The Feynman lectures on physics

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Vol. 1 : Atoms in motion : Matter is made of atoms ; Atomic processes ; Chemical reactions

Basic physics : Physics before 1920 ; Quantum physics ; Nuclei and particles

The relation of physics to other sciences : Chemistry ; Biology ; Astronomy ; Geology ; Psychology ; How did it get that way?

Conservation of energy : What is energy? ; Gravitational potential energy ; Kinetic energy ; Other forms of energy

Time and distance : Motion ; Time ; Short times ; Long times ; Units and standards of time ; Large distances ; Short distances

Probability : Chance and likelihood ; Fluctuations ; The random walk ; A probability distribution ; The uncertainty principle

The theory of gravitation : Planetary motions ; Kepler's laws ; Development of dynamics ; Newton's law of gravitation ; Universal gravitation ; Cavendish's experiment ; What is gravity? ; Gravity and relativity

Motion : Description of motion ; Speed ; Speed as a derivative ; Distance as an integral ; Acceleration

Newton's laws of dynamics : Momentum and force ; Speed and velocity ; Components of velocity, acceleration, and force ; What is the force? ; Meaning of the dynamical equations ; Numerical solution of the equations ; Planetary motions

Conservation of momentum : Newton's third law ; Conservation of momentum ; Momentum is conserved! ; Momentum and energy ; Relativistic momentum

Vectors : Symmetry in physics ; Translations ; Rotations ; Vectors ; Vector algebra ; Newton's laws in vector rotation ; Scalar product of vectors

Characteristics of force : What is a force? ; Friction ; Molecular forces ; Fundamental forces; fields ; Pseudo forces ; Nuclear forces

Work and potential energy (A) : Energy of a falling body ; Work done by gravity ; Summation of energy ; Gravitational field of large objects

Work and potential energy (conclusion) : Work ; Constrained motion ; Conservative forces ; Nonconservative forces ; Potentials and fields

The special theory of relativity : The principle of relativity ; The Lorentz transformation ; The Michelson-Morley experiment ; Transformation of time ; The Lorentz contraction ; Simultaneity ; Four-vectors ; Relativistic dynamics ; Equivalence of mass and energy

Relativistic energy and momentum : Relativity and the philosophers ; The twin paradox ; Transformation of velocities ; Relativistic mass ; Relativistic energy

Space-time : The geometry of space-time ; Space-time intervals ; Past, present, and future ; More about four-vectors ; Four-vector algebra

Rotation in two dimensions : The center of mass ; Rotation of a rigid body ; Angular momentum ; Conservation of angular momentum

Center of mass; moment of inertia : Properties of the center of mass ; Locating the center of mass ; Finding the moment of inertia ; Rotational kinetic energy

Rotation in space : Torques in three dimensions ; The rotation equations using cross products ; The gyroscope ; Angular momentum of a solid body

The harmonic oscillator : Linear differential equations ; The harmonic oscillator ; Harmonic motion and circular motion ; Initial conditions ; Forced oscillations

Algebra : Addition and multiplication ; The inverse operators ; Abstraction and generalization ; Approximating irrational numbers ; Complex numbers ; Imaginary exponents

Resonance : Complex numbers and harmonic motion ; The forced oscillator with damping ; Electrical resonance ; Resonance in nature

Transients : The energy of an oscillator ; Damped oscillations ; Electrical transients

Linear systems and review : Linear differential equations ; Superposition of solutions ; Oscillations in linear systems ; Analogs in physics ; Series and parallel impedances

Optics: the principle of least time : Light ; Reflection and refraction ; Fermat's principle of least time ; Applications of Fermat's principle ; A more precise statement of Fermat's principle ; How it works

Geometrical objects : The focal length of a spherical surface ; The focal length of a lens ; Magnification ; Compound lens ; Aberrations ; Resolving power

Electromagnetic radiation : Electromagnetism ; Radiation ; The dipole radiator ; Interference

Interference : Electromagnetic waves ; Energy of radiation ; Sinusoidal waves ; Two dipole radiators ; The mathematics of interference

Diffraction : The resultant amplitude due to n equal oscillators ; The diffraction grating ; Resolving power of a grating ; The parabolic antenna ; Colored films; crystals ; Diffraction by opaque screens ; The field of a plane of oscillating charges

