Applications of General Relativity

3 credits · Undergraduate

(3 hrs Lecture) Einstein's Theory of General relativity replaces Newton's law of gravitation with the curvature of spacetime. This seemingly exotic theory has been confirmed many times over, resulting in several Nobel prizes, and is used every day in numerous applications such as GPS. This course explains the relativistic view of the universe, beginning with special relativity. Students learn about experimental tests of gravity and features of important solutions of general relativity, such as black holes, cosmological spacetimes, and gravitational waves. This course focuses on the physical intuition of curved spacetime, and the applications to cosmology and black holes, without requiring an extensive mathematical background. Experimental Course - This course is offered on a trial basis to gauge interest in the topic. Students who successfully complete this course receive credit as indicated. Restrictions: Students may not hold credit for this class and PHYS-4501. Requisite Courses: PHYS-2105 and PHYS-2106 [prerequisite(s)]; PHYS-2302 (must be taken previously or at the same time as this course).