Physics for the 21st Century: The Fundamental Interactions

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published by the Annenberg Foundation
content provider: the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics

This is Unit 2 of the free digital course "Physics for the 21st Century", aimed at secondary teachers and adult learners. Unit 2 explores interactions between particles -- the forces that hold them together or tear them apart. It examines the four fundamental forces: gravity, electromagnetism, and the strong and weak nuclear forces. It also provides a historical glimpse of the idea of unification -- the ongoing attempt to explain seemingly disparate phenomena under a common theoretical framework. The resource includes 3 components: written text, short video clips and animations, and an interactive web module on discovering neutrino oscillations. A Facilitator's Guide is also provided.

The video series is produced by the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics Science Media Group in association with the Harvard University Department of Physics. It is sponsored by Annenberg Media.

Please note that this resource requires Flash.

Editor's Note: While Unit 1 of this course can be adapted for the introductory high school physics classroom, this unit is more appropriate for use in AP Physics-Electricity and Magnetism. It could also serve well as content support for secondary teachers of physical science.

https://www.learner.org/series/physics-for-the-21st-century/the-fu...

Subjects	Levels	Resource Types
Education Practices - Curriculum Development = Course Electricity & Magnetism - Electromagnetic Radiation General Physics - Curriculum - Properties of Matter Modern Physics - Elementary Particles - Nuclear Physics = Particle Detectors Quantum Physics - General	- High School - Lower Undergraduate - Upper Undergraduate - Professional Development	- Instructional Material = Course = Instructor Guide/Manual = Interactive Simulation = Textbook - Audio/Visual = Image/Image Set = Movie/Animation = Sound

Appropriate Courses	Categories	Ratings
- Physics First - Conceptual Physics - Algebra-based Physics - AP Physics	- Activity	Currently 0.0/5 Want to rate this material? Login here!

Intended Users:: Educator
Learner
General Public
Formats:: text/html
application/flash
application/pdf
Access Rights:: Free access; DVD versions of the web materials are available for purchase through this website.
Restriction:: © 2010 Annenberg Media
Produced by the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics Science Media Group in association with the Harvard University Department of Physics. Sponsored by Annenberg Media.
ISBN Number:: 1-57680-891-2
Keywords:: Hadron collider, Heisenberg Uncertainty, Higgs Bosun, Planck constant, SLAC, Standard Model, baryon, chiral symmetry, lepton, linear accelerator, meson, muon, neutrino, neutrino detector, nuclear decay, particle physics, pion, strong force, strong nuclear force, unification theory, weak force, weak nuclear force
Record Cloner:: Metadata instance created December 3, 2012 by Caroline Hall
Record Updated:: August 19, 2020 by Lyle Barbato

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AAAS Benchmark Alignments (2008 Version)

1. The Nature of Science

1A. The Scientific Worldview

9-12: 1A/H1. Science is based on the assumption that the universe is a vast single system in which the basic rules are everywhere the same and that the things and events in the universe occur in consistent patterns that are comprehensible through careful, systematic study.
9-12: 1A/H2. From time to time, major shifts occur in the scientific view of how things work. More often, however, the changes that take place in the body of scientific knowledge are small modifications of prior knowledge. Continuity and change are persistent features of science.
9-12: 1A/H3bc. In science, the testing, revising, and occasional discarding of theories, new and old, never ends. This ongoing process leads to a better understanding of how things work in the world but not to absolute truth.

1C. The Scientific Enterprise

9-12: 1C/H6ab. Scientists can bring information, insights, and analytical skills to bear on matters of public concern. Acting in their areas of expertise, scientists can help people understand the likely causes of events and estimate their possible effects.

4. The Physical Setting

4A. The Universe

9-12: 4A/H3. Increasingly sophisticated technology is used to learn about the universe. Visual, radio, and X-ray telescopes collect information from across the entire spectrum of electromagnetic waves; computers handle data and complicated computations to interpret them; space probes send back data and materials from remote parts of the solar system; and accelerators give subatomic particles energies that simulate conditions in the stars and in the early history of the universe before stars formed.

