This document provides an outline for a semester-long general education physics course titled "Physics For Everyone". It includes an introduction to the course materials and objectives, as well as a week-by-week outline of the course topics, key points to be covered each week, assignments, and recommended online video resources for each topic. The course aims to make physics accessible and relevant for all students using a variety of open educational resources.

1. Moonrise From Eagle Rock, May 2020 (Charles Liu)
PHYSICS FOR EVERYONE
The Knowledge You Need to Understand Your World
and Empower Your Life
Charles Liu
Sarang Gopalakrishnan
Vadim Oganesyan
City University of New York, College of Staten Island
This OER material was produced as a result of the PIT-UN network Challenge Grant – New America
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons
Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 License.

2. About This OER
Hello! The online educational resource Physics For Everyone is the scaffolding for a 3 contact hour, 3
credit general education course that will be offered for the first time at the CUNY College of Staten Island
in the spring semester of 2021. This work has been generously supported by New America’s PIT-UN
(Public Interest Technology University Network) challenge grant program, and is licensed under a Creative
Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 License. Please feel free to use it well!
This slide deck provides the outline for the semester-long course. Each week’s lecture topics, with key
points to be covered, are highlighted in two slides, which also list writing prompts, problem-solving
exercises, and labs. We have envisioned this course to assess students with a large set of low-stakes,
real-time assignments. Perhaps most usefully, we have curated a list of high-quality online video
resources that students (and instructors) should use to help them learn (and teach) physics ideas and
concepts using demonstrations, animations, and humor. Many of those videos are parts of larger series
and programs, created by some of the most skilled and popular online presenters in the world; that means
some of their content is commercially sponsored, but all the content is free to users like you and me.
We expect the suite of materials for this Physics For Everyone OER to grow over time as the course is
taught and its history lengthens. We look forward to sharing all of it with you, and thank you in advance for
helping us increase and improve it all in the weeks and months to come.

3. Semester Schedule, week-by-week
1. What's physics; why do we care?
2. Motion: inertia, momentum, force
3. Motion: gravity, work, energy
4. Energy: potential, kinetic, heat
5. Matter: atomic and subatomic
6. Matter: solids and fluids
7. Matter: condensed, in phases
8. Waves: sound, light, radiation
9. Electromagnetism
10. Quantum mechanics
11. Nuclear fission and fusion
12. Relativity, space and time
13. Cosmology and the Universe
14. Frontiers of physical knowledge

4. Course Materials
There are two main texts that will be used
throughout this course:
1. College Physics by Urone, Hinrichs, Dirks, &
Sharma (a more mathematics-based approach)
https://openstax.org/details/books/college-physics
2. One Universe: At Home In The Cosmos by Tyson,
Liu, & Irion (a more conceptual approach)
www.nap.edu/resource/oneuniverse/toc.html
All kinds of online resources will be used
throughout this course: videos, lessons, lab
exercises, and more. Although some of them
are commercially sponsored, all of them are
free of charge to students. You are also
welcome to recommend things you find useful
that are not compiled here – just let us know.
This course is designed to utilize the power of
the Internet to increase and enhance your
learning. Unless otherwise specified, every
assignment and assessment in this course is
open-note, open-book, and open-Internet.
You’ll still have to do your own work; be ready
to have fun and learn a lot while doing it!

5. 1.1 What’s physics?
* Physics is the scientific study of the structure,
content, and activity in and of the universe
* Physics describes how space, time, matter,
and energy interact to produce all that exists
* Physics is the fundamental science – it's at
the core of astronomy, biology, chemistry,
engineering, geology, and medicine
* Physics is the bedrock of our technological
modern society – just about everything in our
daily lives has come about because of physics
Keywords: science, non-science, pseudoscience,
fact, law, hypothesis, theory, Aristotle, Alhazen,
Bacon
* OER 1a: youtube.com/watch?v=GOuZkYDQjpc
Physics Girl – What is Physics?
(Dianna’s curriculum isn’t the same as ours;
her answer to this question, though, is solid.)
* OER 1b: youtube.com/watch?v=-M1hxGj5bMg
Eugenie Scott – Scientific theories/laws/facts
* OER 1c: youtube.com/watch?v=GyN2RhbhiEU
Matt Anticole – What’s the difference between a
scientific law and a scientific theory?

