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Learner Reviews & Feedback for Understanding Einstein: The Special Theory of Relativity by Stanford University

4.9
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2,964 ratings

About the Course

In this course we will seek to “understand Einstein,” especially focusing on the special theory of relativity that Albert Einstein, as a twenty-six year old patent clerk, introduced in his “miracle year” of 1905. Our goal will be to go behind the myth-making and beyond the popularized presentations of relativity in order to gain a deeper understanding of both Einstein the person and the concepts, predictions, and strange paradoxes of his theory. Some of the questions we will address include: How did Einstein come up with his ideas? What was the nature of his genius? What is the meaning of relativity? What’s “special” about the special theory of relativity? Why did the theory initially seem to be dead on arrival? What does it mean to say that time is the “fourth dimension”? Can time actually run more slowly for one person than another, and the size of things change depending on their velocity? Is time travel possible, and if so, how? Why can’t things travel faster than the speed of light? Is it possible to travel to the center of the galaxy and return in one lifetime? Is there any evidence that definitively confirms the theory, or is it mainly speculation? Why didn’t Einstein win the Nobel Prize for the theory of relativity? About the instructor: Dr. Larry Lagerstrom is the Director of Academic Programs at Stanford University’s Center for Professional Development, which offers graduate certificates in subjects such as artificial intelligence, cyber security, data mining, nanotechnology, innovation, and management science. He holds degrees in physics, mathematics, and the history of science, has published a book and a TED Ed video on "Young Einstein: From the Doxerl Affair to the Miracle Year," and has had over 30,000 students worldwide enroll in his online course on the special theory of relativity (this course!)....

Top reviews

JJ

Mar 21, 2020

Thanks for helping me understand the Special Theory of Relativity, covered a lot of ground but repeated it so it really could sink in. Like your style and want to thank you for your assistance. Thanks

AP

Aug 11, 2020

It was wonderful experience to know the special theory of relativity from Larry, who has presented the course in very simple way to understand. Thanks a lot to Larry for providing such a good session.

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351 - 375 of 1,017 Reviews for Understanding Einstein: The Special Theory of Relativity

By dave c

Mar 9, 2021

Thanks for keeping it simple. There was a lot of head scratching; but the professor kept going over the issues with great examples. One of the best instructors I have had in 5 years of online courses.

Thanks

By Joe D

Jul 6, 2020

Great class! My favorite part was the first 3 chapters regarding Einstein's background history. I don't have much of a science background so I did get a little lost later on in the course, but I still enjoyed it!

By Haithem M

Apr 15, 2020

THANK YOU PROFESSOR for your efforts, your presentation made me want to study all the physics now, I'm not finished with the course yet but I couldn't wait to thank you Coursera team, this website is a blessing !

By Suneet R

Aug 8, 2022

This course is superrbbb... It gives you the best and easiest explanation for Special Relativity... also the professor's teaching method is amazing

It gave me a good kickstart in my dream to pursue astrophysics!!

By Aref H

May 9, 2020

Excellent course. I particularly appreciated the step by step approach with frequent stops to go back and patiently review points which may not have been easy to digest. Prof Langstrom is the perfect instructor.

By DJ W

Apr 18, 2018

Best course I've taken so far! Extremely enjoyable. Prof. Larry is gifted with the way of explanations, I just get on watch his lectures instead of Netflixing because it was more entertaining. Thank you so much!

By Jaume R B

Aug 9, 2019

A fantastic course if you want to understand in a more detailed view of the Special theory of Relativity. The concepts are explained in a clear way and the profesor really transmits his passion to the students.

By Jayendra B

Sep 17, 2017

excellent course ...... i thank stanford for making a course like this ! its like my dream to do p.hd in the field of theory of reletivity so this was being like my first step towards my goal.....! thank you.

By victor m s

Oct 16, 2021

Un curso muy interesante, que realmente acerca a la compresión de la relatividad especial. El profesor excelente en las explicaciones. Realmente es un curso, en el cual, se aprende mucho. Recomiendo el curso.

By Kaushik K

Apr 12, 2020

If anyone who has a little bit of knowledge of basic physics, he or she can easily complete this course. After completing this i have started thinking differently about the strategies of solving str problems.

By Jean-Jacques G

Nov 25, 2022

Excellent course! This is real physics and not an application of mathematics formula.

I got a good understanding of a new way to observe the reality even when you don't perceive it with your sense.

Thank you.

By JOSEPH

Jul 17, 2020

Splendid course. Congrats to the instructor who made it very clear even for a non native English person. I would strongly recommend this trip to anyone willing to understand the world through Einstein genius

By Peter W

Aug 8, 2017

Anyone that has been interested in Special Relativity and has not pursued the subject; this is the place to start.

The course leader Larry Randles Lagerstrom is most professional; indeed he is first class.

By Marta F

Jul 21, 2017

Brilliant. Fantastic teacher. And I'm not good at maths at all but I came away with quite a respectable understanding of the underlying notions of Special Relativity which is exactly what I was looking for.

By Enoch B

Jan 4, 2022

High quality content. The material was well designed to allow understanding of major concepts without over emphasizing the mathematics, while allowing the mathematically inclined to explore more in depth.

By Saptarshi G D

Oct 11, 2020

this was a phenomenal journey. I do not have enough words to express my gratitude. thank you so much for uploading this course here. i request the authority to upload more physics courses on this website.

By Tzushun C

Jul 11, 2021

This course is awesome and interesting. You do not need to have any prior knowledge to enjoy the course. If you are interested in learning the basic of the theory of relativity, this is the one for you.

By Antonio g d

Jun 4, 2020

Perdon por escribir en español :

Me ha gustado mucho el curso . Me hubiera gustado algun tema de teoria de a relatividad general auque se que para ello hay que dar primero algun tema de calculo tensorial

By Srivatsa

Dec 19, 2017

Very carefully crafted course by Prof. Lagerstrom, starts with basic concepts so that every curious mind could grasp it. Always wanted to learn about Einstein's special relativity theory & now I know it.

By Chhatrapati S

Feb 27, 2017

it is one of the most hard and confusing topic on the physic . But the professor makes us very clear about the ideas of the relativity around the world

I recommend everyone to know about relativity once .

By Ajay V

Jun 22, 2020

Really Informative course. Actually I'm a grad student with Physics specialization. So I was already familiar with some of this. But the way of teaching is so wonderful that I found myself as a newbie.

By Bill W

May 24, 2020

Instructor Dr. Lagerstrom displays an excellent talent of both planning and presentation of the

Theory of relativity. His presentation is easy to follow and to understand. Thanks for such a good job.

By oscar A

Sep 9, 2018

Excellent course and teacher; it helped me expand and put together previous scattered knowledge I had on this topic. It has motivated me to continue my learning on astrophysics and music with Coursera.

By Nut b

Nov 19, 2016

The teacher was very good and made it easier to understand some of the more difficult topics.The course was very interesting and gave me a very good insight into Einsteins special theory of relativity.

By Jose M G

Apr 21, 2021

Sencillamente un curso completo y que te hace entender a Einstein y las motivaciones que le llevaron a desarrollar las dos Teorias de la Relatividad. Excepcional el profesor Larry Randles Lagerstrom.