4D. The Structure of Matter

9-12: 4D/H5. Scientists continue to investigate atoms and have discovered even smaller constituents of which neutrons and protons are made.

4G. Forces of Nature

9-12: 4G/H2a. Electric forces acting within and between atoms are vastly stronger than the gravitational forces acting between the atoms. At larger scales, gravitational forces accumulate to produce a large and noticeable effect, whereas electric forces tend to cancel each other out.
9-12: 4G/H6. The nuclear forces that hold the protons and neutrons in the nucleus of an atom together are much stronger than the electric forces between the protons and electrons of the atom. That is why much greater amounts of energy are released from nuclear reactions than from chemical reactions.

10. Historical Perspectives

10C. Relating Matter & Energy and Time & Space

9-12: 10C/H3. The special theory of relativity is best known for stating that any form of energy has mass, and that matter itself is a form of energy. Even a tiny amount of matter holds an enormous amount of energy. This relationship is described in the famous relativity equation E = mc2, in which the c in the equation stands for the immense speed of light.
9-12: 10C/H5. Einstein's development of the theories of special and general relativity ranks as one of the greatest human accomplishments in all of history. Many predictions from the theories have been confirmed on both atomic and astronomical scales. Still, the search continues for an even more powerful theory of the architecture of the universe.

11. Common Themes

11B. Models

6-8: 11B/M4. Simulations are often useful in modeling events and processes.
9-12: 11B/H1a. A mathematical model uses rules and relationships to describe and predict objects and events in the real world.

11D. Scale

6-8: 11D/M3. Natural phenomena often involve sizes, durations, and speeds that are extremely small or extremely large. These phenomena may be difficult to appreciate because they involve magnitudes far outside human experience.

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Record Link

<a href="https://www.compadre.org/precollege/items/detail.cfm?ID=12497">Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. Physics for the 21st Century: The Fundamental Interactions. Annenberg Foundation, 2010.</a>

AIP Format

(Annenberg Foundation, 2010), WWW Document, (https://www.learner.org/series/physics-for-the-21st-century/the-fundamental-interactions/).

AJP/PRST-PER

Physics for the 21st Century: The Fundamental Interactions (Annenberg Foundation, 2010), <https://www.learner.org/series/physics-for-the-21st-century/the-fundamental-interactions/>.

APA Format

Physics for the 21st Century: The Fundamental Interactions. (2010). Retrieved March 22, 2025, from Annenberg Foundation: https://www.learner.org/series/physics-for-the-21st-century/the-fundamental-interactions/

Chicago Format

Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. Physics for the 21st Century: The Fundamental Interactions. Annenberg Foundation, 2010. https://www.learner.org/series/physics-for-the-21st-century/the-fundamental-interactions/ (accessed 22 March 2025).

MLA Format

Physics for the 21st Century: The Fundamental Interactions. Annenberg Foundation, 2010. Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. 22 Mar. 2025 <https://www.learner.org/series/physics-for-the-21st-century/the-fundamental-interactions/>.

BibTeX Export Format

@misc{ Title = {Physics for the 21st Century: The Fundamental Interactions}, Publisher = {Annenberg Foundation}, Volume = {2025}, Number = {22 March 2025}, ISBN = {1-57680-891-2}, Year = {2010} }

Refer Export Format

%T Physics for the 21st Century: The Fundamental Interactions %D 2010 %I Annenberg Foundation %U https://www.learner.org/series/physics-for-the-21st-century/the-fundamental-interactions/ %O text/html

EndNote Export Format

%0 Electronic Source %D 2010 %T Physics for the 21st Century: The Fundamental Interactions %I Annenberg Foundation %V 2025 %N 22 March 2025 %9 text/html %@ 1-57680-891-2 %U https://www.learner.org/series/physics-for-the-21st-century/the-fundamental-interactions/

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