6. 1.2 What's physics – and why do we care?
* If we want to live in comfort, build wealth, cure
disease, and improve our quality of life, we must
understand and use physics to do it
* If we want to live in safety, maintain good
health, protect our homes, and make the world a
better place for ourselves and those we care
about, we must know enough about physics to
harness its power in our best interests
* Don't buy into the myth that physics is too
“hard” or “useless” or “scary” - physics is
fascinating, far-reaching, and fun!
* Reading 1: College Physics, Ch.1.1
(Physics: An Introduction)
* Writing 1: Read Karl Popper’s1963 essay
Science as Falsification, widely available online
(e.g., staff.washington.edu/lynnhank/Popper-1.pdf).
Write down three sentences that encapsulate
the “big ideas” of this essay to you. Then read
two other Internet essays written about this
essay. Give their authors and URLs, whether
they agreed or disagreed with you, and why.
* PS 1: Do astrologers predict the future better
than you do? Let’s find out!

7. 2.1 Motion: inertia, momentum, and force
* Galileo Galilei, considered by many to be
history’s first “physicist,” articulated inertia – that
objects in motion tend to stay in motion. His life
was marked by conflict with established norms,
always pushing against non-scientific authority.
* Isaac Newton inextricably tied science with
math and quantitative reasoning, explaining that
objects move following predictable equations. His
efforts helped make physics the basis of society,
bringing Galileo’s efforts to meaningful fruition.
* Rotation, like motion in a straight line, is also
fundamental to how objects move.
Keywords: Galileo, experiment, Newton, action,
reaction, angular momentum, torque
* Reading 2: College Physics, Ch.4.1 – 4.4
(Newton’s Laws of Motion)
* Writing 2: Watch several scenes of The Life
of Galileo as performed in 2009 by the Asolo
Repertory Theatre. Choose one scene that
connects with you; explain how and why –
characters, dialogue, themes, science are just
some of the ways it could do so.
* PS 2: Throw a ball. How fast does it fall?

8. 2.2 Motion: inertia, momentum, and force
* Law of Inertia: Objects that are in motion tend
to stay in motion at constant speed in a straight
line unless acted upon by an outside force.
(Conservation of momentum)
* Law of Force: The force exerted on an object is
equal to the object’s mass multiplied by the
amount the object is accelerated.
* Law of Reaction: For every action there is an
equal and opposite reaction.
* For rotation, “momentum” is replaced by
“angular momentum” and “force” is replaced by
“torque.”
* Mini-lab 2: How Do They Drop? If you push
pennies off a table, do they fall faster than
dimes? Or if they’re pushed harder?
* OER 2a: youtube.com/watch?v=bsOBTwa4ZbQ
Excerpts from the Asolo Repertory Theatre’s
production of Brecht’s play The Life of Galileo
* OER 2b: youtube.com/watch?v=qgIm96-WkwY
Physics Girl – Newton’s laws of motion
* OER 2c: youtube.com/watch?v=FmnkQ2ytlO8
OpenStax – angular momentum conservation

9. 3.1 Motion: gravity, work, and energy
* Johannes Kepler used decades of data to
deduce three laws of orbital motion.
* Isaac Newton extended his laws of motion to
cosmic objects, and was able to explain the laws
of orbital motion by positing the existence of a
force called gravity.
* Gravity, reasoned Newton, acts between two
objects at a distance, is directly proportional to
the mass of the objects, and follows an inverse
square law with respect to distance. He was
mostly correct – and we still use his mathematical
formulations today in almost all cases.
Keywords: Kepler, orbit, Halley, Bernoulli,
rocket equation, weightlessness, space travel
and exploration
* Reading 3: One Universe, “Motion”
* Writing 3: What would it take for humans to
set foot on the Moon again? Should we try?
* PS 3: Will that asteroid hit Earth? If it does,
how much will it hurt?
* Mini-lab 3: Follow the bouncing ball – can
you send an object into a suborbital trajectory?

