The Sun-Times
"The Mechanical Universe is an attempt to counter the sweaty palms, palpitations and widespread fear and loathing that the subject of physics so often induces."
"When those quickly flashed and perfunctorily explained formulas bring back the same old dread, The Mechanical Universe is called someplace to turn to for further explanations."
A video instructional series on physics for college and high school classrooms and adult learners; 52 half-hour video programs and coordinated books
Now for Download!This series helps teachers demystify physics by showing students what it looks like. Field trips to hot-air balloon events, symphony concerts, bicycle shops, and other locales make complex concepts more accessible. Inventive computer graphics illustrate abstract concepts such as time, force, and capacitance, while historical reenactments of the studies of Newton, Leibniz, Maxwell, and others trace the evolution of theories.
The Mechanical Universe helps meet different students' needs, from the basic requirements of liberal arts students to the rigorous demands of science and engineering majors. This series is also valuable for teacher professional development.
Produced by the California Institute of Technology and Intelecom. 1985.
Individual Program Description:1. IntroductionThis preview introduces revolutionary ideas and heroes from Copernicus to Newton, and links the physics of the heavens and the earth.
2. The Law of Falling BodiesGalileo's imaginative experiments proved that all bodies fall with the same constant acceleration.
3. DerivativesThe function of mathematics in physical science and the derivative as a practical tool.
4. InertiaGalileo risks his favored status to answer the questions of the universe with his law of inertia.
5. VectorsPhysics must explain not only why and how much, but also where and which way.
6. Newton's LawsNewton lays down the laws of force, mass, and acceleration.
7. IntegrationNewton and Leibniz arrive at the conclusion that differentiation and integration are inverse processes.
8. The Apple and the MoonThe first real steps toward space travel are made as Newton discovers that gravity describes the force between any two particles in the universe.
9. Moving in CirclesA look at the Platonic theory of uniform circular motion.
10. Fundamental ForcesAll physical phenomena of nature are explained by four forces: two nuclear forces, gravity, and electricity.
11. Gravity, Electricity, MagnetismShedding light on the mathematical form of the gravitational, electric, and magnetic forces.
12. The Millikan ExperimentA dramatic recreation of Millikan's classic oil-drop experiment to determine the charge of a single electron.
13. Conservation of EnergyAccording to one of the major laws of physics, energy is neither created nor destroyed.
14. Potential EnergyPotential energy provides a powerful model for understanding why the world has worked the same way since the beginning of time.
15. Conservation of MomentumWhat keeps the universe ticking away until the end of time?
16. Harmonic MotionThe music and mathematics of periodic motion.
17. ResonanceWhy a swaying bridge collapses with a high wind, and why a wine glass shatters with a higher octave.
18. WavesWith an analysis of simple harmonic motion and a stroke of genius, Newton extended mechanics to the propagation of sound.
19. Angular MomentumAn old momentum with a new twist.
20. Torques and GyroscopesFrom spinning tops to the precession of the equinoxes.
21. Kepler's Three LawsThe discovery of elliptical orbits helps describe the motion of heavenly bodies with unprecedented accuracy.
22. The Kepler ProblemThe deduction of Kepler's laws from Newton's universal law of gravitation is one of the crowning achievements of Western thought.
23. Energy and EccentricityThe precise orbit of a heavenly body — a planet, asteroid, or comet — is fixed by the laws of conservation of energy and angular momentum.
24. Navigating in SpaceVoyages to other planets use the same laws that guide planets around the solar system.
25. Kepler to EinsteinFrom Kepler's laws and the theory of tides, to Einstein's general theory of relativity, into black holes, and beyond.
26. Harmony of the SpheresA last lingering look back at mechanics to see new connections between old discoveries.
27. Beyond the Mechanical UniverseThe world of electricity and magnetism, and 20th-century discoveries of relativity and quantum mechanics.
28. Static ElectricityEighteenth-century electricians knew how to spark the interest of an audience with the principles of static electricity.
29. The Electric FieldFaraday's vision of lines of constant force in space laid the foundation for the modern force field theory.
30. Potential and CapacitanceFranklin proposes a successful theory of the Leyden jar and invents the parallel plate capacitor.
