23 September 2008

I Expect A Thank You for This!

Posted by Dan Satterfield

If you read this journal often, then you must have the same fascination with Science as I do. Trust me when I tell you that the mathematical beauty and wonder of the universe is just as wondrous as the part we can see.

There has been and still is a revolution going on in Physics. It is a difficult subject with a firm knowledge of Calculus required to grasp the fundamentals…right?

Not necessarily.

The University of California at Berkeley has put all of the lectures in one of their Physics courses online.

The course is entitled “Physics for Future Presidents”. Now I thought at first that you really did not need an entire semester to teach students to say NEW KLEE ERH, instead of NEW Q LAR.

Actually it is top notch Physics with only very basic Math. Now take it from someone who has had a chunk of the Math, you are not really getting cheated here.

This course is FANTASTIC!

Best of all, you do not have to apply for admission to UCB, or pay the out of state tuition, which  I sure cannot afford!
Want to understand Radiation?

Ever wonder how they bult the first Atom bomb?

How do Nuclear reactors work?

Would you like someone who is REALLY, REALLY smart, to take the time to explain the wonders of Einstein’s Theory of Special Relativity (in a way you could understand it?)

Well this is your lucky day, and I do expect a thank you!

Actually the person we need to thank is Doctor Richard Muller a Physycist at UCB. He teaches the course. It’s rated as the best class at Berkely. I have a feeling that there will be a lot of future science majors who got started by watching these online lectures.

Let me let you in on another secret. Once you watch the lectures and realize how interestng it is, you will think, oh but the math would be brutal.

It is really not that bad though. Understanding enough to get an undergraduate degree is actually darn easy if your willing to study instead of party!

More than likely you will get so interested in a certain field, that you will teach yourself the math before someone else has to!  Suddenly your a famous Physicist like Dr. Muller. Trust me on this, it is not that far fetched.

Ok, so here is the link, and don’t forget to send Professor Muller a thank you.

Physics for Future Presidents