10. 3.2 Motion: gravity, work, and energy
* Edmund Halley helped complete the elevation
of Newton’s laws to a confirmed scientific theory.
Halley’s Comet – and the solar system today
* Flight: Bernoulli, lift, the Wright brothers
* Rockets: Tsiolkovsky, Esnault-Pelterie, Goddard
and the rocket equation
* The rocket engine does work on the rocket –
and imparts energy to the rocket – what are work
and energy?
* OER 3a: youtube.com/watch?v=OCjhCL2iqlQ
Vox – Apollo XI to the Moon, annotated
* OER 3b: youtube.com/watch?v=75szwX09pg8
Brian Greene – Galileo cannon
* OER 3c: youtube.com/watch?v=8mf1Q4Q3tgc
Toby Hendy – using hair to measure
acceleration due to gravity
* OER 3d: youtube.com//watch?v=QcUey-DVYjk
Janna Levin – gravity explained five ways

11. 4.1 Energy: potential, kinetic, and heat
* The conservation of energy may be the most
fundamental property of the physical universe –
not to be confused, though, with “conserving”
energy in our daily lives, which also matters!
* James Joule devoted his life to figuring out the
relationship between work and energy. Nicolas
Léonard Sadi Carnot gave further clarity to how
heat and energy are related, and how heat can
be used to do work.
* Entropy – in disorder, energy is stored. The
laws of thermodynamics explain it all: you can’t
win, you can’t break even, and you can’t get out
of the game.
Keywords: Joule, heat engine, Carnot,
conservation laws, heat capacity, greenhouse
effect
* Reading 4: One Universe, “Energy”
* Writing 4: What sorts of fuels would you like
to use to power our future civilization?
* PS 4: How much heat is in a hurricane?
How much is that compared to an atomic bomb
– or the heat needed to cause a one-degree
increase in global temperature?

12. 4.2 Energy: potential, kinetic, and heat
* Matter retains heat and moves heat around –
heat capacity, conduction, convection, radiation
* Machines help get work done; engines are real-
world work-energy conversion devices with some
inefficiency and a major waste product: heat
* When heat is retained in complex systems,
what can result? For Earth, it can mean floods or
droughts, hurricanes or blizzards, and lots of fire
* Mini-lab 4: Melting Ice Fast – what works
better, shaking, rattling, or rolling?
* OER 4a: youtube.com/watch?v=C4vNPEEwsmc
Toby Hendy – Noether’s Theorem
* OER 4b: youtube.com/watch?v=CxlHLqJ9I0A
Mithuna Yoganathan – Noether’s Theorem
* OER 4c: pbs.org/video/why-we-cant-invent-a-perfect-
engine-wayoi2/
Shini Somara – Crash Course Engineering #10
(2nd law of thermodynamics; see #9 & #11 too)

13. 5.1 Matter: atomic and subatomic
* The smallest piece of any matter that retains its
identity – what is it? From the ancient Greeks to
today, it’s been called an atom – what are they
made of, though?
* The “Bohr atom” with electrons orbiting a
nucleus, first presented by Danish physicist Niels
Bohr (also New Zealand-born Ernest Rutherford)
is the basic model taught in schools today
* Rutherford’s gold foil experiment confirmed that
nuclei were tiny compared to the atom as a whole
(exceptions: electron degenerate and neutron
degenerate matter – white dwarfs and neutron
stars – not found anywhere on Earth)
Keywords: Bohr, Rutherford, proton, neutron,
electron, boson, fermion, quark, Higgs
* Reading 5: College Physics, Ch. 30.1-30.3
(Atomic Physics)
* Writing 5: What are you made of? If you
break it all down physically, is that the total –
are you the sum of your parts?
* PS 5: How empty is solid steel?

14. 5.2 Matter: atomic and subatomic
* The Standard Model describes how subatomic
matter is organized – the components of atoms
and other particles: fermions, bosons, quarks,
leptons
* Electrons and protons with elementary charge,
and neutrons with zero charge – Millikan’s oil
drop experiment
* Quarks – up, down, charm, strange, top, bottom
(www.particleadventure.org/quarkdance)
* Bosons – gluon, photon, W&Z, graviton, Higgs
* OER 5a: youtube.com/watch?v=XBqHkraf8iE
Backstage Science – Rutherford’s experiment
* OER 5b: pbs.org/video/inside-the-worlds-largest-
science-experiment-o2pzge/
Physics Girl – inside CERN, the world’s largest
physics experiment
* OER 5c: youtube.com/watch?v=IElHgJG5Fe4
Barney and Goldfarb – Higgs boson basics

