ionization of, 131
sound waves of, 107–8
platinum, 7
Pluto, 55
plutonium, 170, 186
Polaris, 152
Polaroid Corporation, 92
Pollock, Jackson, 268
Pooley, David, xiv
potassium-40, 183
potential energy, 173
pressure, 59–77
air, see air pressure
atmospheric, 63–64, 66–68
definition of, 61
direction and, 61–62
flight and, 73–75
hydrostatic, 63–73
neutron degeneracy, 220
straws and, 63–66
under water, 67–71
Priestley, Joseph, 146
Principia (Newton), 50
Privilege of Being a Physicist, The (Weisskopf), 19
progenitor, 220
protons, 6, 9, 40, 130, 153, 245
in core-collapse supernova, 220–21
mass of, 229
in plasma, 107
Proxima Centauri, 30
pulsars, 9, 198, 199
in Crab Nebula, 224–25
Pythagoras, 115
quantum mechanics, 96, 238
quarks, 9, 18, 116
quasars (quasi-stellar radio sources), 9, 199
radio telescopes, 187
radio waves, 104, 224
from Cyg X-1, 240
discovery of, 190
Rainbow balloon, Olympics, 264
rainbows, 78–100, 237
antisolar point of, 84, 89, 97
arc shape of, 83
commonness of, 80
conditions for seeing, 81–82, 84
double, 86
end of, 89
as fogbows, 96–99, 102
in fountains, 88–89
glass beads and, 99–102
glories and, 97–98
homemade, 86–88, 87
hunting for, 84–85
interference (diffraction) and, 95–96
maximum angles for, 82–83, 82
in mythology, 80
in ocean waves, 85
in one’s hand, 90–91
origins of, 80–81
polarization of light and, 91–93, 103
refraction and, 80–83, 82
secondary, 86, 102
supernumerary, 94, 96
tertiary, 89
white, 96
Rapid Bursters, 252–53, 255–59, 256
cataloging of, 258
disk instability and, 258
energy emitted by, 256–57
gamma rays and, 258, 259
national security issue and, 258–59
see also X-ray bursts
Rayleigh scattering, 3–4
reaction lift, 74–75
Real Paper, The, 257
recorder (instrument), 119
redshift, 237, 238–39
gravitational, 227, 232–33
see also Doppler effect
red sprites lighting, 147–48
Redstone missile, 17
reed instruments, 120
Renaissance, 269
Renoir, Pierre-Auguste, 267
Resistance, 14, 15
resonance, 109–24
in cars, 117
Chladni plates and, 118–19
definition of, 109
harmonics and, 111, 114–16
lateral, 124
nodes and, 111
resonance frequency and, 109–12
singers and, 116
in stringed instruments, 111–13
string theory and, 116–17
super, 117–18
in suspension bridge disasters, 123–24
of turning fork, 109–10
and vibrating wineglass, 118
whirling tubes and, 122–23
resonance absorption, 238
Richmann, Georg Wilhelm, 146–47
Ricker, George, 211–12
Röntgen, Wilhelm, 191
rope, 110–11
Rossi, Bruno, 10, 16–18, 107, 193, 195, 199, 201, 215
Rotary Club, 211
Rotor (amusement park ride), 56–58, 136
Royal Society, 146
Rumsfeld, Donald, 31
Sagdeev, Roald, 253–54
St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences, 146
Salam, Abdus, 167
Sandage, Allan, 240
Sanford, Bil, 162
SAS-3 (Third Small Astronomy Satellite), 248–49, 253, 254, 256, 258, 259
satellites, 153
see also specific satellites
Saturn (planet), 165, 282
Saturn (rocket), 17
saxophone, 120
Scarlett, Bob, 258–59
Schrödinger, Erwin, 268
Schwarzschild, Karl, 228
Schwarzschild radius, 228
Scientific American, 182
Scorpio (constellation), 195
Scott, David, 42
Sco X-1 (X-ray source), 31, 195–96, 198, 201, 247, 248
discovery of X-ray flux from, 213–16
Shklovsky model and, 239–40, 243
Shanghai Maglev Train, 164
Shapley, Harlow, 33
Shift (Struycken), 266
Shklovsky, Joseph, 239–40, 243, 253
short circuits, 142–43
silicon, 219
singularity, 228–29, 233–34
Sirius, 31
A, 236
B, 236–37, 241
sitar, 115
skin effect, 145–46
Skylab, 24
Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS), 5, 108
Slumdog Millionaire (film), 141
small-angle approximation, 53
Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC), 32, 33
snorkels, snorkeling, 67–70
sodium iodide crystals, 207
solar eclipse, 79
solar energy, 181–82
solar system, 107, 261
solar wind, 10, 107, 194
auroras and, 153–54
“Some of Walter Lewin’s Best Lines” (video), xii
sound, sound waves, 92
amplitude of, 104–6
from big bang, 107, 108–9
from black hole, 108
frequency of, 104, 105–6
fundamental character of, 104
intensity of, 105
pitch and, 105
plasma and, 107–8
resonance and, see resonance
in space, 107–9
speed of, 103–4, 105
wavelength of, 104–5
southern cross, 213
southern lights (aurora australis), 153–54
Soviet Union, 98, 253–54
space, 19, 269
sound waves in, 107–9
X-rays detected in, 17–18, 187–88, 199, 200–201
Space Research Institute, Soviet, 253
spacetime, 269
gravity and, 226–27
spaghettification, 233–34
