Black Holes and Extreme Astrophysics

I am teaching Physics 17, Black Holes and Extreme Astrophysics for non-majors, at Stanford University in the Fall Quarter 2020, splitting the class with Prof. Roger Blandford.

Physics 17 explores the concepts of black holes for non-physics majors, building initially on concepts of Newtonian mechanics, orbits and gravity to formulate the concept of a black hole from which light cannot escape, before discussing the qualitative effects of special and general relativity, the discovery of astrophysical black holes, and their formation from stars. The class explores cutting-edge topics in high energy astrophysics, from observations of black holes to gravitational waves. The prime focus is the core principles rather than detailed mathematics, while showing how we can build on the foundation principles of physics to understand some of the most extreme phenomena in the Universe.

Syllabus

• Lecture 1: Eppur si Muove [slides]
  Galilean/Newtonian view of space, time, displacement, velocity, acceleration, orbits

• Lecture 2: Newton’s Apple [slides]
  Force, Newton’s laws of motion, gravitation, momentum, tides

• Lecture 3: Vis Viva
  Kinetic, rotational, gravitational, thermal, chemical and nuclear energy

• Lecture 4: Let there be Light
  Electromagnetic spectrum, speed, waves, photons, neutrinos, telescopes

• Lecture 5: Einstein’s Dreams [slides]
  Spacetime, time dilation, length contraction, relative velocity, energy and mass

• Lecture 6: Introducing the Black Hole [slides]
  Escape velocity, Newtonian black holes, Schwarzschild radius, gravitational redshift

• Lecture 7: Total Eclipse [slides]
  Discovery of real (astrophysical) black holes, accretion disks, energy release, Eddington limit

• Lecture 8: Galaxies, Nuclei and Quasars [slides]
  Galaxy types, clusters, the Galactic center, radio galaxies, active galactic nuclei, role in galaxy formation

• Lecture 9: Lives of the Stars [slides]
  Sun and stars, main sequence, giant stars, supernovae

• Lecture 10: Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star [slides]
  White dwarfs, neutron stars, X-ray binaries

• Lecture 11: Double Precision
  Binary pulsars, testing relativity, gravitational radiation

• Lecture 12: Warped Space
  Spacetime, curved spacetime, general relativity

• Lecture 13: Event Horizon
  Black holes in relativity, electromagnetic power

• Lecture 14: Original Spin [slides]
  Rotating black holes, measurement of black hole spin

• Lecture 15: Peering into the Black Hole [slides]
  Event horizon telescope, technology, images of black holes, light bending

• Lecture 16: Breaking the Speed Limit
  Relativistic jets, superluminal expansion, blazars, neutrinos

• Lecture 17: Cosmic Baseballs
  Properties, sources, propagation, implications

• Lecture 18: Ripples in Spacetime
  Gravitational waves, frequency, polarization, black hole binaries

• Lecture 19: Shouts and Murmurs
  Detection of gravitational radiation, multi-messenger astronomy

• Lecture 20: In a Nutshell [slides]
  Collapse, singularity, Planck units, Hawking radiation, wormholes