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Welcome and Overview
It’s my distinct pleasure to welcome you to “Five Great Physicists: How They Transformed Our View of the World”. It should be an exciting journey through the progress in our understanding of the physical world over the centuries and of its impact. Starting with Galileo, we'll continue with the revolutionary contributions of Newton, Maxwell, Einstein and Bohr, each in two class sessions.
There will be substantial presentation, but let’s look toward everyone having a say, to comment, to ask questions and otherwise contribute to the course. Any knowledge or special interest by you in this or related subjects will certainly be welcome. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to contact me.
Course Description: To view the course description, click here .
Class Sessions: For an overview of the ten individual class sessions, click here. Each will include Readings and Points to Ponder. For convenience, here are the class dates and direct links to the class webpages:
Galileo: Class 1 (10/1) Class 2 (10/8) Newton: Class 3 (10/15) Class 4 (10/22)
Maxwell: Class 5 (10/29) Class 6 (11/5) Einstein: Class 5 (11/12) Class 6 (11/19)
Bohr: Class 9 (12/3) Class 10 (12/10)
Website: This course website, together with email, will serve as a convenient central site for disseminating information such as reading assignments and class agendas, as well as files for viewing or downloading, for internet links and videos of interest, and more. Please feel free to explore it; you can’t break it – only I can.
Course book: Volume 2 of a four-volume series: Science in History – The Scientific and Industrial Revolutions, J.D. Bernal (MIT Press, 1971). It will provide the broad historical background during the times of three of the five physicists: Galileo, Newton and Maxwell, including changes in society and technology. For details (whether to buy, view or download), click here.
Other readings, some from original sources, will be selected and distributed by the Course Leader.
Class Presentations: Along with the other materials, I will post each of my classroom presentations on this website shortly after it is done.
Science History Timeline: The four volumes of the J. D. Bernal "Science in History" contain tables of notable events in various disciplines over time. To view or download a table
for 1440-1690, click here
for 1690-1900, click here
for 1900-1965, click here
Updated Sept. 18, 2026
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