Chevron Left
Back to Particle Physics: an Introduction

Learner Reviews & Feedback for Particle Physics: an Introduction by University of Geneva

4.4
stars
904 ratings

About the Course

This course introduces you to subatomic physics, i.e. the physics of nuclei and particles. More specifically, the following questions are addressed: - What are the concepts of particle physics and how are they implemented? - What are the properties of atomic nuclei and how can one use them? - How does one accelerate and detect particles and measure their properties? - What does one learn from particle reactions at high energies and particle decays? - How do electromagnetic interactions work and how can one use them? - How do strong interactions work and why are they difficult to understand? - How do weak interactions work and why are they so special? - What is the mass of objects at the subatomic level and how does the Higgs boson intervene? - How does one search for new phenomena beyond the known ones? - What can one learn from particle physics concerning astrophysics and the Universe as a whole? The course is structured in eight modules. Following the first one which introduces our subject, the modules 2 (nuclear physics) and 3 (accelerators and detectors) are rather self contained and can be studied separately. The modules 4 to 6 go into more depth about matter and forces as described by the standard model of particle physics. Module 7 deals with our ways to search for new phenomena. And the last module introduces you to two mysterious components of the Universe, namely Dark Matter and Dark Energy....

Top reviews

AE

Oct 25, 2023

This course has been of great impact on my understanding to particle physics, also it draws the path to me in order to go further in this field, I highly recommend it. Special thanks to the teachers.

VL

Mar 26, 2021

Way hard if you are not a science major! But the challenge is interesting. A quick advice : Refer to the slides if you find the accents too hard to understand.

Thank you for the great course!

Filter by:

26 - 50 of 272 Reviews for Particle Physics: an Introduction

By Philip R

•

Sep 9, 2018

An interesting an engaging introduction to particle physics.

By Alicia m

•

May 9, 2022

This is the best coursera course I have taken. Unlike most of the science courses I have taken on coursera, this class moves beyond high school level content. It is still not at the level of the courses I took for my undergraduate physics degree - the homework and exams were difficult at university, while these questions are easily solved without much math. My main complaint about the course is the amount of handwritten equations - it is often hard to distinguish different characters in the handwriting. This was also a concern at university, but since these lectures are created for online learning, and not given in an actual classroom with a blackboard, it would be better to present typed equations.

By Mikhno A

•

Dec 12, 2021

It was extremely interesting to watch this course since where was both theoretical and experimental parts. But one thing which disputed the process is the one of the professors, because the accent was too strong

By Freddy R L

•

Feb 7, 2019

A very informative and sometimes challenging course to introduce yourself to particle physics as well as some other exciting phenomena in the field of theoretical and experimal physics.

By Jim W

•

Feb 28, 2019

A bit too quick and doesn't go into detail about all the concepts, but overall a fabulous course!

By Deepanshu C

•

May 5, 2020

I personally had a lot of interest in particle physics due to which I registered for this course. This course starts to become quite boring as we move ahead. I feel this is because the professors are reading continuously. It feels like they are not teaching and explaining the things but only reading out the articles which they have. Of all the professors, Martin sir was good due to his varying tone but the other ma'am were continuously reading in a single tone due to which it seems boring. However, if one has the interest and passion for particle physics. This is a must do course for him

By Ishan K

•

May 9, 2021

The course is just a random mess of content. One week they are explaining a fundamental force and the next they're working on experimental physics. They introduce no context regarding the content . There is also no support members for the course that could provide help with doubts.The course instructors don't seem to have a shred of enthusiasm. It's certainly helpful if you're using this course along with learning particle physics elsewhere; or just to revise the concepts. However, it is painfully wrong to call this a "introduction".

By Laura K

•

May 3, 2017

Course content is good, however, material is explained fairly quickly and the lady who is lecturing is almost impossible to understand (due to a very strong accent and a very mechanical reading), which made me want to skip all her lectures.

By Marko S

•

Nov 23, 2020

Language barriers, and a system of just throwing information out.

There is no any real teaching done in this lectures there is just new information that could be read by anyone on script or in a book.

By Astur P

•

Dec 8, 2021

The course seems very interesting to me. I have attended quite a few courses at American universities. The description should not be merely mathematical and formalistic, but should be accompanied by a "didactic" explanation from the teaching staff to the students. Here what I have observed is that the teacher gives the lesson as a preacher reads the epistle, without any faith or feeling. Read the lesson, period. I think that although the training of teachers is exhaustive, the didactics, the transmission to the neophyte, is nil. And the mission of a teacher is to transmit, not read. If so, the technical notes are enough and your presence is not necessary. Because of this I unsubscribe. Sorry I can't keep up. I am a telecommunications engineer and I have the mathematical knowledge to follow the course, but no, not like that. I am sorry to say that I am so "not politically correct", but it is my feeling and with all correctness I indicate it. It is NOT to annoy, it is so that if you consider it you will change the focus. With total gratitude, for what you learned, you kindly say goodbye, Angel Hernandez.

By Jeffrey Z

•

Dec 7, 2020

Difficult to learn. Can't understand the lecturers because of their accents. Seems like they are just quoting a number of non-empirical facts.

By Efosa I

•

May 19, 2020

Very poor language. Poor explanations and poor teaching overall. There can be lots of improvement.

By Ganesh S

•

Aug 18, 2017

Lacks the flow. Emphases on information than knowledge.