The origin of the refractive index : The index of refraction ; The field due to the material ; Dispersion ; Absorption ; The energy carried by an electric wave ; Diffraction of light by a screen

Radiation damping; light scattering : Radiation resistance ; The rate of radiation of energy ; Radiation damping ; Independent sources ; Scattering of light

Polarization : The electric vector of light ; Polarization of scattered light ; Birefringence ; Polarizers ; Optical activity ; The intensity of reflected light ; Anomalous refraction

Relativistic effects in radiation : Moving sources ; Finding the "apparent" motion ; Synchrotron radiation ; Cosmic synchrotron radiation ; Bremsstrahlung ; The doppler effect ; The w, k four-vector ; Aberration ; The momentum of light

Color vision : The human eye ; Color depends on intensity ; Measuring the color sensation ; The chromaticity diagram ; The mechanism of color vision ; Physiochemistry of color vision

Mechanisms of seeing : The sensation of color ; The physiology of the eye ; The rod cells ; The compound (insect) eye ; Other eyes ; Neurology of vision

Quantum behavior : Atomic mechanics ; An experiment with bullets ; An experiment with waves ; An experiment with electrons ; The interference of electron waves ; Watching the electrons ; First principles of quantum mechanics ; The uncertainty principle

The relation of wave and particle viewpoints : Probability wave amplitudes ; Measurement of position and momentum ; Crystal diffraction ; The size of an atom ; Energy levels ; Philosophical implications

The kinetic theory of gases : Properties of matter ; The pressure of a gas ; Compressibility of radiation ; Temperature and kinetic energy ; The ideal gas law

The principles of statistical mechanics : The exponential atmosphere ; The Boltzmann law ; Evaporation of a liquid ; The distribution of molecular speeds ; The specific heats of gases ; The failure of classical physics

The Brownian movement : Equipartition of energy ; Thermal equilibrium of radiation ; Equipartition and the quantum oscillator ; The random walk

Applications of kinetic theory : Evaporation ; Thermionic emission ; Thermal ionization ; Chemical kinetics ; Einstein's laws of radiation

Diffusion : Collisions between molecules ; The mean free path ; The drift speed ; Ionic conductivity ; Molecular diffusion ; Thermal conductivity

The laws of thermodynamics : Heat engines; the first law ; The second law ; Reversible engines ; The efficiency of an ideal engine ; The thermodynamic temperature ; Entropy

Illustrations of thermodynamics : Internal energy ; Applications ; The Clausius-Clapeyron equation

Ratchet and pawl : How a ratchet works ; The ratchet as an engine ; Reversibility in mechanics ; Irreversibility ; Order and entropy

Sound; the wave equation : Waves ; The propagation of sound ; The wave equation ; Solutions of the wave equation ; The speed of sound

Beats : Adding two waves ; Beat notes and modulation ; Side bands ; Localized wave trains ; Probability amplitudes for particles ; Waves in three dimensions ; Normal modes

Modes : The reflection of waves ; Confined waves, with natural frequencies ; Modes in two dimensions ; Coupled pendulums ; Linear systems

Harmonics : Musical tones ; The Fourier series ; Quality and consonance ; The Fourier coefficients ; The energy theorem ; Nonlinear responses

Waves : Bow waves ; Shock waves ; Waves in solids ; Surface waves

Symmetry in physical laws : Symmetry operations ; Symmetry in space and time ; Symmetry and conservation laws ; Mirror reflections ; Polar and axial vectors ; Which hand is right? ; Parity is not conserved! ; Antimatter ; Broken symmetries. Vol. 2 : Electromagnetism : Electrical forces ; Electric and magnetic fields ; Characteristics of vector fields ; The laws of electromagnetism ; What are the fields? ; Electromagnetism in science and technology

Differential calculus of vector fields : Understanding physics ; Scalar and vector fields: T and h ; Derivatives of fields: the gradient ; The operator [] ; Operations with [] ; The differential equation of heat flow ; Second derivatives of vector fields ; Pitfalls

Vector integral calculus : Vector integrals; the line integral of [][] ; The flux of a vector field ; The flux from a cube; Gauss' theorem ; Heat conduction; the diffusion equation ; The circulation of a vector field ; The circulation around a square; Stokes' theorem ; Curl-free and divergence-free fields

