"The Discovery of the Higgs Boson" MOOC (free online course)

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naka
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"The Discovery of the Higgs Boson" MOOC (free online course)

Post by naka » Thu Sep 19, 2013 2:35 pm

A new online course about particle physics and the Higgs: https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/higgs
The discovery of a new fundamental particle at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), CERN is the latest step in a long quest seeking to answer one of physics’ most enduring questions: why do particles have mass? The experiments’ much anticipated success confirms predictions made decades earlier by Peter Higgs and others, and offers a glimpse into a universe of physics beyond the Standard Model.
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This MOOC introduces the theoretic tools needed to appreciate the discovery, and presents the elementary particles at the tiniest scales ever explored. Beginning with basic concepts in classical mechanics, the story unfolds through relativity and quantum mechanics, describing forces, matter and the unification of theories with an understanding driven by the tools of mathematics.

Narrating the journey through experimental results which led to the discovery in 2012, the course invites you to learn from a team of world-class physicists at Edinburgh University. Learners participate in discussion of the consequences of the Higgs boson, to physics and cosmology, and towards a stronger understanding and new description of the universe.
At seven weeks long with only 2 hours required per week, this seems like it should be a fairly straightforward course (if any course can be on this subject), though it probably won't get into much of the mathematics (I assume).

Futurelearn is new UK-based MOOC platform and seems to be very promising. And on the subjects of MOOCs, here are some others that are starting soon or started recently:
https://www.coursera.org/course/physics1
Physics 1 for Physical Science Majors
This is a 12 week course, currently scheduled to start on Monday, Sept 16, 2013 and finishing on Friday, Dec.6. This introductory physics course is intended for physical science majors and others desiring a rigorous introduction to physics. It closely parallels the brick-and-mortar course given to the freshmen at the University of Colorado at Boulder. The course covers classical mechanics, including kinematics, dynamics, conservation laws, and applications.
https://www.coursera.org/course/eqp
Exploring Quantum Physics
An introduction to quantum physics with emphasis on topics at the frontiers of research, and developing understanding through exercise. Begins October 8th.
And one that started fairly recently:
https://www.edx.org/course/mit/8-01x/cl ... hanics/853
Classical Mechanics
8.01x is an online version of Classical Mechanics, which is the first of MIT's introductory physics courses. The course covers the basic concepts of Newtonian mechanics, fluid mechanics and kinetic gas theory. A variety of other interesting topics are covered, such as resonance phenomena, musical instruments and astronomical phenomena such as binary stars, neutron stars, black holes, stellar collapse, and supernovae. You will also be given a peek into the intriguing world of quantum mechanics.
Ah, all these online materials, it's like in living in the future. :>

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CharmQuark
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Re: "The Discovery of the Higgs Boson" MOOC (free online cou

Post by CharmQuark » Thu Sep 19, 2013 2:53 pm

I have to say...This sounds awesome!
Anyone who doesn't take truth seriously in small matters cannot be trusted with large ones either by Albert Einstein.

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