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Physics Seminar: Relativity

Imagine this: You can fit a 10 m pole in a barn half the size. Your twin is now 10 years older than you, but you didn't use a time machine. And no matter how fast you run, you can never reach the speed of light. How can you explain these scenarios? In this 5-hour, two day seminar, we use thought experiments like these and other tools to explore Einstein's theory of special relativity. We introduce Einstein's two postulates and explore the counterintuitive effects of time dilation, length contraction, and relativity of simultaneity. The class concludes with a look at spacetime diagrams and several challenging paradoxes of relativity.

2 days

2 days  

Schedule

Sat & Sun - Sunday
Apr 1 - Apr 2
4:00 - 7:00
PM ET  
Apr 1 - Apr 2
4:00 - 7:00 PM Eastern
3:00 - 6:00 PM Central
2:00 - 5:00 PM Mountain
1:00 - 4:00 PM Pacific
Click here to see more time zones
$130
$130
ENROLL
Fall 2023This course will be offered in Fall 2023. Click here to join our mailing list to be notified when the course schedule is available.

Who Should Take?

This course is for students interested in the basics of the mind-bending theory of special relativity. This course does not assume any physics knowledge and is intended for students interested in learning about a conceptually challenging theory of space and time. Students should have a basic competency with algebra before taking this course. We recommend having taken Introduction to Algebra A at AoPS or having the equivalent knowledge.

Lessons

Lesson 1 Principle of Relativity, Speed of Light, and Time Dilation
Lesson 2 Length Contraction, Simultaneity, and Spacetime Diagrams

I really enjoyed this class. I think it was very fun and I learned a lot of new stuff in this class, especially in the last few weeks. Our teacher was very funny and made the class very interesting. Overall, I think this class was a very fun and great class. Thank you!

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