Electrostatics : Statics ; Coulomb's law; superposition ; Electric potential ; E = -[] ; The flux of E ; Gauss' law; divergence of E ; Field of a sphere of charge ; Field lines; equipotential surfaces

Application of Gauss' law : Electrostatics is Gauss' law plus... ; Equilibrium in an electrostatic field ; Equilibrium with conductors ; Stability of atoms ; The field of a line charge ; A sheet of charge; two sheets ; A spere of charge; a spherical shell ; Is the field of a point charge exactly 1/r^2? ; The fields of a conductor ; The field in a cavity of a conductor

The electric field in various circumstances : Equations of the electrostatic potential ; The electric dipole ; Remarks on vector equations ; The dipole potential as a gradient ; The dipole approximation for an arbitrary distribution ; The fields of charged conductors ; The method of images ; A point charge near a conducting plane ; Condensers; parallel plates ; High-voltage breakdown ; The field-emission microscope

The electric field in various circumstances (continued) : Methods for finding the electrostatic field ; Two-dimensional fields; functions of the complex variable ; Plasma oscillations ; Colloidal particles in an electrolyte ; The electrostatic field of a grid

Electrostatic energy : The electrostatic energy of charges; a uniform sphere ; The energy of a condenser; forces on charged conductors ; The electrostatic energy of an ionic crystal ; Electrostatic energy in nuclei ; Energy in the electrostatic field ; The energy of a point charge

Electricity in the atmosphere : The electric potential gradient of the atmosphere ; Electric currents in the atmosphere ; Origin of the atmospheric currents ; Thunderstorms ; The mechanism of charge separation ; Lightning

Dielectrics : The dielectric constant ; The polarization vector P ; Polarization charges ; The electrostatic equations with dielectrics ; Fields and forces with dielectrics

Inside dielectrics : Molecular dipoles ; Electronic polarization ; Polar molecules; orientation polarization ; Electric fields in cavities of a dielectric ; The dielectric constant of liquids; the Clausius-Mossotti equation ; Solid dielectrics ; Ferroelectricity; BaTiO3

Electrostatic analogs : The same equations have the same solutions ; The flow of heat; a point source near an infinite plane boundary ; The stretched membrane ; The diffusion of neutrons; a uniform spherical source in a homogenous medium ; Irrotational fluid flow; the flow past a sphere ; Illumination; the uniform lighting of a plane ; The "underlying unity" of nature

Magnetostatics : The magnetic field ; Electric current; the conservation of charge ; The magnetic force on a current ; The magnetic field of steady currents; Ampere's law ; The magnetic field of a straight wire and of a solenoid; atomic currents ; The relativity of magnetic and electric fields ; The transformation of currents and charges ; Superposition; the right-hand rule

The magnetic field in various situations : The vector potential ; The vector potential of known currents ; A straight wire ; A long solenoid ; The field of a small loop; the magnetic dipole ; The vector potential of a circuit ; The law of Biot and Savart

The vector potential : The forces on a current loop; energy of a dipole ; Mechanical and electrical energies ; The energy of steady currents ; B versus A ; The vector potential and quantum mechanics ; What is true for statics is false for dynamics

Induced currents : Motors and generators ; Transformers and inductances ; Forces on induced currents ; Electrical technology

The laws of induction : The physics of induction ; Exceptions to the "flux rule" ; Particle acceleration by an induced electric field; the betatron ; A paradox ; Alternating-current generator ; Mutual inductance ; Self-inductance ; Inductance and magnetic energy

The Maxwell equations : Maxwell's equations ; How the new term works ; All of classical physics ; A travelling field ; The speed of light ; Solving Maxwell's equations; the potentials and the wave equation

The principle of least action : A special lecture-almost verbatim ; A note added after the lecture

Solutions of Maxwell's equations in free space : Waves in free space; plane waves ; Three-dimensional waves ; Scientific imagination ; Spherical waves

Solutions of Maxwell's equations with currents and charges : Light and electromagnetic waves ; Spherical waves from a point source ; The general solution of Maxwell's equations ; The fields of an oscillating dipole ; The potentials of a moving charge; the general solution of Lienard and Wiechert ; The potentials for a charge moving with constant velocity; the Lorentz formula

AC circuits : Impedances ; Generators ; Networks of ideal elements; Kirchhoff's rules ; Equivalent circuits ; Energy ; A ladder network ; Filters ; Other circuit elements

