academic-development > Physics

The History of Physics

Develop your knowledge about physics and its theories, including how it has changed over time and how the history of science is interwoven with politics, economics, religion and art.

Created By

Sunil P

16-18, Adult
Physics

15 HOURS

10 LESSONS

The History of Physics

academic-development

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Course Overview


The course will introduce themes, episodes and figures from the history of physics, from Greek philosophy through to the frontiers of twentieth-century physics. Students will develop an appreciation of how scientific theories emerge, develop and are superseded, and how the history of science is interwoven with politics, economics, religion, and art. This course will broaden the students' perspective and outlook on physics as well as provide a deeper understanding of how theories emerged. The course will guide the students through the stages of scientific development until we reach the modern era. After this course, students will be more knowledgeable about physics and the theories that have developed over the centuries.

Course Content


10 LESSONS

15 HOURS Total Length

Lesson 1

Natural Philosophy in Antiquity: Astronomy, Aristotle and the Problem of Change

90 minutes

Lesson 2

Physics in the Medieval University

90 minutes

Lesson 3

Astronomy and the Cosmos from Copernicus to Newton

90 minutes

Lesson 4

The Scientific Revolution? Mechanism and Experiment in the Seventeenth Century

90 minutes

Lesson 5

The Newtonian Legacy: Eighteenth Century Physics

90 minutes

Lesson 6

Science and Society from the Renaissance to the Enlightenment

90 minutes

Lesson 7

Physics and the Industrial Age

90 minutes

Lesson 8

Electromagnetism and the Ether

90 minutes

Lesson 9

Nineteenth Century Crises and Twentieth Century Revolutions: Relativity and Quantum Physics

90 minutes

Lesson 10

Physics in the Atomic Age and Since

90 minutes

Key Skills


Interdisciplinary Focus

Thinking into Alien Worldviews

History of Physics

Educator

Sunil P

Maths and Physics Specialist

Having been an Educator for a number of years, Sunil is now studying for his PGCE and is a highly qualified maths and physics educator.

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