15. 6.1 Matter: solids and fluids
* What makes solids solid? Crystals sound
solid, for example – but you’ve heard of liquid
crystal displays (LCDs), right?
* Solidity doesn’t mean density – the difference
between solid and fluid is not how far apart the
molecules are.
* Solids have elasticity, and physical systems
with many connected solid pieces move
differently from single pieces of material. Fluids
have viscosity (water vs. molasses) that
dissipates energy, often as heat
Keywords: crystal, glass, liquid, gas, pressure,
temperature, ideal gas law, elasticity, viscosity
* Reading 6: One Universe, “Matter”
* Writing 6: The search for life on Mars – why
solid, liquid, and gas all matter
* PS 6: How hot is your pressure cooker?
* Mini-Lab 6: What’s the best way to warm our
fingers, rubbing or blowing or something else?

16. 6.2 Matter: solids and fluids
* Fluids can be incompressible (typically known
as liquid) or compressible (gas). Fluid mechanics
and hydrodynamics are, generally speaking, the
physics of huge numbers of tiny particles
affecting their surroundings as an ensemble.
* The ideal gas law (PV = NRT or P = nkT)
explains the relation between temperature and
pressure – for air, it’s “close” to exactly accurate
* What’s not exactly accurate about it?
Collisions, mixtures, solutions, precipitates, and
more – and that’s a good thing.
* OER 6a: youtube.com/watch?v=AeJ9q45PfD0&t=1s
Veritasium – Aerogel, world’s lightest solid
* OER 6b: pbs.org/video/what-stretching-actually-does-
to-your-body-ft-sofie-dossi-iab8mj/
Physics Girl – physics of stretching
* OER 6c: youtube.com/watch?v=VbdhbyiHX-s
Shawn Hymel (SparkFun) – how LCD works
* OER 6d: pbs.org/video/the-science-of-ventilation-
xhztip/
Physics Girl – Airflow and ventilation

17. 7.1 Matter: condensed, in phases
* Solid, liquid, and gas are three states of matter
with which we are familiar. When a substance
(like H2O) changes states (like from ice to water
to vapor) temperature and pressure are involved.
* Phase changes are not always visible to the
eye. Deep and significant physical changes can
happen even if the state of a substance stays the
same.
* Entropy change is key to phase change. A
phase diagram describes the boundaries in
temperature and pressure that require adding or
removing heat (of vaporization or solidification,
for example) to cross.
Keywords: phase diagram, absolute zero,
superconductivity, Bose-Einstein condensate
* Reading 7: College Physics, Ch. 14.1 – 14.4
(Heat and heat transfer)
* Writing 7: What does it mean to you in your
life when something is hot or cold? How about
superhot or supercold?
* PS 7: How powerful is a superconducting
magnet?

18. 7.2 Matter: condensed, in phases
* Bose-Einstein condensate is a phase of matter
very close to absolute zero in temperature.
* Superconductivity is a fascinating phase - see
nationalmaglab.org/education/magnet-academy/learn-the-
basics/stories/superconductivity-101
(National High Magnetic Field Laboratory)
* Superconductivity may someday revolutionize
transportation and energy efficiency – if they can
ever get warm enough.
* Coffee spill stain patterns? Cell phone
antennae design? Condensed matter may have
some answers.
* Mini-Lab 7: paper crumpling phase changes
* OER 7a: pbs.org/video/how-to-make-fluid-climb-up-
amazing-slime-experiment-kegoc4/
Physics Girl – how to make fluid flow upward
(also: Strange sand acts like liquid)
* OER 7b:
ted.com/talks/boaz_almog_the_levitating_superconductor
Boaz Almog – quantum locking
* OER 7c: youtube.com/watch?v=zPqEEZa2Gis
Royal Institution – levitating superconductor

19. 8.1 Waves: sound, light, and radiation
* How can energy be transferred from place to
place without actual contact? Waves.
* Longitudinal waves: acoustic waves traveling
through a medium, for example. Decibels are a
way to measure the power carried in a sound
wave.
* Transverse waves: ripples in a pond, for
example, where the water moves vertically (up
and down) while the energy moves horizontally
(outward).
* Wavelength times frequency equals velocity
Keywords: acoustic wave, Doppler, sound
speed, Maxwell, Hertz, photon, color, spectrum,
5G wireless
* Reading 8: College Physics, Ch. 16.9-16.11
(Waves)
* Writing 8: How do waves – especially waves
that make wireless communications possible –
affect your life now, and how will they in the
future?
* PS 8: How much energy is in that light beam?

