Physics and Our Universe: How It All Works

Learning the subatomic and the galactic realm as an introduction to physics; Professor Wolfson shows how physics is the fundamental science that underlies all the natural sciences; he also describes phenomena that are beyond its explanatory power.

Understanding physics is as much about language as it is about mathematics; how ordinary terms, such as theory and uncertainty, have a precise meaning in physics; how fundamental units are defined; the basic algebra that is used in physics.

Motion is everywhere, at all scales; the difference between distance and displacement and between speed and velocity; the concept of acceleration, which is the rate of change of velocity; delving deeper into the fundamentals of motion.

Basic concepts to analyze motion when an object is under constant acceleration due to gravity; in principle, the initial conditions in such cases allow the object's position to be decided for any time in the future; Isaac Newton's clockwork universe.

The concept of vector; vectors allow one to specify the magnitude and direction of a quantity such as velocity; the vector's direction can be along any axis, allowing analysis of motion in three dimensions; solving problems in projectile motion.

Circular motion is accelerated motion, even if the speed is constant, because the direction, and hence the velocity, is changing; cases of uniform and non-uniform circular motion; pulling out of a dive in a jet plane without blacking out or crashing.