Free Course Image General Relativity of Einstein

Free online courseGeneral Relativity of Einstein

Duration of the online course: 30 hours and 22 minutes

New course

Enroll in MIT's free online course on Einstein's General Relativity and explore pivotal physics concepts, including tensors, geodesics, and black holes.

In this free course, learn about

  • Foundations and Tensor Calculus
  • Geometry of Spacetime and Einstein Equations
  • Linearized Gravity and Gravitational Waves
  • Cosmology and Compact Objects

Course Description

Explore the fascinating world of Einstein's General Relativity through MIT's comprehensive online course. Delve into an engaging journey that introduces you to the geometric viewpoint on physics, laying the foundation for understanding this complex and captivating theory. Begin with an in-depth look at tensors and their continued exploration, building up to concepts of volumes, volume elements, and pivotal conservation laws.

The course progresses to unveil the intricacies of the stress energy tensor and the Christoffel symbol, alongside a profound exploration of the principle of equivalence. This principle serves as a cornerstone for understanding gravity and motion, further expanded upon through topics such as parallel transport, Lie transport, and Killing vectors.

Develop your knowledge with lessons on geodesics and spacetime curvature, incorporating detailed discussions on the Einstein field equation with variant derivations. The course also covers linearized gravity, offering insights into both static limits and dynamic sources, which pave the way for an understanding of gravitational waves and radiation.

Broaden your cosmological perspective through sessions on cosmology, delving into the universe's vast and enigmatic nature. The final segments of the course offer an exploration of spherical compact sources and black holes, providing a comprehensive understanding of these mysterious celestial phenomena.

This course is perfectly tailored for those with a keen interest in physics, providing a structured pathway to master the essentials of General Relativity. Enhance your knowledge through this enriching educational experience designed by MIT's distinguished faculty in the field of physics.

Course content

  • Video class: 1. Introduction and the geometric viewpoint on physics. 1h08m
  • Exercise: What is the recommended textbook for the course?
  • Video class: 2. Introduction to tensors. 1h19m
  • Exercise: What is an invariant feature of the 4-velocity in special relativity?
  • Video class: 3. Tensors continued. 1h11m
  • Exercise: What is the Metric Tensor in Special Relativity?
  • Video class: 4. Volumes and volume elements; conservation laws. 1h19m
  • Exercise: What is a key concept of tensors according to the lecture on working with them?
  • Video class: 5. The stress energy tensor and the Christoffel symbol. 1h20m
  • Exercise: What is the component T00 of the stress-energy tensor in the stress-energy tensor for dust, according to the lecture?
  • Video class: 6. The principle of equivalence. 1h20m
  • Exercise: What is a Christoffel symbol and its role in tensors?
  • Video class: 7. Principle of equivalence continued; parallel transport. 1h21m
  • Exercise: What is the main physical principle underlying general relativity that was introduced in the lecture?
  • Video class: 8. Lie transport, Killing vectors, tensor densities. 1h16m
  • Exercise: What principle did the Apollo program test by dropping a hammer and a feather on the moon?
  • Video class: 9. Geodesics. 1h20m
  • Video class: 10. Spacetime curvature. 1h20m
  • Video class: 11. More on spacetime curvature. 1h19m
  • Video class: 12. The Einstein field equation. 1h17m
  • Video class: 13. The Einstein field equation (variant derivation). 1h18m
  • Video class: 14. Linearized gravity I: Principles and static limit. 1h14m
  • Video class: 15. Linearized gravity II: Dynamic sources 1h15m
  • Video class: 16. Gravitational radiation I 1h25m
  • Video class: 17. Gravitational radiation II 1h30m
  • Video class: 18. Cosmology I 1h28m
  • Video class: 19. Cosmology II 1h36m
  • Video class: 20. Spherical compact sources I 1h03m
  • Video class: 21. Spherical compact sources II 1h13m
  • Video class: 22. Black holes I 1h26m
  • Video class: 23. Black holes II 1h11m

This free course includes:

30 hours and 22 minutes of online video course

Digital certificate of course completion (Free)

Exercises to train your knowledge

100% free, from content to certificate

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