20. 8.2 Waves: sound, light, and radiation
* Waves in matter can rip apart solid ground,
roads, bridges, and more.
* Superposition of waves – music and colors
* Electromagnetic radiation is light – gamma
rays, X-rays, ultraviolet, visible, infrared,
microwave, radio waves
* Polarization – transverse light waves become
orderly – that’s why your phone’s touchscreen
works
Lab 8: The sound and the blurry
* OER 8a: youtube.com/watch?v=i_0DXxNeaQ0
Vi Hart – what is up with noises
* OER 8b: pbs.org/video/i-built-an-acoustic-levitator-
making-liquid-float-on-air-thoxmt/
Physics Girl – sound wave levitator
* OER 8c: pbs.org/video/can-you-guess-this-note-
perfect-pitch-and-physics-tcuvmo/
Physics Girl – physics of perfect pitch
* OER 8d: youtube.com/watch?v=mXVGIb3bzHI
Veritasium – humans in a soundless place

21. 9.1 Electromagnetism
* How powerful is electromagnetism? Think
about a balloon defying Earth’s gravity just with a
little static electricity on it.
* Coulombs measure the amount of charge.
Electric force has the same inverse square law
as gravity – so it can extend far into space.
* Ohm’s Law (V = IR) and the electric power
formula (P = IV) describes how electricity works –
and how electricity drives modern civilization
Keywords: Coulomb, Ohm, Ampere, Watt,
Faraday, dynamo, alternating current, Tesla,
transformer, power grid
* Reading 9: College Physics, Ch. 20.1 – 20.4
(Electricity and Magnetism)
* Writing 9: Electricity is everywhere. How
fast can you name ten examples of how
electricity is affecting your life right now?
* PS 9: How much electric power do humans
produce – and does your cell phone use?

22. 9.2 Electromagnetism
* AC (alternating current) and DC (direct current)
and why your cell phone has a charger – the real
history of Thomas Edison vs. Nikola Tesla
* Electric vehicles – the past, present, and future
(did you know that the first electric car was built
before the first gasoline-powered car?) of any car
is about function, convenience, and cost. What
will that mean for us as technology advances?
* Electromagnetism is one of four fundamental
forces in the universe, along with gravity and the
two nuclear forces. This matters at the most
basic level of physics as well as in everyday life.
* OER 9a: youtube.com/watch?v=wCrtk-pyP0I
Veritasium – making plasma with grapes
* OER 9b: ed.ted.com/lessons/light-waves-visible-and-
invisible-lucianne-walkowicz
Lucianne Walkowicz - light
* OER 9c: youtube.com/watch?v=FmnkQ2ytlO8
Physics Girl (early) – electromagnetic waves
* OER 9d: youtube.com/watch?v=xyQfrzBfnDU
Wayne Campbell (Science Online) – AC vs DC
* OER 9e: youtube.com/watch?v=bVquLXTq4bQ
Toby Hendy – Van de Graaf generator

23. 10.1 Quantum Mechanics
* Thermal radiation (called blackbody radiation)
experiments late in the 1800s led Max Planck to
deduce light quanta.
* The photoelectric effect led Albert Einstein to
deduce the same thing from another direction.
* The famous Solvay conference photo is a
snapshot of the history of “modern physics.”
* A few decades later – including Curie with
radioactivity, de Broglie with wave-particle duality,
Pauli with matrix mechanics, Schrodinger with a
wave equation, and Heisenberg with uncertainty
– quantum mechanics was established.
Keywords: Planck, quantization, deBroglie,
uncertainty, Schrodinger, energy level,
nanotechnology
* Reading 10: College Physics, Ch. 29.5-29.8
(Quantum Physics)
* Writing 10: Schroedinger’s Cat – after
watching two videos on the topic, create your
own brief example of the same thought
experiment based on your own life experience.
* PS 10: How uncertain is an atom’s size?