31. Voltage, Energy, and ForceWhen is electricity dangerous or benign, spectacular or useful?
32. The Electric BatteryVolta invents the electric battery using the internal properties of different metals.
33. Electric CircuitsThe work of Wheatstone, Ohm, and Kirchhoff leads to the design and analysis of how current flows.
34. MagnetismGilbert discovered that the earth behaves like a giant magnet. Modern scientists have learned even more.
35. The Magnetic FieldThe law of Biot and Sarvart, the force between electric currents, and Ampère's law.
36. Vector Fields and HydrodynamicsForce fields have definite properties of their own suitable for scientific study.
37. Electromagnetic InductionThe discovery of electromagnetic induction in 1831 creates an important technological breakthrough in the generation of electric power.
38. Alternating CurrentElectromagnetic induction makes it easy to generate alternating current while transformers make it practical to distribute it over long distances.
39. Maxwell's EquationsMaxwell discovers that displacement current produces electromagnetic waves or light.
40. OpticsMany properties of light are properties of waves, including reflection, refraction, and diffraction.
41. The Michelson-Morley ExperimentIn 1887, an exquisitely designed measurement of the earth's motion through the ether results in the most brilliant failure in scientific history.
42. The Lorentz TransformationIf the speed of light is to be the same for all observers, then the length of a meter stick, or the rate of a ticking clock, depends on who measures it.
43. Velocity and TimeEinstein is motivated to perfect the central ideas of physics, resulting in a new understanding of the meaning of space and time.
44. Mass, Momentum, EnergyThe new meaning of space and time make it necessary to formulate a new mechanics.
45. Temperature and Gas LawsHot discoveries about the behavior of gases make the connection between temperature and heat.
46. Engine of NatureThe Carnot engine, part one, beginning with simple steam engines.
47. EntropyThe Carnot engine, part two, with profound implications for the behavior of matter and the flow of time through the universe.
48. Low TemperaturesWith the quest for low temperatures came the discovery that all elements can exist in each of the basic states of matter.
49. The AtomA history of the atom, from the ancient Greeks to the early 20th century, and a new challenge for the world of physics.
50. Particles and WavesEvidence that light can sometimes act like a particle leads to quantum mechanics, the new physics.
51. From Atoms to QuarksElectron waves attracted to the nucleus of an atom help account for the periodic table of the elements and ultimately lead to the search for quarks.
52. The Quantum Mechanical UniverseA last look at where we've been and a peek into the future.
Awards: American Film and Video Festival
1986 Honorable Mention Award for "Inertia"
Birmingham International Educational Film Festival
1986 Gold Award
Chicago International Film Festival
1985 Gold Plaque Award for "The Quantum Mechanical Universe"
Columbus International Film and Video Festival
1987 Honorable Mention Award for "The Lorentz Transformation"
Houston International Film Festival "Worldfest Houston"
1986 Gold Award for "Inertia"
International Association of Audio Visual Communicators
1986 Finalist "Cindy" for "Inertia"
International Association of Audio Visual Communicators
1987 Gold "Cindy" for "The Atom"
International Association of Audio Visual Communicators
1988 Special Achievement "Cindy" in Computer Animation for "The Lorentz Transformation"
International Film and TV Festival of New York
1985 Gold Award
International Film and TV Festival of New York
1987 Silver Award for "Maxwell's Equations"
Japan Prize
1987 Award for "The Lorentz Transformation"
National Educational Film and Video Festival
1986 Silver Award for "The Law of Falling Bodies"
National Educational Film and Video Festival
1987 Gold Apple Award for "The Lorentz Transformation"
New York World Television Festival
1988 Invited Feature: "The Lorentz Transformation"
Sinopsis en EspañolImpresionante serie documental, que emitieron en TV2 el año 1985. Hay muy pocos documentales de física disponibles y este es sinceramente magnífico, muy educativo y muy completo, se ven temas de todos los terrenos de la física: electricidad, magnetismo, mecánica, etc. Está realizado por: California Institute of Tecnology and The Corporation for Community College. Se trata de desmistificar ese mundo que nos parece tan lejano e inalcanzable como la física, se utilizarán objetos cotidianos como montañas rusas, globos, bicicleas, orquestas y ayudados de graficos generados por ordenador nos ayudaran a entender conceptos tan abstractos como el tiempo y la fuerza, por ejemplo. Veremos como las teorias evolucionan con la historía y conoceremos que aportaron personajes como Galileo, Newton, Leibniz, Maxwell, Einstein, etc.
Technical Info:Video: DivX 5 640x480 29.97fps
Audio: MPEG Audio Layer 3 22050Hz stereo 55Kbps [Cadena Castellano]
Audio: MPEG Audio Layer 3 48000Hz stereo 320Kbps [English stream ]
Duración/Length: ≈ 28:39
Tamaño/Size: 387 MB * 52 ≈ 20GB
