Susskind Theoretical Minimum/Core Courses A

Educational level: this is a tertiary (university) resource.

Subject classification: this is a physics resource.

A restoration of a good index into the lectures of Leonard Susskind (Stanford).

Select from:    All Courses         Core Courses A (2007-2009)         Core Courses B (2011-2013)         Supplemental Courses        

   

   

Core Courses A (2007-2009)

Classical Mechanics A

• Lecture 1 - State diagrams and the nature of physical laws
• Lecture 2 - Newton's laws, principle of least action
• Lecture 3 - Euler-Lagrange equations, symmetry and conservation laws
• Lecture 4 - Symmetry and conservation Laws
• Lecture 5 - Lagrangians and Hamiltonians
• Lecture 6 - Hamilton's equations
• Lecture 7 - Liouville’s theorem
• Lecture 8 - Motion in an electromagnetic field
• Lecture 9 - Poisson brackets formulation

Quantum Mechanics A

• Lecture 1
• Lecture 2
• Lecture 3
• Lecture 4
• Lecture 5
• Lecture 6
• Lecture 7
• Lecture 8
• Lecture 9
• Lecture 10

Special Relativity A

• Lecture 1 - Inertial reference frames
• Lecture 2 - Principle of least action
• Lecture 3 - Invariance of the laws of nature
• Lecture 4 - Lagrangian mechanics
• Lecture 5 - Conservation of charge and momentum
• Lecture 6 - Relativistic wave equation and conservation laws
• Lecture 7 - Invariance under gauge transformations
• Lecture 8 - Gauge theory

General Relativity A

• Lecture 1 - Newtonian Gravity and the equivalence principle
• Lecture 2 - Tidal forces and curvature
• Lecture 3 - Essential tools: tensors and the metric
• Lecture 4 - Tensor mechanics
• Lecture 5 - Covariant differentiation and geodesics
• Lecture 6 - The flat space of special relativity
• Lecture 7 - The Riemannian curvature tensor
• Lecture 8 - Equations of motion in curved space
• Lecture 9 - Gravitation in the Newtonian approximation
• Lecture 10 - Energy-momentum tensor and Einstein's equations
• Lecture 11 - Accelerated coordinates
• Lecture 12 - World lines and Schwarzschild solution

Cosmology A

• Lecture 1 - Geometry of the expanding universe
• Lecture 2 - Newtonian and Friedmann-Robertson-Walker cosmology
• Lecture 3 - Structure of the universe
• Lecture 4 - Background microwave radiation
• Lecture 5 - Cosmological curvature
• Lecture 6 - Surface of last scattering
• Lecture 7 - Cosmological inflation
• Lecture 8 - Big omega

Statistical Mechanics A

• Lecture 1 - Conservation of information, energy, entropy, and temperature
• Lecture 2 - The mathematics of statistical mechanics
• Lecture 3 - The Boltzman distribution and fluctuations
• Lecture 4 - Helmholtz free energy and the partition function
• Lecture 5 - Diatomic molecules and black hole thermodynamics
• Lecture 6 - Second law of thermodynamics
• Lecture 7 - Harmonic oscillators and quantum states
• Lecture 8 - Magnets
• Lecture 9 - Phase transitions and chemical potential
• Lecture 10 - Thermal radiation and inflation

See also

• The Theoretical Minimum Site