8.20 Introduction to Special Relativity, January (IAP) 2003
Albert Einstein. (Image courtesy of
NASA.)
Highlights of this Course
This course is offered during MIT's Independent Activities Period (
IAP) -- a special 4-week term at MIT that runs from the first week of January until the end of the month. The web site includes comprehensive
problem sets.
Course Description
Introduces the basic ideas and equations of Einstein's Special Theory of Relativity. Topics include: Lorentz transformations, length contraction and time dilation, four vectors, Lorentz invariants, relativistic energy and momentum, relativistic kinematics, Doppler shift, space-time diagrams, relativity paradoxes, and some concepts of General Relativity.