Cavity resonators : Real circuit elements ; A capacitor at high frequencies ; A resonant cavity ; Cavity modes ; Cavities and resonant circuits

Waveguides : The transmission line ; The rectangular waveguide ; The cutoff frequency ; The speed of the guided waves ; Observing guided waves ; Waveguide plumbing ; Waveguide modes ; Another way of looking at the guided waves

Electrodynamics in relativistic notation : Four-vectors ; The scalar product ; The four-dimensional gradient ; Electrodynamics in four-dimensional notation ; The four-potential of a moving charge ; The invariance of the equations of electrodynamics

Lorentz transformations of the fields : The four-potential of a moving charge ; The fields of a point charge with a constant velocity ; Relativistic transformation of the fields ; The equations of motion in relativistic notation

Field energy and field momentum : Local conservation ; Energy conservation and electromagnetism ; Energy density and energy flow in the electromagnetic field ; The ambiguity of the field energy ; Examples of energy flow ; Field momentum

Electromagnetic mass : The field energy of a point charge ; The field momentum of a moving charge ; Electromagnetic mass ; The force of an electron on itself ; Attempts to modify the Maxwell theory ; The nuclear force field

The motion of charges in electric and magnetic fields : Motion in a uniform electric or magnetic field ; Momentum analysis ; An electrostatic lens ; A magnetic lens ; The electron microscope ; Accelerator guide fields ; Alternating-gradient focusing ; Motion in crossed electric and magnetic fields

The internal geometry of crystals : The internal geometry of crystals ; Chemical bonds in crystals ; The growth of crystals ; Crystal lattices ; Symmetries in two dimensions ; Symmetries in three dimensions ; The strength of metals ; Dislocations and crystal growth ; The Bragg-Nye crystal model

Tensors : The tensor of polarizability ; Transforming the tensor components ; The energy ellipsoid ; Other tensors; the tensor of inertia ; The cross product ; The tensor of stress ; Tensors of higher rank ; The four-tensor of electromagnetic momentum

Refractive index of dense materials : Polarization of matter ; Maxwell's equations in a dielectric ; Waves in a dielectric ; The complex index of refraction ; The index of a mixture ; Waves in metals ; Low-frequency and high-frequency approximations; the skin depth and the plasma frequency

Reflection from surfaces : Reflection and refraction of light ; Waves in dense materials ; The boundary conditions ; The reflected and transmitted waves ; Reflection from metals ; Total internal reflection

The magnetism of matter : Diamagnetism and paramagnetism ; Magnetic moments and angular momentum ; The precession of atomic magnets ; Diamagnetism ; Larmor's theorem ; Classical physics gives neither diamagnetism nor paramagnetism ; Angular momentum in quantum mechanics ; The magnetic energy of atoms

Paramagnetism and magnetic resonance : Quantized magnetic states ; The Stern-Gerlach experiment ; The Rabi molecular-beam method ; The paramagnetism of bulk materials ; Cooling by adiabatic demagnetization ; Nuclear magnetic resonance

Ferromagnetism : Magnetization currents ; The field H ; The magnetization curve ; Iron-core inductances ; Electromagnets ; Spontaneous magnetization

Magnetic materials : Understanding ferromagnetism ; Thermodynamic properties ; The hysteresis curve ; Ferromagnetic materials ; Extraordinary magnetic materials

Elasticity : Hooke's law ; Uniform strains ; The torsion bar; shear waves ; The bent beam ; Buckling

Elastic materials : The tensor of strain ; The tensor of elasticity ; The motions in an elastic body ; Nonelastic behavior ; Calculating the elastic constants

The flow of dry water : Hydrostatics ; The equations of motion ; Steady flow: Bernoulli's theorem ; Circulation ; Vortex lines

The flow of wet water : Viscosity ; Viscous flow ; The Reynolds number ; Flow past a circular cylinder ; The limit of zero viscosity ; Couette flow

Curved space : Curved spaces with two dimensions ; Curvature in three-dimensional space ; Our space is curved ; Geometry in space-time ; Gravity and the principle of equivalence ; The speed of clocks in a gravitational field ; The curvature of space-time ; Motion in curved space-time ; Einstein's theory of gravitation. Vol. 3 : Quantum behavior : Atomic mechanics ; An experiment with bullets ; An experiment with waves ; An experiment with electrons ; The interference of electron waves ; Watching the electrons ; First principles of quantum mechanics ; The uncertainty principle

