For the physics lovers and physics-phobes alike

[pokerfan]

Anyone remember The Mechanical Universe? It was a 52-part telecourse filmed at Caltech. Now you can watch these half hour episodes on line!

Stream the entire series for free!

I honestly can not recommend this series enough. Lots of animation, amusing lectures and even reenacted biographies of the great scientists. The professor has a very dry sense of humor and is a bit of a Renaissance man.

Recommended.

[DS1]

1. Listening to this makes me realize why I did so poorly in school

I'm not an idiot. GET TO THE FUCKING POINT YOU FUCKS!

They mention angular momentum, and then completely lose track, and start on and on about something else. Slowly. Get back to the point you fucking dick.

Yeah, I'm angry, that's what I was feeling in school, as well. No wonder I lost interest.

edit: Clicked it off, too much fluff.

[pokerfan]

2. ADD?

They have drugs for that now.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Goodstein

[DS1]

3. could be

doesn't excuse the fluff.

[pokerfan]

4. Which episode pissed you off?

Angular momentum doesn't really narrow it down. Should have stayed with it to end. They usually end with a short lecture that ties everything up.

What was the fluff? The history? The music?

[DS1]

6. First one

The deliberate slowness of his talking, the perceived need to explain the history of everything. They couldn't just get right to the heart of it.

[pokerfan]

8. That was only the introduction

Its purpose wasn't to explain anything. Ot didn't explain the laws of motion, gravitation, harmonic motion, resonance or vector mathematics either.

Angular momentum is covered in #19. It's needed to understand Newton's explanation of Kepler's laws.

[DS1]

9. I'll give another look

:)

[The Straight Story]

5. sweet, thanks for the link

No sound on this laptop, but I can listen at work ;)

[Tektonik]

7. I used to go to Cal Tech lectures while in HS

I've never slept so well on car rides home ever before.

[GreatCaesarsGhost]

10. Univ of MD Channel has been playing it in a continual loop.

for years. excellent show. one thing i learned, isaac newton died a virgin at 85 and was proud of it. he was also a prick.

[pokerfan]

11. My cable used to play it all the time

so it's kind of nice to have it on demand.

I knew that Sir Newton was very unpleasant but I did not know about the virgin death thing. Might explain why he was so unpleasant.

Still, the principia is the greatest single work in the history of science.

Feynman has a great geometric proof of Kepler's laws using Newton's law of universal gravitation. I think it's in 'Six Easy Pieces.'

[laconicsax]

12. zOMG!!!!elevens111

This is so fraking awesome.

Thanks!

[pokerfan]

13. Now if I could just find Cosmos online

[laconicsax]

14. I think it's only available for purchase