Introduction to Special Relativity

A photograph of Albert Einstein sitting at a table.

Albert Einstein. (Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.)

Instructor(s)

MIT Course Number

8.20

As Taught In

January IAP 2005

Level

Undergraduate

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Course Description

Course Features

Course Highlights

This course is offered during the Independent Activities Period (IAP), which is a special 4-week term at MIT that runs from the first week of January until the end of the month.

Course Description

This course introduces the basic ideas and equations of Einstein's Special Theory of Relativity. If you have hoped to understand the physics of Lorentz contraction, time dilation, the "twin paradox", and E=mc2, you're in the right place.

Acknowledgements

Prof. Knuteson wishes to acknowledge that this course was originally designed and taught by Prof. Robert Jaffe.

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Related Content

Bruce Knuteson. 8.20 Introduction to Special Relativity. January IAP 2005. Massachusetts Institute of Technology: MIT OpenCourseWare, https://ocw.mit.edu. License: Creative Commons BY-NC-SA.


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