Online courses directory (273)

Most mechanical engineering systems today involve significant amounts of electrical and electronic control systems. Effectively, most modern mechanical engineering systems are mechatronic systems. Mechatronics is the discipline that results from the synergetic application of electrical, electronic, computer, and control engineering in mechanical engineering systems. Thus, it is essential for the mechanical engineer to have a strong understanding of the composition and design of mechatronic systems, which is the goal of this course. Mechatronic systems are around us everywhere. A car contains many mechatronic systems, such as anti-lock braking systems, traction control, the engine control unit and cruise control, to name a few. A satellite dish position control unit is another example of a mechatronic system. Modern industrial automated processes would not be possible without the discipline of mechatronics, covering areas such as vehicle manufacturing, pharmaceutical industries, and food processing plants. R…

This course deals with the transfer of work, energy, and material via gases and liquids.  These fluids may undergo changes in temperature, pressure, density, and chemical composition during the transfer process and may act on or be acted on by external systems.  You must fully understand these processes if you are an engineer working to analyze, troubleshoot, or improve existing processes and/or innovate and design new ones. In your everyday life, you will likely encounter examples of the thermal-fluid systems we will study in this course.  Consider the following scenarios: Read this recent report [1] by Gary Goettling for the Georgia Tech Alumni Association.*  In it, Goettling describes a refrigeration system with no moving parts based on improvements to a patent filed by Einstein and Szilard in 1930.  As an engineer, how would you go about evaluating this design for energy efficiency, safety, reliability, and manufacturing, operating, and installation costs? Have you ever wondered how the level se…

Effective communication is essential to teamwork, and teamwork is essential to accomplishing complex engineering work.  In this course, you will learn several aspects of effective technical communication that will help prepare you to work successfully on an engineering team.  The strategies and techniques learned here are also applicable to other situationsfor example, preparing a résumé and cover letter, conducting a successful job interview, negotiating to make a major purchase or sale, and navigating through legal situations that you might encounter. As an example, consider the following situation.  You arrive home after a week-long vacation and find a note on your door saying: Dude My plumber’s cut your phone cord.  I reckon they’ll fix it soon. On the other hand, consider that you find a note resembling:   From: John Atkins      October 24, 2015 2828 Fairlane Rd. Tel: 703-555-4800   To:       Occupant 2824 Fairlane Rd.   I regret to inform you that my plumbing contractor…

The study of dynamic systems focuses on the behavior of physical systems as well as the physics of individual components and the interactions between them.  Control systems are designed to enable dynamic systems to respond in a specific manner.  In this course, we will learn about the mathematical modeling, analysis, and control of physical systems that are in rest, in motion, or acted upon by a force. Dynamic systems can be mechanical, electrical, thermal, hydraulic, pneumatic, or any combination thereof.  An electrical motor is a good example of a dynamic system in which electricity is used to drive the motor’s mechanical movement.  The operation of the motor is controlled by altering the electric current or voltage.  Another good example is a car’s suspension system, which is designed to curb abnormal vibrations while riding on a bumpy road.  In order to design a suspension system, you must analyze the mathematical equations of the physics of the suspension and its response (i.e. how effectivel…

Engineering design is the process of creating solutions to satisfy certain requirements given all the constraints.   This course will focus on the decision-making process that affects various stages of design, including resource allocation, scheduling, facilities management, material procurement, inspection, and quality control.  You will be introduced to the basic theoretical framework and several practical tools you can use to support decision making in the future.  The first two units provide an overview of engineering design process and theories and methods for making decisions, including Analytic Hierarchy Process, Lean Six Sigma, and Quality Function Deployment.  In Unit 3, you will learn about the basic principles of computerized decision support systems.  Unit 4 discusses several advanced mathematical methods used for support decision making, including linear and dynamic programming, decision tree, and Bayesian inference.

This course will ask you to apply the knowledge you have acquired over the course of the entire mechanical engineering curriculum.  It draws upon what you have learned in your courses in mechanics, CAD, materials and processing, thermal and fluid systems, and dynamics and control, just to name a few.  This course is equivalent to the capstone course or senior design project that you would need to complete as a senior in a mechanical engineering program in a traditional American university setting. This course begins in Unit 1 by introducing you to the stages of the design process.  We will then focus on tools and skill sets that are particularly important for succeeding in a design project, including design planning, teamwork skills, project management, and design reporting. Unit 2 covers important design principles and considerations.  You will learn about economic implications (you must keep cost in mind while designing!), the ethical, societal, and environmental impacts of design decisions, and pro…

This freshman-level course is the second semester of introductory physics. The focus is on electricity and magnetism. The subject is taught using the TEAL (Technology Enabled Active Learning) format which utilizes small group interaction and current technology. The TEAL/Studio Project at MIT is a new approach to physics education designed to help students develop much better intuition about, and conceptual models of, physical phenomena.

