28-Einstein’s Relativities

Relativity, in the sense of the physical sciences, is the study of the comparison of observations by different observers. While a seemingly trivial pursuit, relativity has provided deep insights into reality and the universe. The approach taken in this class is to discuss the historical evolution of relativity: we will begin with Galileo and Newton and end with remarkable confirmations of Einstein’s ideas. The topics by session: (1) Overview; (2) Galilean and special relativity; (3) General Relativity; (4) Black holes, cosmology, and gravitational waves.