Introduction to How Things Work

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How Things Work: An Introduction to Physics

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University of Virginia

How Things Work: An Introduction to Physics

863 notes

An introduction to physics in the context of everyday objects.

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Course Introduction

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Introduction to How Things Work4:39

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Louis A. Bloomfield
Professor of Physics

Welcome to How Things Work. I'm Lou Bloomfield.

And I've been teaching this course at the

University of Virginia for more than 20 years.

It's essentially case study physics.

An introduction to physics in the context of everyday objects and activities.

My goal is to make physics useful.

And to help you understand and manage the physical world around you.

After working with almost 10,000 students,

here at UVA.

I'm delighted to be able to bring How

Things Work to an even larger audience online.

I hope that you'll find this course interesting, informative and enjoyable.

Moving How Things Work out of the classroom and onto the web is a challenge.

At Virginia, my class is interactive and improvisational.

And I'm usually doing things.

It's called

How Things Work, after all.

In transitioning to the web, I'm going to give up some of the

spontaneity, conversation, shared experience, But I

am going to gain time and space.

Time in the sense that I can fill each explanation

and example, until they're as good as I can make them.

And space in the sense that I can fill almost

everywhere, to show you exactly what I want to show you.

In this first part of How Things Work, we'll explore the physics of six objects

or activities. Skating, falling balls, ramps, see-saws.

Wheels and bumper cars.

We'll see how things move, rotate, and interact with each other.

And watch them exchange energy and momentum as they do.

It's not all of physics, but it's a good start.

It will already give you many useful tools for a living.

We'll cover one topic per episode.

At a suggested pace of about one episode per week.

I'm breaking tradition however, by releasing this entire course all at once.

Since this is a whole new adventure in education,

we're not constrained to sticking to a ordinary class schedule.

One week,next week, next week.

Anything

goes.

That means if you want to binge learn, you can,

you're welcome to charge ahead as fast as you like.

Or take your time, as long as you finish up by May 1st.

Each episode consists of an hour or two of video.

And a ten question homework assignment, to help

you think about and use the relevant physics concepts.

They are thought provoking questions and not easy.

So

I'm letting you repeat each homework assignment as often as you like.

To deepen your understanding, I encourage you to read the

section on the episode's topic in my textbook, How Things Work.

Or in my general readership book, How Everything Works.

I think that human interaction is an important part of learning.

And I hope that you'll seek out others while taking this course.

Talk with your friends or family. And get them involved.

Last time I offered this course, many families took it together.

Kids, parents, and even grandparents.

I think that's the greatest thing ever.

If you have no one local to talk about, please use the forums to reach out.

Moreover, I know that some of you are already experts

in this content, and I hope that you'll help me

teach this course using those forums.

In fact, you can all enrich the course with your insights and experiences.

It's about physics of the real world, and you happen to live in the real world.

So go ahead and post, or link in your own stuff.

Learning physics requires careful thought and

repeated exposure to the same concepts.

As we shift

our attention from object to object.

We'll naturally revisit concepts in new situations and different circumstances.

And they'll gradually become more familiar and meaningful with each exposure.

Lastly, I hope you'll take the preliminary assessment.

It's not exactly a homework assignment, it's simply

21 questions about physics in the real world.

Designed to see what you know right now. The fun part will be retaking that same

assignment when you finish the course. I'm expecting a big improvement.

And now, on to the first topic. Skating.

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