A torus is built from a cylinder of circumference 2π and length T by gluing the edges with a twist angle θ. The set of inequivalent tori is represented by the points in the orange region. In all these tori the shortest geodesic has length greater than or equal to 2π. (Image by MIT OpenCourseWare.)
Instructor(s)
Prof. Barton Zwiebach
Prof. Alan Guth
MIT Course Number
8.251
As Taught In
Spring 2007
Level
Undergraduate
Course Description
Course Features
Course Description
This course introduces string theory to undergraduate and is based upon Prof. Zwiebach's textbook entitled A First Course in String Theory. Since string theory is quantum mechanics of a relativistic string, the foundations of the subject can be explained to students exposed to both special relativity and basic quantum mechanics. This course develops the aspects of string theory and makes it accessible to students familiar with basic electromagnetism and statistical mechanics.