Staff List

Acknowledgements

The TEAL project is supported by The Alex and Brit d'Arbeloff Fund for Excellence in MIT Education, MIT iCampus, the Davis Educational Foundation, the National Science Foundation, the Class of 1960 Endowment for Innovation in Education, the Class of 1951 Fund for Excellence in Education, the Class of 1955 Fund for Excellence in Teaching, and the Helena Foundation. Many people have contributed to the development of the course materials. (PDF)

This aerodynamics course focuses on the study of the flow of air about a body, and the “body” will be an airplane, but many of the concepts explored are relevant to a wide variety of applications from sailboats to automobiles to birds. Learners completing this aerodynamics course will gain a fundamental understanding of concepts and models used to aerodynamically analyze and design subsonic, transonic, and supersonic aircraft.

While the course is an introduction to aerodynamics, it is an advanced subject typically taken as a third or fourth year undergraduate subject in aerospace engineering.

This course covers the physics, concepts, theories, and models underlying the discipline of aerodynamics. A general theme is the technique of velocity field representation and modeling via source and vorticity fields, and via their sheet, filament, or point-singularity idealizations.

The intent is to instill an intuitive feel for aerodynamic flowfield behavior, and to provide the basis of aerodynamic force analysis, drag decomposition, flow interference estimation, and many other important applications. A few computational methods are covered, primarily to give additional insight into flow behavior, and to identify the primary aerodynamic forces on maneuvering aircraft. A short overview of flight dynamics is also presented.

Before your course starts, try the new edX Demo where you can explore the fun, interactive learning environment and virtual labs. Learn more.

FAQ

Is there a required textbook?
You do not need to buy a textbook. All material is included in the edX course and is viewable online. This includes a full textbook in PDF form. If you would like to buy a print copy of the textbook, a mail-order service will be provided.

Can I still register after the start date?
You can register at any time, but you will not get credit for any assignments that are past due.

How are grades assigned?
Grades are made out of four parts: simple, multiple-choice "Concept Questions " completed during lectures; weekly homework assignments; and two exams, one at the midpoint and one at the end of the course.

How does this course use video? Do I need to watch the lectures live?
Video lectures as well as worked problems will be available and you can watch these at your leisure. Homework assignments and exams, however, will have due dates.

Will the text of the lectures be available?
Yes, transcripts of the course will be made available.

Will the material be made available to anyone registered for this course?
Yes, all the material will be made available to all students.

What are the prerequisites?
The student is expected to be well-versed in basic mechanics, vector calculus, and basic differential equations. Good familiarity with basic fluid mechanics concepts (pressure, density, velocity, stress, etc.) is expected, similar to the content in 16.101x (however, 16.101x is not a requirement). If you do not know these subjects beforehand, following the class material will be extremely difficult. We do not check students for prerequisites, so you are certainly allowed to try.

Who can register for this course?
Unfortunately, learners from Iran, Sudan, Cuba and the Crimea region of Ukraine will not be able to register for this course at the present time. While edX has received a license from the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) to offer courses to learners from Iran and Sudan our license does not cover this course. Separately, EdX has applied for a license to offer courses to learners in the Crimea region of Ukraine, but we are awaiting a determination from OFAC on that application. We are deeply sorry the U.S. government has determined that we have to block these learners, and we are working diligently to rectify this situation as soon as possible.

This course provides an overview of and introduction to the fundamentals of aeronautics, using the history of aviation as a story line. The course uses examples from the very beginning of aviation (the Montgolfier brothers’ balloon flight in 1783 and the Wright brothers’ heavier-than-air flight in 1903) and continues all the way through to the current Airbus A380 and future aircraft. During this trajectory three major topics are discussed: aeronautics, aerodynamics and flight mechanics.

Lectures are frequently accompanied by related exercises and demonstrations. The course also incorporates (design) challenges/competitions, based on the knowledge obtained through the lectures.

LICENSE
The course materials of this course are Copyright Delft University of Technology and are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike (CC-BY-NC-SA) 4.0 International License.

Watch fun, educational videos on all sorts of Physics questions. Thomas Young's Double Slit Experiment. Newton's Prism Experiment. Bridge Design and Destruction! (part 1). Bridge Design (and Destruction!) Part 2. Shifts in Equilibrium. The Marangoni Effect: How to make a soap propelled boat!. The Invention of the Battery. The Forces on an Airplane. Bouncing Droplets: Superhydrophobic and Superhydrophilic Surfaces. A Crash Course on Indoor Flying Robots. Heat Transfer. Thomas Young's Double Slit Experiment. Newton's Prism Experiment. Bridge Design and Destruction! (part 1). Bridge Design (and Destruction!) Part 2. Shifts in Equilibrium. The Marangoni Effect: How to make a soap propelled boat!. The Invention of the Battery. The Forces on an Airplane. Bouncing Droplets: Superhydrophobic and Superhydrophilic Surfaces. A Crash Course on Indoor Flying Robots. Heat Transfer.

