The First List

The first list, List 1, is a pretty neat tour of the basics of physics. One of the most striking problems of a new comer to physics, is that to understand one topic, you need to know another. Fortunately you can learn the physics in ways that will avoid that unfortunate catch 22. The following list has been carefully constructed to make sense, and be interesting (which, honestly, it is!).

This list is best followed in numerical order. With that in mind, entry 11 should be done at the same time as the rest (as needed).

The List

1. Particle Physics
1. The Particles
2. Particle Behaviour (phenomena)
2. Mechanics (Motion)
1. Circular and Straight Motion
2. Motion of a State
3. Gravity
1. Newtons Law
2. Strength and Potential
4. Electromagnetism
1. Coulombs Law
2. Strength and Potential
5. Electronics
1. Current, Voltage and Resistance
2. Statics
6. Nuclear Physics
1. Structure and Energy
2. Radiation
7. Thermodynamics
1. Laws and Engines
2. P, V, T and Energy relations
8. Astrophysics
1. Telescopes and Stars
2. Cosmology
9. Medical Physics
1. Eyes and Ears
2. Measurements and Imaging
10. The Evolution of Physics
1. Paradigm Shifts
11. Mathematics
1. Algebra and Logarithms
2. Geometry

Future posts for List1 will be in reference to this list. If you are following this list, then keep an eye out for the relevant posts, as there will be more than one for each entry!

To construct this list, the AQA website was occasionally viewed, as the first level is at a similar level to A Level. Although AQA had a quite nice syllabus, it was rather dull and old fashioned, despite being updated in the last 5 years. This first list is intended to be self contained, however it will also do a lot for a revision list! The list is by the muon Academy, but in-case you would like to see how the AQA compare, see the following link.

AQA A-level Physics A:
http://web.aqa.org.uk/qual/gce/science/physics-a-materials.php

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The MIT Online Lectures

"First in my class at MIT" - A line that we may be familiar with Weird Al Yankovic rapping in White and Nerdy. If you don't know Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), it's a very successful American university, and as the name suggests, it is good with it's technology. The best demonstration of MIT making good use of technology is with it's "Open Course Ware" website (OCW). The website boasts a lot of online teaching material for physics. Material that is highly applicable to our Bones Scholars.

The material presented on OCW is aimed at university students, but that in no way means that it is limited only to Bones. It could do good for Skulls to have a cheeky look at what to expect in Bones, or for a Jaw to have a quick review. There are even course materials on string theory. To focus on Bones, there is a vista of relevant work. However, due to the OCW being aimed at only their own students, there is occasionally material omitted. Thankfully, it's still good. Let's have a look at a classic physics course:

Classical Mechanics 

Classical mechanics is the physicists' bread and butter - much like what expelliarmus is to a witch or wizard. The most recent material for class. mech. on the OCW is from Autumn 2010. Let's take a look:

On the course home page we have a small explanation to who the material was provided to, this one was for first year students. On the left of the page is a syllabus, as the courses are separated into syllabuses. By selecting the topic, the material is unveiled. For this particular course, a wealth of information is provided: video lectures, lecture notes in PDF, suggested reading and learning activities. This is the case for most of the courses. This is essentially everything that you need!

By using the OCW material with the suggested material from Gerard 't Hooft's guide to be becoming a good theoretical physicist, you could advance fast. Alternatively, you could just work thought the entire physics section on the OCW!


MIT OpenCourseWare, Physics:
http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/physics/


How to become a good theoretical physicist by Gerard 't Hooft (29/11/2012 blog):
http://mmxiacademy.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/how-to-become-good-theoretical.html

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Impressing with Physics (Misconceptions about the Higgs)

The Higgs boson has been cycled through the media a lot recently. And, as is common with the media, a dark cloud follows has been following it around. Physics Professor, Mike Kruse, has explained some of the major parts of the dark cloud, in a little article from Duke University: "Top 5 common misconceptions about the Higgs particle"

The first misconception is, at first sight, just being a little bit pedantic about the wording:

Misconception: The Higgs particle gives other particles mass.
Correction: The masses of fundamental particles come from interactions with the Higgs field.

But this is a lesson to all of our Scholars, as it is so tempting to leave actual physics aside, in favour of a more colourful and dramatic explanation.

Theother misconceptions are a mixture of technicalities:

Misconception: The Higgs field generates the mass of everything.
Correction: The Higgs field generates the mass of about one percent of observable matter and possibly all of dark matter.


