Developments since Einstein are summarized. Our systems of units and their relationship to the speed of light. Light propagation in vacuum—what stuff is an electric field made of? Quantum field theory ideas. The Casimir force and energy. Olbers’ paradox and the cosmic horizon. Effect of gravity on speed of light. Schemes for messaging at speeds greater than that of light. The Einstein–Rosen–Podolsky paper of 1935 and its interpretation in simple terms. The reality of the quantum world. Hidden variable theories and Bell’s theorem. Interpretation of many-body quantum wavefunctions—Bohm, Born, Schrӧdinger, Heisenberg, de Broglie, their lives and contributions to physics. The Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics and others. The measurement problem and collapse of the wavefunction. Entangled states. The unreasonable effectiveness of mathematics in the natural sciences.
Condensed Matter Field Theory
