20th Cent Concepts of Space, Time, & Matter

(4 Credits)

The 20th century has been witness to two major revolutions in man's concepts of space, time, and matter. Einstein's special and general theories of relativity: implications of the special theory, for our understanding of the unity of space and time, and the general theory, for our understanding of the nature of gravity. Quantum mechanics: a new picture of the basic structure and interactions of atoms, molecules, and nuclei. Topics include the uncertainty principle, wave-particle duality, and the continuing search for the fundamental constituents of matter.