
Lecture Description
In this video lecture, Prof. Walter Lewin lectures on Kepler's Laws, Elliptical Orbits, Change of Orbits, and the famous passing of a Ham Sandwich. Kepler's three Laws summarize the motion of the planets in our solar system. Following Newton's law of universal gravitation, the conservation of angular momentum and mechanical energy allow us to calculate the semimajor axis of the elliptical orbits, the orbital period and other orbital parameters. All we have to know is one position and the associated velocity of a planet and the entire orbit follows.
Course Index
- Measurements of Space and Time
- Speed, Velocity and Acceleration
- Vectors
- 3D Kinematics: The Motion of Projectiles
- Circular Motion
- Newton's Three Laws
- Weight and Weightlessness
- Frictional Forces
- Exam Review
- Hooke's Law and Simple Harmonic Motion
- Work and Mechanical Energy
- Resistive Forces
- Conservative Forces and SHO
- Energy, Power and Satellite Orbits
- Collisions and the Center of Mass
- Elastic and Inelastic Collisions
- Change of Momentum, Impulse and Rockets
- Exam Review
- Rotational Kinetic Energy
- Angular Momentum
- Torques and Oscillating Bodies
- Kepler's Laws and Elliptical Orbits
- Doppler Shift and Stellar Dynamics
- Rolling Motion & Gyroscopes
- Static Equilibrium
- Elasticity of Materials
- Pressure in a Static Fluid
- Buoyant Force and Bernoulli's Equation
- Exam Review
- Other Oscillating Systems
- Forced Oscillations and Resonance
- Heat, Conductivity and Thermal Expansion
- Kinetic Gas Theory & Phases
- The Wonderful Quantum World
- X-ray Astronomy and Astrophysics
Course Description
8.01 is a first-semester freshman physics class in Newtonian Mechanics, Fluid Mechanics, and Kinetic Gas Theory. In addition to the basic concepts of Newtonian Mechanics, Fluid Mechanics, and Kinetic Gas Theory, a variety of interesting topics are covered in this course: Binary Stars, Neutron Stars, Black Holes, Resonance Phenomena, Musical Instruments, Stellar Collapse, Supernovae, Astronomical observations from very high flying balloons (lecture 35), and you will be allowed a peek into the intriguing Quantum World.