Required Reading List
Required reading list. When a chapter is indicated, it refers to a
chapter in the class textbook "Black holes and time warps: Einstein's
outrageous legacy" by Kip Thorne. For a given date (e.g., Feb 6), you
are to have read the material before that class, and this is the
reading to which you are to write a response; an exception is for
the Jan 30 class, where no report on that reading is needed as it was
the first class.
- Jan 30: Introduction, and ancient conceptions
Link
- Feb 6: The scientific revolution; Galileo and Kepler
Link
- Feb 13: Newton and the concept of mathematical modeling of physics
Link 1,
Link 2
Link 3
- Feb 20: Between Newton and Einstein
Link 1,
Link 2,
Link 3
- Feb 27: Special relativity: the union of space and time
Link 1,
Link 2,
Link 3,
and Chapter 1 in Thorne
- Mar 5: General relativity and its tests
Link 1
Link 2
and Chapter 2 in Thorne
- Mar 12: Midterm; no extra reading
- Mar 19: Spring break; enjoy yourself!
- Mar 26: Implications and rejection: black holes and the expanding universe
Link 1,
Link 2,
Link 3,
and Chapter 3 in Thorne
- Apr 2: Do black holes exist? Observations of black holes; how can
we rule out alternatives?
Link 1,
Link 2,
and Chapters 4, 5, and 6 in Thorne
- Apr 9: The mathematical golden age: acceptance, proofs, and evaporation
Link 1,
Link 2,
Link 3,
and Chapters 7 and 12 in Thorne
- Apr 16: The influence of black holes on their surroundings
Link
and Chapters 8 and 9 in Thorne
- Apr 23: Gravitational waves
Link
and Chapter 10 in Thorne
- Apr 30: The far-out future: wormholes and time machines
Link 1,
Link 2,
and Chapters 13 and 14 in Thorne
- May 7: Presentation of term projects; no extra reading
- May 16, 1:30-3:30 PM: final exam; no extra reading
Send me to:
astro home page
Cole's home page