TTC Introduction to Astrophysics

TTC – Introduction to Astrophysics
Duration: 13h 12m | .MP4 1280×720, 30 fps(r) | AAC, 48000 Hz, 2ch | 11.1 GB

Everyone loves to observe the beauty of the star-studded night sky, to say nothing of the dazzling images from the Hubble Space Telescope. But how many of us truly understand how stars shine, where Saturn’s rings come from, or why galaxies have their distinctive shapes? Observational astronomy excels at imaging and cataloging celestial objects, but it takes a more rigorous discipline to come up with physical explanations for them. That field is astrophysics.

A universe of galaxies: In the 1920s, Edwin Hubble’s study of an enigmatic nebula proved that it was, in fact, another galaxy-at a time when the Milky Way was thought to be the only galaxy there was. Since then, we have amassed evidence for hundreds of billions of galaxies.
Exoplanets: The hunt for planets orbiting other stars was considered impractical, until a range of clever techniques were developed in the 1990s. Thousands of “exoplanets” have since been discovered, many in planetary orbits unlike anything seen in our solar system.
Throughout the course, Dr. Winn uses custom-designed graphics and animations to help you visualize what’s happening. As he makes clear from the first lecture, this course relies heavily on high school and first-year college math. As Dr Winn says: “I’ll also rely on first-year physics. Sometimes I’ll go deeper-I’ll use vectors, or take derivatives, which I hope will be helpful to those of you who’ve studied more math. But if not, don’t worry, I promise to do my very best to help you understand the results, even if you can’t follow every step.”

Even if you feel like math and physics are not your strongest subjects, you will find his presentation enthralling, as you witness how astrophysicists frame, analyze, and solve problems that have led to astonishing discoveries throughout the universe.

Experience the Thrill of Discovery

How dense is the Sun: From observations of total solar eclipses and ocean tides, you can deduce that the Sun is, on average, half as dense as the Moon, or about 1.5 grams per cubic centimeter. This is an important clue about how the Sun and other stars work.
The Milky Way’s core: At the center of our galaxy, stars orbit a seemingly empty point in space. It can only be a black hole. But how big is it? Given the orbital period and semimajor axis of one of the stars, the calculation is simple: four million solar masses.
Cover the Fundamentals

In other cases, detail is exactly what you want to avoid. One of the tricks for dealing with the vast range of concepts and spatial scales in astrophysics is using shortcuts whenever possible, such as:

Order of magnitude: Dispense with constants, extra significant figures, and other unnecessary marks of precision, to zero in on the order of magnitude-the nearest factor of ten-of the answer you seek.
Dimensional analysis: Normally used to keep units straight in a calculation, this technique sometimes lets you guess the right equation you need, by reverse-engineering it from the known units of the solution.
Scaling relation: This trick is a shortcut for creating a streamlined version of an equation, based on a benchmark case with known values. Analogous cases can then be scaled up or down by the appropriate factor.
The Most Amazing Subject in the Universe

An award-winning teacher at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, Professor Winn has a fresh, exciting approach to astrophysics. For example, while many traditional astrophysics classes often don’t touch on black holes until the end of the course, Professor Winn believes it is “a terrible idea-it’s educational malpractice! Black holes are some of the most fascinating things in the universe.” His infectious joy in the subject-even when it is at its most complex-is palpable in every lecture.

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