Professor Susskind continues the in-depth discussion of the physics of black holes. He begins with the Schwarzschild metric and then applies coordinate transformations to demonstrate that spacetime is nearly flat in the vicinity of the event horizon of a large black hole. In other words, nothing special happens at the event horizon for an observer falling towards the black hole. Professor Susskind then uses spacetime diagrams with hyperbolic coordinates to describe the physics of falling through the event horizon and into the black hole. The students' have many questions about the unusual properties of black holes. Topics: - Schwarzschild metric - Event horizon - Singularity Recorded on November 5, 2012.

1. The Equivalence Principle and Tensor Analysis
2. Tensor Mathematics
3. Riemannian Geometry: Flatness and Curvature
4. Geodesics, Gravitational Fields, & Special Relativity
5. The Metric for a Gravitational Field
6. Schwarzschild Radius & Black Hole Singularity
7. Falling into a Black Hole: The Event Horizon
8. Black Hole Formation, Penrose Diagrams & Wormholes
9. Einstein Field Equations of General Relativity
10. Gravity Waves: Gravitational Radiation & Einstein-Hilbert Action

General relativity is the geometric theory of gravitation published by Albert Einstein in 1916 and the current description of gravitation in modern physics. General relativity generalizes special relativity and Newton's law of universal gravitation, providing a unified description of gravity as a geometric property of space and time, or spacetime. In particular, the curvature of spacetime is directly related to the energy and momentum of whatever matter and radiation are present. This course uses the physics of black holes extensively to develop and illustrate the concepts of general relativity and curved spacetime. This series is the fourth installment of a six-quarter series that explore the foundations of modern physics. In this quarter, Leonard Susskind focuses on Einstein's General Theory of Relativity.