sparks, 206–7
electrons and, 138
lightning and, 138–41
noise of, 139
special relativity, theory of, 19, 269
spectrum:
absorption lines of, 237–39
of black bodies, 250
standard atmosphere, 61
standard candles, 34
star clusters, 51
Starry Night (van Gogh), 267
stars, 6, 189–90, 226
binary, 51, 235
brightness and luminosity of, 32–33
core pressure of, 218
energy generated by, 218
gravity generated by, 218
heat of, 218–19
measuring distance of, see stellar distances, measurement of
nuclear fusion in, 218
as standard candle, 34
white dwarf, 230, 241, 244, 245
see also Cepheid variables; specific stars
static electricity, 125–28
Stein, Leo, 267–68
stellar distances, measurement of:
Cepheid variables and, 32–34, 36
Doppler effect and, 34–35
evolution of astronomy and, 27–28
expansion of the universe and, 34–35
Hubble’s constant and, 35–36
parallax and, 28–31, 34, 36
standard candles and, 34
systematic error and, 31
stellar-mass black holes, 234
stellar rotation, 220
Stieber, Nancy, xiii
Stradivarius family, 114
straws, 63–66
stringed instruments, 111–15
color (timbre) of, 112
harmonics and, 114–15
loudness of, 112–13
overtones and, 112
resonanace frequency and, 11–13
sympathetic strings and, 115
string theory, 22–23
resonance and, 116–17
strong nuclear force, 9, 18, 36, 167
Struycken, Peter, 264–67
Stukeley, William, 49
submarines, 70–71
Sun, 3, 5, 10, 28, 33, 49–50, 57, 227
core temperature of, 218
Earth’s distance from, 181, 281–82
energy radiated by, 192, 218
magnetic field of, 153
mass of, 279
solar flares of, 154
X-ray radiation from, 192–93, 194
sunglasses, 91–92
Sunyaev, Rashid, 253
superconductors, 163
Supernova 1987A, 222–23
supernovas, xiv, 192, 196–97, 217
core-collapse, see core-collapse supernova
X-rays from, 223
superstring theory, 22
Swank, Jean, 251
synchrotron radiation, 192
systemic error, 31
Tacoma Narrows Bridge, 123
Taurus (constellation), 196
Tau X-1 (X-ray source), 196
telescopes, 38, 190
IceCube, 190
neutrino, 190
radio, 187
in X-ray ballooning, 204, 206–8, 209–11
Tellefson, Christiane, 258
theory of everything, 22, 116, 167
thermal neutrinos, 221
Third Small Astronomy Satellite (SAS-3), 248–49, 253, 254, 256, 258, 259
Thorne, Kip, 242
Thorsos, Terry, 214
Three Mile Island, 185
timbre (color), 112
torque, 157–58
reversal of, 159
Torricelli, Evangelista, 66–67
trees, 72–73
triboelectric series, 127, 132, 135, 140
tritium, 6–7, 187
trombone, 119, 121
tropopause, 204
trumpet, 112
tuba, 121
tungsten, 151
tuning fork, 104
amplitude and frequency of, 106
frequency of, 106, 109–10
harmonics and, 115–16
Two-degree Field (2dF) Galaxy Redshift Survey, 108
UFOs, 209
Uhuru satellite, 242–43, 244
ultraviolet radiation, 190, 191, 192, 222–23
uncertainty, ix–x, 31
uncertainty principle, 269
unified field theory, 166–67, 270
universal law of gravitation, 49–51, 133
gravitational constant and, 50
impact of, 50–51
universe, 28, 187, 188
age of, 18–19, 35–36
big bang and, see big bang, theory of
expansion of, 34–35
size of, 5
string theory and, 116–17
uranium, 170, 186
enriched, 184
isotope 235 of, 184
V-2 rockets, 16–17
vacuum, 67, 107
Van Allen belts, 9
Van de Graaff generator, 140–41
van Drebbel, Cornelis, 70
Van Gogh, Vincent, 263, 267, 268
Vela-5 spy satellites, 248
Venus, 9, 32, 281
violin, 112, 113, 114, 115, 119
vocal cords, 116
volt, 137–38
definition of, 137
Volta, Alessandro, 138
von Braun, Wernher, 17
Wales, Carl, 96
Wapstra, Aaldert, 7–8
Warhol, Andy, 268
Washington, Mount, 66
water, 151
as conductor, 132
heating, 180, 182
ionized, 131
in nuclear power plants, 184
waterfalls, 174–75
watt (unit), 177
wavelength:
of big bang, 108–9
of sound waves, 104–5
of X-rays, 104, 191
W bosons, 18
weak nuclear force, 18, 38, 167
weight:
gravity and, 41
mass and, 41–43, 45
of pendulum, 52
weightlessness, 47–48, 56, 58, 65
Weinberg, Steven, 167
Weisskopf, Victor, 19, 158
white dwarf stars, 230, 241, 244, 245
Whittle, Mark, 109
Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (Albee), 123
wind, 64
wind instruments:
fundamental frequency of, 120
kinds of, 119
and length of air column, 119–21, 122, 123
windmills, 183
wind power, 182–83
Witten, Edward, 23
Woman with a Hat (Matisse), 267–68
“Wonders of Electricity and Magnetism, The,” 134
Woosley, Stan, 223
World War II, 11–16
V-2 rockets in, 16–17
X-ray astronomy, 187, 190–91, 193–99
birth of, 193–96
Crab Nebula and, 196–97
growth of, 201–2