Bizarrities:

Misconception: There was a "eureka moment" for discovering the Higgs boson and the existence of the Higgs field.
Correction: There will never be eureka moments for discoveries such as the Higgs boson and the Higgs field at the Large Hadron Collider.


And good, simple, misconceptions:


 Misconception: The Higgs field is what scientists used to call the aether.
 Correction: The Higgs field isn't a medium; it's a field of energy.


Misconception: The Higgs boson creates the Higgs field.
 Correction: The Higgs field generates the Higgs boson.



So, if you are using physics to impress someone, either tell 'em it straight, or remember the truth afterwards. We all use physics to impress people, from time to time.



The full article about misconceptions:
http://today.duke.edu/2012/11/higgsmisconceptions

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Skull Toolbox - Hyper Physics

As with any toolbox, you want to see a good range of tools. In the Skull toolbox, we also see a good range, and a nice place too see this is on the Hyper Physics webpage. Hyper Physics is a physics info. page, hosted be Georgia State University perhaps as an effort to make sure their students are at a similar level to our Skull Scholars.

The best part about Hyper Physics is it's layout. As you can see, it's set up in a spider-diagram arrangement, which is interactive and will take you to more spider-diagrams when you click on it. Visually the page is quite, quite dated, and looks like it was made in an old peoples home. It certainly has function over design, especially as it does function well.

If you are studying A-level or high school, then Hyper Physics is a good place to complement your studying. Alternatively, and this is a good one, if you've just left compulsory education, Hyper Physics is a really good place to allow to continue learning physics so you can move past Skull into the Bones. However, such a functional resource will seem rather dry, so remember to check out the other parts of Skull too, particularly those relevant to what you may be reading on Hyper Physics.

Despite it's dull appearance, Hyper Physics is a good tool, honest!

Hyper Physics Website:
http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/hph.html

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The Gerard t'Hooft Theoretical Physicist Guide

There's a guide on the internet for how to become a good theoretical physicist without going to university. It's written by a rather famous physicist which, to me, says it's a pretty valid source. The author is Gerard 't Hooft, who won the 1999 Nobel prize in physics for his work as a theoretical physicist. It outlines some of the main subjects that will lead you to being a good theoretical physicist, along with some resources. Unfortunately a fair few of the links are (were) dead, but it really doesn't affect the good content.

How to Become a GOOD Theoretical Physicist

An Agenda

The good content is primarily the "course agenda":

• Primary Mathematics 
• Classical Mechanics 
• Optics 
• Statistical Mechanics and Thermodynamics 
• Electronics 
• Electromagnetism 
• Computational Physics 
• Quantum Mechanics 
• Atoms and Molecules 
• Solid State Physics 
• Nuclear Physics 
• Plasma physics 
• Advanced Mathematics 
• Special Relativity 
• Advanced Quantum Mechanics 
• Phenomenology 
• General Relativity 
• Quantum Field Theory 
• Superstring Theory

That Bit at the End...

This is essentially a physics tour de force, but fortunately, this is ideal. To not take advice from a physics Nobel prize winner, surely must be a really bad idea. But it was the 1965 winner, Richard Feynman, who said that the Nobel prize was the scientists' equivalent of epaulets and uniform. 

An UPDATE

Today, a year and a half after this was posted, I checked back on this website only to find it had been updated! So sometime between 2012 and 2014, t'Hooft has made the website really nice. In fact... I'm a little bit jealous... By the way, the link to the site is under the image :D.

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Lists and Levels (Skull, Bones and Jaw)

Saying "curriculum" sounds rather dry. Unfortunately, to learn new physics, or even to revise old physics, a system is needed to bring sense to the chaos.To avoid the dryness of the word curriculum, the MMXI Academy will be calling it a simple "list" instead.

Each of the levels - Skull, Bones and Jaw - will have lists, perhaps more that one if necessary.

Based upon where you are as a physicist, you will be wanting to look at resources that are suited to your needs. 

Check out the following levels:

• Skull 

This is the starting place, where your physics-mind is born. Think GCSE or A-level (High School).

• Bones 

Here things heat-up fast, perfect for avoiding huge tuition fees or to accompany university study. Think university undergraduate.

• Jaw

The finishing line. At this point you will essentially be a researcher. Think postgraduate and PhD.

Posts will be labelled with the appropriate level(s), such as "Bones", so can be filtered with the search option!

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Let the fans begin

Learn physics for free. Be a curious mind or a researcher, it should be accessible to everyone everywhere, for free.

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