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Index to the Mechanical Universe |
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The Mechanical Universe...and Beyond consists of 52 half-hour
programs on 26 doublesided videodiscs.
Format of this index:
Number and Title of program
brief description (supplied by the producers of the program)
Chapter no., Frame no., Code of segment, title of segment, eg
Ch Frame Code Title 1 A Opening Sequence 2 02259 G Einstein's Use Of Mathematics 3 08249 H Einstein And Levi-Civita
A Animation E Experiments and Apparatus G Goodstein (introductory and concluding segments) H History P Principles of Physics V Videos
Please note that only those episodes that appear as links below have been indexed.
1: Introduction to the Mechanical Universe
Preview introduces revolutionary ideas and heroes from
Copernicus to Newton, and links the physics of the heavens and the
earth.
2: The Law of Falling Bodies
Galileo's imaginative experiments proved that all bodies fall with
the same constant acceleration.
3: Derivatives
The function of mathematics in physical science and the
derivative as a practical tool.
4: Inertia
Galileo risks his favored status to answer the questions of the
universe with his law of inertia.
5: Vectors
Physics must explain not only why and how much, but also
where and which way.
6: Newton's Laws
Newton lays down the laws of force, mass, and acceleration.
7: Integration
Newton and Leibniz arrive at the conclusion that differentiation
and integration are inverse processes.
8: The Apple and the Moon
The first real steps toward space travel are made as Newton
discovers that gravity describes the force between any two particles
in the universe.
9: Moving in Circles
A look at the Platonic theory of uniform circular motion.
10: Fundamental Forces
All physical phenomena of nature are explained by four forces:
two nuclear forces, gravity, and electricity.
11: Gravity, Electricity, Magnetism
Shedding light on the mathematical form of the gravitational,
electric, and magnetic forces.
12: The Millikan Experiment
A dramatic recreation of Millikan's classic oil-drop experiment to
determine the charge of a single electron.
13: Conservation of Energy
According to one of the major laws of physics, energy is neither
created nor destroyed.
14: Potential Energy
Potential energy provides a powerful model for understanding
why the world has worked the same way since the beginning of time.
15: Conservation of Momentum
What keeps the universe ticking away until the end of time?
16: Harmonic Motion
The music and mathematics of periodic motion.
17: Resonance
Why a swaying bridge collapses with a high wind, and why a
wine glass shatters with a higher octave.
18: Waves
With an analysis of simple harmonic motion and a stroke of
genius, Newton extended mechanics to the propagation of sound.
19: Angular Momentum
An old momentum with a new twist.
20: Torques and Gyroscopes
From spinning tops to the precession of the equinoxes.
21: Kepler's Three Laws
The discovery of elliptical orbits helps describe the motion of
heavenly bodies with unprecedented accuracy.
22: The Kepler Problem
The deduction of Kepler's laws from Newton's universal law of
gravitation is one of the crowning achievements of Western thought.
23: Energy and Eccentricity
The precise orbit of a heavenly body - a planet, asteroid, or
comet - is fixed by the laws of conservation of energy and angular
momentum.
24: Navigating in Space
Voyages to other planets use the same laws that guide planets
around the solar system.
25: Kepler to Einstein
From Kepler's laws and the theory of tides, to Einstein's general
theory of relativity, into black holes, and beyond.
26: Harmony of the Spheres
A last lingering look back at mechanics to see new connections
between old discoveries.
28: Static Electricity
Eighteenth-century electricians knew how to spark the interest
of an audience with the principles of static electricity.
29:The Electric Field
Faraday's vision of lines of constant force in space laid the
foundation for the modern force field theory.
30: Potential and Capacitance
Franklin proposes a successful theory of the Leyden jar and
invents the parallel plate capacitor.
31: Voltage, Energy, and Force
When is electricity dangerous or benign, spectacular or useful?
32: The Electric Battery
Volta invents the electric battery using the internal properties of
different metals.
33: Electric Circuits
The work of Wheatstone, Ohm, and Kirchhoff leads to the design
and analysis of how current flows.
34: Magnetism
Gilbert discovered that the earth behaves like a giant magnet.
Modern scientists have learned even more.
35: The Magnetic Field
The law of Biot and Sarvart, the force between electric currents,
and Ampere's law.
36: Vector Fields and Hydrodynamics
Force fields have definite properties of their own suitable for
scientific study.
37: Electromagnetic Induction
The discovery of electromagnetic induction in 1831 creates an
important technological breakthrough in the generation of electric
power.
38: Alternating Current
Electromagnetic induction makes it easy to generate alternating
current while transformers make it practical to distribute it over
long distances.
39: Maxwell's Equations
Maxwell discovers that displacement current produces
electromagnetic waves or light.
40: Optics
Many properties of light are properties of waves, including
reflection, refraction, and diffraction.
41: The Michelson-Morley Experiment
In 1887, an exquisitely designed measurement of the earth's
motion through the aether results in the most brilliant failure in
scientific history.
42: The Lorentz Transformation
If the speed of light is to be the same for all observers, then the
length of a meter stick, or the rate of a ticking clock, depends on who
measures it.
43: Velocity and Time
Einstein is motivated to perfect the central ideas of physics,
resulting in a new understanding of the meaning of space and time.
44: Mass, Momentum, Energy
The new meaning of space and time make it necessary to
formulate a new mechanics, therefore E = mc squared.
45: Temperature and Gas Laws
Hot discoveries about the behavior of gases make the connection
between temperature and heat.
46: Engine of Nature
The Carnot engine, part one, beginning with simple steam
engines.
47: Entropy
The Carnot engine, part two, with profound implications for the
behavior of matter and the flow of time through the universe.
48: Low Temperatures
With the quest for low temperatures came the discovery that all
elements can exist in each of the basic states of matter.
49: The Atom
A history of the atom, from the ancient Greeks to the early 20th
century, and a new challenge for the world of physics.
50: Particles and Waves
Evidence that light can sometimes act like a particle leads to
quantum mechanics, the new physics.
51: From Atoms to Quarks
Electron waves attracted to the nucleus of an atom help account
for the periodic table of the elements and ultimately lead to the
search for quarks.
52: The Quantum Mechanical Universe
A last look at where we've been and a peek into the future.
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