satellite observation and, 242–44
X-ray ballooning, 200–216
altitudes in, 200
balloon in, 203, 209
corona discharge problem in, 206–7
discoveries in, 212–16
duration of flights in, 200
failures in, 205–6
funding of, 202–3, 204
infrastructure for, 203
launches in, 203–6
recovery in, 209–11
rocket-based detection and, 200–201
telescope in, 204, 206–8, 209–11
today, 206
tracking in, 208–10
weather and, 204–5
winds and, 204–5, 209
X-ray binaries:
accreting neutron star in, 239–40, 241
accretion disk of, 245–46
blackbody radiation and, 246
black holes in, 241–42, 244
center of mass of, 235–36
discovery of, 241–42
Doppler effect and, 237–39, 241, 243
flow of matter in, 244–45
Langrangian point and, 244
orbital period of, 236, 239
radio jets from, 246
Shklovsky model of, 239–40, 243
spectra and, 237–38
spectroscopy and, 237–39
visual confirmation of, 236
X-ray emissions from, 242–44, 246–47
X-ray bursts, xiv, 247, 248–57
black bodies and, 250–51
black holes and, 257
”burst watch” for, 254–55
causes of, 250
discovery of, 248–49
gravitational potential energy of, 256–57, 258
as Rapid Bursters, see Rapid Bursters
regularity of, 249–50
sources of, 251
Soviet detection of, 253�
�54
thermonuclear model of, 251–53, 256
Type I, 256–57
Type II, 256–57
X-ray energy in, 249
X-ray heating, 246
X-rays, xiv, 10, 16, 17, 21–22, 225
absorption of, 193
atoms and, 192
blackbody radiation and, 192
from black holes, 242
bremsstrahlung emissions and, 192, 194
cancer and, 193
creation of, 192
definition of, 191
detected from space, 17–18, 187–88, 199, 200–201
energy of, 191–92
flux (varied intensity) of, 212–15
frequency of, 191
light and, 191–92
luminosity of, 246
from Moon, 193–94
from Sun, 192–93
from supernova, 223
synchrotron radiation from, 192
telescopes and, 190
wavelength of, 104, 191
Young, Thomas, 94–95, 154, 269
YouTube, x, xii, 164, 170, 225
Z bosons, 18
Zel’dovich, Yakov, 253
zero-gravity environment, 47
Zwicky, Fritz, 197, 217
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Walter Lewin was born and raised in the Netherlands. In 1965 he received his PhD in Physics from the University of Technology in Delft. He arrived at MIT in 1966 as a postdoctoral fellow. That same year he became an assistant professor and in 1974 was made full professor. He is a highly accomplished astrophysicist, a pioneer in X-ray astronomy, and has published more than four hundred and fifty scientific articles. Lewin taught the three physics core classes at MIT for more than thirty years. These lectures were so popular that they were videotaped and became hits on MIT’s OpenCourseWare, YouTube, iTunes U, and Academic Earth. More than a million people from all over the world watch these lectures yearly. Acclaim for his lectures has been featured in many media outlets, including the New York Times, Boston Globe, International Herald Tribune, Guardian, Washington Post, Newsweek, and U.S. News and World Report. His honors and awards include the NASA Exceptional Scientific Achievement Medal (1978), the Alexander von Humboldt Award, a Guggenheim Fellowship (1984), MIT’s Science Council Prize for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching (1984), the W. Buechner Prize of the MIT Department of Physics (1988), the NASA Group Achievement Award for the Discovery of the Bursting Pulsar (1997), and the Everett Moore Baker Memorial Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching (2003). He became a corresponding member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences and Fellow of the American Physical Society in 1993.
Warren Goldstein is a professor of history and chair of the History Department at the University of Hartford, where he was the recipient of the James E. and Frances W. Bent Award for Scholarly Creativity (2006). He has a lifelong fascination with physics. A prolific and prizewinning historian, essayist, journalist, and lecturer, his prior books include Playing for Keeps: A History of Early Baseball, and the critically acclaimed biography William Sloane Coffin, Jr.: A Holy Impatience. His writing about history, education, religion, politics, and sports has appeared in the New York Times, Washington Post, Chronicle of Higher Education, Boston Globe, Newsday, Chicago Tribune, Philadelphia Inquirer, Nation, Christian Century, Yale Alumni Magazine, Times Literary Supplement, and Huffington Post.