24. 10.2 Quantum Mechanics
* Nanotechnology: machinery and information
coded on molecule-sized structures – quantum
dots are just one example – have fascinating
properties and potential. Buckyballs. Graphene.
* Quantum teleportation: not “beam me up,
Scotty” but how to move information securely
* Quantum computing – is that the future?
* Here’s a deep thought: is human consciousness
the consequence of quantum physics?
* Mini-lab 10: Quantum Staircases How far will
an object fall down the stairs, and what percent
of the time?
* OER 10a: youtube.com/watch?v=UjaAxUO6-Uw
Chad Orzel – Schroedinger’s Cat
* OER 10b: youtube.com/watch?v=z1GCnycbMeA
Josh Samani – cat & quantum entanglement
* OER 10c: youtube.com/watch?v=UjFkIy1GTlk
Dianna and Jade – quantum coin toss
* OER 10d: youtube.com/watch?v=g_IaVepNDT4
Veritasium – how quantum computers work

25. 11.1 Nuclear fission and fusion
* The first atomic bombs used nuclear fission.
So does every nuclear power plant operating in
the world – they provide about one-fifth of the
world’s (including the USA’s) electric power.
* Human-produced nuclear fission comes from
slowing down neutrons. Fuel for nuclear fission
must either be enriched (U-235) or manufactured
(Pu-239) and how to do those things – and how
to assemble them into bombs – is well
understood. What does that mean when it
comes to the proliferation of nuclear weapons?
* Nuclear fusion of hydrogen into helium powers
the Sun, and will do so for billions more years.
Keywords: E = mc2, Fermi, Heisenberg, atomic
bomb, Oppenheimer, hydrogen bomb, nuclear
power, Pu-238
* Reading 11: College Physics, Ch. 28.6, Ch.
32.5-32.7 (relativisitic energy, fusion, & fission)
* Writing 11: Destroyer of Worlds The human
species has had the ability to end its existence
for more than half a century. It hasn’t yet.
Discuss.
* PS 11: How brightly does the Sun shine?

26. 11.2 Nuclear fission and fusion
* nobelprize.org/prizes/themes/how-the-sun-
shines-2/ (John Bahcall explaining nuclear fusion
and solar neutrinos)
* Fusion bombs are also well understood, albeit
much harder to construct and test – they also
usually need a fission bomb to start the process
* There are no controlled fusion reactors yet,
after half a century of trying – are they still worth
the effort to design and build them?
* Nuclear fusion in the universe – called
nucleosynthesis – is the process that built the
elements that in turn have built us all!
* Mini-Lab 11: Atoms For Peace – how much
do we need nuclear power?
* OER 11a: youtube.com/watch?v=7pSqk-XV2QM
Veritasium – exposing the first atomic bomb
* OER 11b: youtube.com/watch?v=b22HKFMIfWo
Crash Course Astronomy #10 – the Sun
* OER 11c: youtube.com/watch?v=W1ZQ4JBv3-Y
Science Channel – How fusion powers the Sun
* OER 11d: watch?v=6yLGeviU8FM
Matthew O’Dowd – We are star stuff

27. 12.1 Relativity, space, and time
* In 1905, Albert Einstein explained the apparent
constant measurement of the speed of a light
beam by every observer. The special theory of
relativity was confirmed decades later. (How?)
* The general theory of relatively was developed
by Einstein about a decade later. Then: Arthur
Eddington, the first world war, the influenza
pandemic and the total solar eclipse confirmation.
Decades later: gravitational lensing.
* How do you use general relativity every day?
Mapping and location services via GPS.
Keywords: Einstein, twin paradox, spacetime,
geodesic, black hole, GPS
* Reading 12: College Physics, Ch.4.1 – 4.4
(Newton’s Laws of Motion)
* Writing 12: Black holes don’t suck. If you fall
in one, though, you’re not coming back in any
recognizable form. Discuss.
* PS 12: Who’s older, you or your twin?

