 2009 15:02:44 EST http://www.compadre.org/relativity/items/detail.cfm?ID=1247 http://www.compadre.org/relativity/items/detail.cfm?ID=1234 This site discusses what the equivalence principle is and an experiment that demonstrates its validity. There are many helpful diagrams accompanying this tutorial. Relativity/General Relativity/Experimental Tests http://www.compadre.org/relativity/bulletinboard/Thread.cfm?ID=1234 Sat, 22 Aug 2009 15:02:27 EST http://www.compadre.org/relativity/items/detail.cfm?ID=1234 http://www.compadre.org/relativity/items/detail.cfm?ID=1226 This site offers information about Einsteins Theory of General and Special Relativity and how it changed the idea's of Newton about gravity. The author begins with a summary of Newton's three laws and his law on gravity. It concludes with Einstein's theories and the predictions of his theories like gravitational lensing. Relativity/General Relativity http://www.compadre.org/relativity/bulletinboard/Thread.cfm?ID=1226 Sat, 22 Aug 2009 15:01:55 EST http://www.compadre.org/relativity/items/detail.cfm?ID=1226 http://www.compadre.org/relativity/items/detail.cfm?ID=2791 This paper describes a way of teaching the theory of relativity with the aid of a novel (Stannard, R., 1989: [Faber and Faber]). The experiment is part of a large research project whose aim is to contribute to the formation of didactic theories by means of an evaluation of alternative methods. The preliminary examination reported here has given such remarkable results that they should also be of interest outside the project group. General Physics/Physics Education Research http://www.compadre.org/relativity/bulletinboard/Thread.cfm?ID=2791 Sat, 22 Aug 2009 15:01:23 EST http://www.compadre.org/relativity/items/detail.cfm?ID=2791 http://www.compadre.org/relativity/items/detail.cfm?ID=2871 An article on the development and assessment of instructional materials intended to improve student understanding of the concept of time in special relativity, the relativity of simultaneity, and the role of observers in inertial reference frames. Results from pretests and post-tests are presented. Excerpts from taped interviews and classroom interactions help illustrate the intense cognitive conflict that students encounter as they are led to confront the incompatibility of their deeply held beliefs about simultaneity with the results of special relativity. Education Practices/Instructional Material Design http://www.compadre.org/relativity/bulletinboard/Thread.cfm?ID=2871 Sat, 22 Aug 2009 15:00:56 EST http://www.compadre.org/relativity/items/detail.cfm?ID=2871 http://www.compadre.org/relativity/items/detail.cfm?ID=2569 This paper, one in a series of three, in which undergraduate students in India were asked questions about transformations between different frames. Both kinematical and dynamical issues were considered and student responses classified. Education Foundations/Assessment http://www.compadre.org/relativity/bulletinboard/Thread.cfm?ID=2569 Sat, 22 Aug 2009 15:00:36 EST http://www.compadre.org/relativity/items/detail.cfm?ID=2569 http://www.compadre.org/relativity/items/detail.cfm?ID=2173 Through Einstein's Eyes web site is the online version of a multimedia project based around how things look at relativistic speeds. It is aimed at high school to early university level physics students. There are two sections. One is fun and spectacular, with a relativistic roller coaster ride and a tour of the solar system. The other explores the physics of special relativity. CD and DVD versions of the material are available, and are helpful because of the large size of some of the video files. Relativity/Special Relativity http://www.compadre.org/relativity/bulletinboard/Thread.cfm?ID=2173 Sat, 22 Aug 2009 15:00:11 EST http://www.compadre.org/relativity/items/detail.cfm?ID=2173