99-305: The Year is 1905: E= mc2, photons and relativity

99- 305: "The Year is 1905": E= mc2, photons and relativity
Fall 2006; Thursdays 6:30 to 8:30

Instructors: Gregg Franklin, Physics
Indira Nair, Engineering and Public Policy

"2005 has been declared as The World Year of Physics, an international celebration of physics by the United Nations, timed to coincide with the 100th anniversary of Albert Einstein's "miraculous year"." http://www.physics2005.org/

1905 has been called "Annus Mirabilis", the year of miracles in Physics because Albert Einstein, then a patent clerk in Switzerland, published four papers that changed the face of physics. In 1905, Einstein revolutionized much of science with three groundbreaking advances: he proved the existence of atoms and molecules, he validated the emerging field of quantum mechanics, and he developed the theory of special relativity - which led to the most famous equation ever written, E=mc2.

The United Nations has officially declared 2005 the International Year of Physics, and more than thirty nations are participating in the year-long celebrations with public lectures, museum exhibits, and educational projects." (http://www.physics2005.org/, http://www.aip.org/history/einstein/).

The primary objective of the course is to make the "miracle" of 1905 conceptually accessible to all students and to place the discoveries in the contexts of history and culture. In addition to the basic physical principles of the discoveries, this course will look at the phenomenon of 1905 with lenses of history, sociology and of the culture of science. The first reference below has all these components, and will be augmented by some of the readings on the culture and history of science, such as works by Thomas Kuhn and Gerald Holton. Students will discover the significance of Einstein's work with a survey of the history of concepts that led up to that point, the culture of the doing of science, the importance of the 1905 papers, and the social and historical consequences of E=mc2.

The course is open to students of all majors and years. Students are not expected to have a mathematics background, but are required to read the readings completely, be active in class and Blackboard discussions and complete several writing assignments and projects.


The course will meet once a week for two hours, in order to give students time for reading the books, and to write a reflective piece each week. It is our hope that the students will leave the course with an appreciation for physics in general and aware of the meaning of the great conceptual leaps in 1905.