28. 12.2 Relativity, space, and time
* Gravitational waves: from their possible
prediction to, nearly a century later, the 2017
Nobel Prize in physics to Rainer Weiss, Barry
Barish, and Kip Thorne
* Black holes: from their possible prediction in
1920 to, a century later, the 2020 Nobel Prize in
physics to Andrea Ghez, Reinhard Genzel, and
Roger Penrose
* What happens when you fall into a black hole?
* Mini-lab 12: Motion relative to you Throw
something. Move while you throw something.
What happens? Does it make sense?
* OER 12a: youtube.com/watch?v=h8GqaAp3cGs
Amber Stuver – the twin paradox
* OER 12b: youtube.com/watch?v=ERgwVm9qWKA
Physics Girl – the twin paradox
* OER 12c: youtube.com/watch?v=ajZojAwfEbs
Brian Greene – LIGO & gravitational waves
* OER 12d: youtube.com/watch?v=iphcyNWFD10
Veritasium – detecting gravitational waves

29. 13.1 Cosmology and the Universe
* Starting with Einstein’s general theory of
relativity, evidence of the motion (expansion of
space), matter (nucleosynthesis), and energy
(cosmic background radiation) confirms that the
universe started with a Big Bang 13.8 billion
years ago.
* Radiometric dating, meteorite and Moon rock
data, and astronomical observations confirm that
the solar system was created 4.6 billion years
ago, and Earth and the Moon soon thereafter.
* Inflationary universe – did solving the horizon
and flatness problems create an eternally
growing multiverse?
Keywords: Hubble, LeMaitre, big bang,
nucleosynthesis, dark matter, dark energy
* Reading 13:
wmap.gsfc.nasa.gov/universe/index.html
(Cosmology 101)
* Writing 13: The Universe in Us With physics,
we have shown that every one of us is as
amazing – and as ordinary – as every planet,
star, and galaxy in the cosmos. Discuss.
* PS 13: How old was the universe when…?
* Lab 13: I like Big Bang – make your own
expanding universe

30. 13.2 Cosmology and the Universe
* Dark matter: more than 80% of the material in
the universe is totally unknown to science. How
do we even know it’s there? Only by its gravity.
* Dark energy: more than two-thirds of all the
energy in the universe is equally unknown to
science. How do we even know it’s there? The
acceleration of common expansion.
* Extraterrestrial life: we’re looking for it. What
have we found so far? Warmth, water, and
SPONCH – but nothing alive. Yet.
* OER 13a: youtube.com/watch?v=tQSbms5MDvY
Matt O’Dowd – Planck’s constant and QM
* OER 13b: pbs.org/video/how-the-edge-of-our-galaxy-
defies-known-physics-tejjmc/
Physics Girl – LHC and our galaxy’s edge
* OER 13c: youtube.com/watch?v=HneiEA1B8ks
Jamies Gillies – dark matter
* OER 13d: pbs.org/video/stephen-hawkings-final-
theory-on-black-holes-loopdz/
Physics Girl – Stephen Hawking’s final ideas
about black holes

31. 14.1 Frontiers of Physical Knowledge
* Never mind science fiction – faster than light
travel, transporters, the Force and all that;
science fact has plenty of mysteries to ponder.
* String Theory and Supersymmetry – quantum
foam; Randall-Sundrum theory; “turtles all the
way down”
* Multiverse – eternal inflation; the many worlds
interpretation of quantum mechanics; M theory
* Intelligence and consciousness – the
mathematics of the mind; awareness beyond
obvious physics; free will, emergent cosmic
awareness; shared observed reality
Keywords: supersymmetry, string theory,
inflation, quantum computing, the end of time
* Reading 14: One Universe, “Frontiers”
* Writing 14: The Physical Universe - humans
have tried to use science to figure out how the
universe works. How are we doing?
* PS 14: How hot – or cold – will Earth get?
* CAPSTONE PROJECT: Physics For Me –
design, build, write up, and present your own
exploration into the physics of your life

32. 14.2 Frontiers of Physical Knowledge
* The end of time: some say the world will end in
fire. Some say in ice. What does physics say?
Both – first one, then the other. Stellar deaths,
then proton decay, then Hawking radiation.
And then?
“In the end, the questions we will have to answer
are the ones we have yet to ask.”
* OER 14a: youtube.com/watch?v=TI6sY0kCPpk
Brian Greene – What is string theory?
* OER 14b: youtube.com/watch?v=DJUnw8CHzsk
Lisa Randall – dimensions beyond our own
* OER 14c: https://www.pbs.org/video/physics-girl-
quantum-crypt/
Physics Girl – quantum cryptography
* OER 14d: youtube.com/watch?v=EKR-HydGohQ
Veritasium – the delusion of permanence
* OER 14e: closertotruth.com/series/asking-ultimate-
questions#video-2875
Lisa Randall – Always keep asking questions

33. Appendices and Additions