By Ganesh A

•

Oct 30, 2020

There is no way to unenroll to this course

By Aleksandar M

•

Aug 7, 2021

This is by far the most challenging course I have ever taken in Coursera, and this is only due to my poor background in mathematics and physics. I had to invest a lot of time and do some additional research just to fill the gaps in knowledge. Many of the videos I had to rewatch several times, and go through the lectures slides at my own pace. Surprisingly, weekly quizzes were not that difficult at all.

The payoff of this course is huge. Although difficult, this is also an extremely rewarding course. It gives you exactly what it promises in the introductory video, and you will be proud of the knowledge gained.

I recommend this course to everyone interested in particle physics who have a solid background in both physics and mathematics. I have a master's degree in chemistry, and I struggled following explanations of some formulas. If your main goal is to get the certificate and brag about it, I suggest trying something else.

By Piero A P M

•

May 3, 2020

As my first experience with a MOOC, I must say it was phenomenal. This course provides a broad and careful introduction to the fields of Particle Physics and Nuclear Physics, thoroughly presenting both its theoretical and experimental aspects. While it naturally does not replace a more formal handling of the subjects, the videos, quizzes and suggested textbooks constitute a great way to familiarize an undergraduate student who wishes to specialize in these fields (although it would also be suitable to the curious layman). A sole negative consideration regards the language, whose occasional fast pace and difficult pronunciation may sometimes impair the learning process. In any case, I would like to thank Université de Genève and Coursera for the effort of crafting this great, highly recommendable online course.

By Angela N

•

Jul 18, 2021

There's no other class like this on Coursera, so for that reason, I will give this course 5 stars. The content this class covers is vast. As a high school student, I will say this course would be difficult for someone not very advanced in mathematics or familiar with the concepts of physics, so I encourage you to pursue more advanced topics on physics before taking on this course so you can get the most out of the information you learn here. The tests and quizzes are very fair. Use captions and ask for help in the forums when necessary, as the lecturers have a bit of an accent, which can hinder some people's learning experience. Overall, I'm extremely glad I took the course and gained so much valuable information from this.

By Orlando S F

•

Aug 15, 2017

I would like to express my gratitude for the excellent and delightful course on Particle Physics the University of Geneva made available to the public. It was a very informative and enjoyable course, very well designed and delivered. I also would like to congratulate Professor Pohl, Mercedes and Anna for their outstanding presentations. You enhanced my desire to continue studying Particle Physics.

Thank you again, and I wish someday I have the privilege of visiting the University as well as the LHC, and hopefully get to meet you personally. That would be a wonderful thing.

I wish you all the best.

By Devnath K

•

Sep 6, 2019

This course opened up the horizons of my mind about how the universe functions mathematically. Coming from a very conservative, orthodox Brahmin family ( a particular caste in Hinduism ) It's written in the scriptures that the universe is created from the Atma, the higher consciousness and then from the Atma came the five elements that support life. It's very difficult to understand or even believe it because science demands proofs and right now I have none. I know I have scratched the surface, just the surface but hopefully, someday we will know the origin of everything. Thank you!

By Md. R M

•

Jun 11, 2020

The course was so tough. There were so many equations and graphs and was too much hard for me to understand them. But overall it was a good experience knowing some key terms used in particle physics. Being able to understand the concept of cross-section, Feynman diagrams, knowing the names of subatomic particles, understanding some of their behaviors, their classifications, particle acceleration systems were much interesting. I think more mathematical explanation and explanation of the equations and terms used in those equations should be added.

By Pablo M G

•

Sep 2, 2020

Absolutely mind changing! I am very proud to have had completed this course, I learned a lot of things, I enjoyed my classes and work with new knowledge to be learned. I think this changed my view of the universe and it has given me new skills. The professors were very clear while explaining the topics, I thank all the people that were included in making this course posible. The course has no mathematical quizzes but if you want to understand the topics better I recommend to practice or reflect about the equations. Thank you!!!!!!!

By Simon C

•

Apr 13, 2017

The instructors are very knowledgeable and lectures contain a lot of valuable information. I'm enjoying the mixture of basics and detail, plus the field trips to LHC and a tokamac. There's a fair amount of work required, but I appreciate that. There's also plenty of activity in the discussion forums.

I notice that some students have complained about having to pay attention to the lectures. This course is possibly not a good choice for anyone who wants to be spoon fed.

By Shreya J

•

Apr 26, 2019

Thank you for the wonderful course. Particle Physics has always been my favorite branch of physics and this course helped me love it even more. As a first year undergraduate ,I will be taught modern physics only in my third year but I'm sure this will help in my future studies. Thank you once again for an amazing course. Also, I would like to thank Professor Martin and Professor Mercedes for being amazing mentors.

By Gustavo D d S

•

Aug 15, 2020

Excellent course that helped me understand several doubts that I had about energy its effects and of course dark energy.

Understood why the introduction was so thoroughly explained, so that in the end it could all make sense.

Thank you very much for this course and hope that you engage us with another one so full of surprises about the expansion, creation and evolution of the Universe known today.

By Le G J

•

Aug 16, 2019

Excellente introduction.

J'aurais aimé plus de références à la littérature (articles, livres ou autres MOOCs) afin de permettre l'approfondissement des sujets présentés, voire même simplement la meilleure compréhension de théories dont certaines équations sont utilisées dans le cours.

Le principe des interviews de spécialistes est excellent et pourrait être systématisé.