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Learn about the string theory from Professor S. James Gates, Jr., of University of Maryland at College Park and Massachusetts Institute of Technology as he takes you on an incredible journey through the ideas on the most recent version of the string theory – the M-theory.
This fascinating concept is based on the notion that instead of matter consisting, in its smallest form, of microscopic spheres of matter, that instead they are microscopic filaments, sort of like tiny strings of spaghetti, whose different vibrational speeds and processes produce the multitude of particles that are examined in the laboratory.
Professor Gates wrote the first doctoral dissertation at MIT in 1977 on supersymmetry, which was the basis on which the string theory was essentially built. He has given hundreds of lectures on the topic, and the best part about this particular series is that he uses computer graphics to explain and help students understand some of the more difficult concepts of the string theory. With models, pictorials, and 3D images created by computers, Professor Gates is able to open anyone’s eyes to this incredible and fascinating theory.
Some of the many topics discussed in the series are dark matter, what would happen if the sun disappeared, designer atoms, sizzling black holes, and Einstein’s hypotenuse.
As a professor who rightfully insists he can even teach these complex theories to a student who claims themselves to be “not a science person�, this series is worth watching just for the pure awe of such an incredible idea. Enjoy this comprehensive and interactive course while learning about intriguing aspects of an involved and complicated science.
(about 720 minutes)
This video was added to our catalog on June 07, 2007 in Academic::Science: Physics & Engineering.
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I like the professor's analogy, that reading the math is like musicians reading scores and hearing the music in their heads, while the rest of us can appreciate the music (or the results of the math) independent of the scores. That sets the tone for his presentation, enhanced by computer animations. Those seem simplistic at first, and yet as time passes I find they have cemented the concepts for me - as if I were simply appreciating the music. It's giving me a framework for the ideas as, independently, I go back and take another swing at the math.
The first 6 lectures (this disc) are simply setting the stage - framing the problem that string theory was developed to address. But it pulls those elements together very well, and I look forward to, and feel more prepared for, the next series of lectures.