The relation of wave and particle viewpoints : Probability wave amplitudes ; Measurement of position and momentum ; Crystal diffraction ; The size of an atom ; Energy levels ; Philosophical implications

Probability amplitudes : The laws of combining amplitudes ; The two-slit interference pattern ; Scattering from a crystal ; Identical particles

Identical particles : Bose particles and Fermi particles ; States with two Bose particles ; States with n Bose particles ; Emission and absorption of photons ; The blackbody spectrum ; Liquid helium ; The exclusion principle

Spin one : Filtering atoms with a Stern-Gerlach apparatus ; Experiments with filtered atoms ; Stern-Gerlach filters in series ; Base states ; Interfering amplitudes ; The machinery of quantum mechanics ; Transforming to a different base ; Other situations

Spin one-half : Transforming amplitudes ; Transforming to a rotated coordinate system ; Rotations about the z-axis ; Rotations of 180° and 90° about y ; Rotations about x ; Arbitrary rotations

The dependence of amplitudes on time : Atoms at rest; stationary states ; Uniform motion ; Potential energy; energy conservation ; Forces; the classical limit ; The "precession" of a spin one-half particle

The Hamiltonian matrix : Amplitudes and vectors ; Resolving state vectors ; What are the base states of the world? ; How states change with time ; The Hamiltonian matrix ; The ammonia molecule

The ammonia maser : The states of an ammonia molecule ; The molecule in a static electric field ; Transitions in a time-dependent field ; Transitions at resonance ; Transitions off resonance ; The absorption of light

Other two-state systems : The hydrogen molecular ion ; Nuclear forces ; The hydrogen molecule ; The benzene molecule ; Dyes ; The Hamiltonian spin one-half particle in a magnetic field ; The spinning electron in a magnetic field

More two-state systems : The Pauli spin matrices ; The spin matrices as operators ; The solution of the two-state equations ; The polarization states of the photon ; The neutral K-meson ; Generalization to N-state systems

The hyperfine splitting in hydrogen : Base states for a system with two spin one-half particles ; The Hamiltonian for the ground state of hydrogen ; The energy levels ; The Zeeman splitting ; The states in a magnetic field ; The projection matrix for spin one

Propagation in a crystal lattice : States for an electron in a one-dimensional lattice ; States of definite energy ; Time-dependent states ; An electron in a three-dimensional lattice ; Other states in a lattice ; Scattering by imperfections in the lattice ; Trapping by a lattice imperfection ; Scattering amplitudes and bound states

Semiconductors : Electrons and holes in semiconductors ; Impure semiconductors ; The Hall effect ; Semiconductor junctions ; Rectification at a semiconductor junction ; The transistor

The independent particle approximation : Spin waves ; Two spin waves ; Independent particles ; The benzene molecule ; More organic chemistry ; Other uses of the approximation

The dependence of amplitudes on position : Amplitudes on a line ; The wave function ; States of definite motion ; Normalization of the states in x ; The Schrodinger equation ; Quantized energy levels

Symmetry and conservation laws : Symmetry ; Symmetry and conservation ; The conservation laws ; Polarized light ; The distintegration of the [] ; Summary of the rotation matrices

Angular momentum : Electric dipole radiation ; Light scattering ; The annihilation of positronium ; Rotation matrix for any spin ; Measuring a nuclear spin ; Composition of angular momentum ; Added note 1: derivation of the rotation matrix ; Added note 2: conservation of parity in photon emission

The hydrogen atom and the periodic table : Schrodinger's equation for the hydrogen atom ; Spherically symmetric solutions ; States with an angular dependence ; The general solution for hydrogen ; The hydrogen wave functions ; The periodic table

Operators : Operations and operators ; Average energies ; The average energy of an atom ; The position operator ; The momentum operator ; Angular momentum ; The change of averages with time

The Schrodinger equation in a classical context: a seminar on superconductivity : Schrodinger's equation in a magnetic field ; The equation of continuity for probabilities ; Two kinds of momentum ; The meaning of the wave function ; Superconductivity ; The Meissner effect ; Flux quantization ; The dynamics of superconductivity ; The Josephson junction

Feynman's epilogue