Physics for the 21st Century was designed for adult learners, including high school teachers, undergraduates, and the interested public–college graduates who were non-science majors. For teachers, the course will look at advances in physics that have occurred since they took their college physics classes. For adult learners it will help them appreciate cutting edge advances in physics research and their potential impact on everyday life. We would like the course to translate and make accessible to interested adults the most important unanswered questions that are being investigated in that area of contemporary physics. Graduate credit is available to those who choose it. For information on earning credit, go to: www.learner.org/channel/workshops/graduate_credit.html
While many of the research programs at the frontiers of physics might at first seem inaccessible or counter-intuitive, they are underscored by basic ideas that are familiar from classical physics: forces, conservation of mass and energy, etc. Using these ideas as a spring-board, and developing the ideas of modern physics such as quantum mechanics, general relativity, and nuclear interactions, Physics for the 21st Century will take learners to the next level. This new course, produced by the Science Media Group at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics and funded by Annenberg Media, will open the doors to an exciting world of ideas, to help bridge the gap between what is being taught in high school and college and what is exciting physics researchers. Physics for the 21st Century is a self-contained distance-learning course distributed free of charge on the web. The course is designed by Harvard Professor of Astronomy and Physics, Christopher Stubbs, with units developed by a distinguished group of physicists from Harvard and other top universities and research centers (see outline below). The syllabus of the course is divided into 11 units, grouped into three broad areas:
Physics for the 21st Century is a multimedia course consisting of 11 units. Each unit is composed of a thirty-minute video and an online text chapter. The web site acts as a home base to begin study, a place to organize the components of the project. It provides access to all the course components plus additional resources, which include:
All components will be accessible free of charge on the Annenberg Media Web site www.learner.org.
The videos and online textbook chapters can be used independently. When using both, it is possible to start with either one. We suggest users watch the video first, and then read the chapter. You may want to review the video. The lab activities should be completed after watching the related video and reading the related chapters, to give users a practical, applied experience with the concept explored in its related units.