Richard Feynman Lectures on Quantum Electrodynamics

Course Description

Feynman's lectures were originally given as the Sir Douglas Robb lectures at the University of Auckland, New Zealand in 1979. Videotapes of these lectures were made publicly available on a not-for-profit basis in 1996. These 4 lectures given by world renowned physicist Richard Feynman were adapted into a book called "QED: The Strange Theory of Light and Matter." QED was designed to be a popular science book, written in a witty style, and containing just enough quantum-mechanical mathematics to allow the solving of very basic problems in quantum electrodynamics by an educated lay audience. It is unusual for a popular science book in the level of mathematical detail it goes into, actually allowing the reader to solve simple optics problems, as might be found in an actual textbook. But unlike in a typical textbook, the mathematics is taught in very simple terms, with no attempt to solve problems efficiently, use standard terminology, or facilitate further advancement in the field. The focus instead is on nurturing a basic conceptual understanding of what is really going on in such calculations. Complex numbers are taught, for instance, by asking the reader to imagine that there are tiny clocks attached to subatomic particles. The book was first published in 1985 by the Princeton University Press.