Description
As it turns out, we can recreate some of the most pivotal experiments in scientific history with everyday materials, following in the footsteps of Galileo (the nature of motion), Newton (light and gravity), Franklin (electric charge), Faraday (motors and generators), and more. Along the way, we can explore the lives and times of these pioneers and others, less well known but equally influential. Together we will work to gain both cerebral and practical insights into the nature of vision, the physics of the industrial revolution, and the seeds of Einstein’s relativity theories. This is physics as one of the humanities, a strand in the fabric of human history, with all the beauty and terror that implies. No prior coursework in physics is required, and we’ll use as little (or as much) math as participants desire.
Joshua Roth is a Los Angeles, California, native who successfully transplanted himself to Arlington, MA, some 30 years ago. Formerly a research astronomer and science journalist, he has taught physics, astronomy, and allied subjects at Arlington High School, Lesley University, and Emmanuel College.