Week 1: A first simple neuron model

Week 2:  Hodgkin-Huxley models and biophysical modeling

Week 3: Two-dimensional models and phase plane analysis

Week 4: Two-dimensional models (cont.)/ Dendrites

Week 5: Variability of spike trains and the neural code

Week 6: Noise models, noisy neurons and coding

Week 7: Estimating neuron models for coding and decoding

Before your course starts, try the new edX Demo where you can explore the fun, interactive learning environment and virtual labs. Learn more.

5.73 covers fundamental concepts of quantum mechanics: wave properties, uncertainty principles, Schrödinger equation, and operator and matrix methods. Basic applications of the following are discussed: one-dimensional potentials (harmonic oscillator), three-dimensional centrosymmetric potentials (hydrogen atom), and angular momentum and spin. The course also examines approximation methods: variational principle and perturbation theory.

Mechanics ReView is a second look at introductory Newtonian Mechanics. It will give you a unified overview of mechanics that will dramatically increase your problem-solving ability. It is open to all students who meet the prerequisites (see right), but is especially designed for teachers and students who want to improve their existing understanding of mechanics.

Newtonian mechanics is the study of how forces change the motion of objects. This course begins with force, and moves on to straight-line motion, momentum, mechanical energy, rotational motion, angular momentum, and harmonic oscillators. Optional units include planetary orbits and a unit whose problems require multiple concepts to be applied to obtain one solution.

NOTE: New Section “Problem-solving Pedagogy”

We have developed a special approach to organizing the physics content knowledge and for applying it when solving problems.  This approach is called “Modeling Applied to Problem Solving” and has been researched carefully and has proven effectiveness for improving students’ performance in a later physics course on Electricity and Magnetism.

If you are a teacher looking to improve your knowledge of mechanics, or to learn new approaches to teach your students, we encourage you to sign up in the special teacher section featuring a discussion forum for teachers to discuss teaching ideas and techniques related to the topics discussed in this course.  To join these discussions,  verify yourself as a teacher, and we will sign you up in the teacher forum.

Note that this forum is exclusively reserved for teachers, so please do not register if you are not a teacher.

Teachers in the United States, and especially in Massachusetts, can receive extra benefit from this course. We offer Professional Development Points (PDPs) at no charge to teachers in Massachusetts who complete our course. If you are in a different state, we instead offer Continuing Education Units through the American Association of Physics Teachers. There is a fee for this certificate.

Course Syllabus

Note: Taking this Course Involves Using Some Experimental Materials

The RELATE group that authors and administers this course is an education research group, dedicated to understanding and improving education, especially online.  We showed that 8.MReV generated slightly more conceptual learning than a conventionally taught on-campus course  - but we were unable to find exactly what caused this learning.   (So far this is the only published measurement of learning in a MOOC).  This summer we will be comparing learning from different types of online activities that  will be administerered to randomly assigned sub-groups of our students.  At certain points in the course, new vs. previously used sequences of activities will be assigned to different groups.  We will then use common questions to compare the amount learned. Which group receives the new activities will be switched so that neither group will have all new activities.

Our experimental protocol has been approved by the MIT Committee on Use of Human Subjects.  As part of this approval we have the obligation to inform you about these experiments and to assure you that:

• We will not divulge any information about you that may be identified as yours personally (e.g. a discussion post showing your user name). 
• The grade for obtaining a certificate will be adjusted downwards (from 60%) to compensate if one group has harder materials.

Note: By clicking on the registration button, you indicate that you understand that everyone who participates in this course is randomly assigned to one of the groups described above. 

Welcome, and we hope you will both learn from and enjoy this course.

FAQs

Is there a required textbook?

You do not need to buy a textbook. All material is included in this edX course and is viewable online. If you would like to use a textbook with the course (for example, as a reference), most calculus-level books are suitable. Introductory physics books by Young and Freedman, Halliday and Resnick, or Knight are all appropriate (and older editions are fine).

What if I take a vacation?

The course schedule is designed with this in mind! Course contents are released four weeks ahead of the deadline, so even if you have a four-week vacation, you do not need to miss any deadlines and can still complete all of the material.

Will I get a certficiate?

Yes! This course awards certificates to all who satisfactorily complete the required portion of the course.

How are grades assigned?

There are three parts of the course that are worth points: Checkpoint problems that are folded in with the reading, Homework problems that come at the end of each unit, and Quizzes that are at the end of every 1-2 units. Each is worth a varying number of points, and you will not have to do every problem.

The course consists of 11 required units and three optional units. You do not need to complete the optional units in order to receive a certificate.

There is no final exam.

The study of the night sky instilled wonder in our ancestors. Modern astronomy extends the human view to previously unexplored regions of space and time. In this course, you will gain an understanding of these discoveries through a focus on relativity—Einstein's fascinating and non-intuitive description of the physical world. By studying relativity and astronomy together, you will develop physical insight and quantitative skills, and you’ll regain a profound sense of wonder for the universe we call home.

FAQ

• What topics will the course cover?
  • Section One—Introduction
  • Section Two—3, 2, 1 … Launching the journey into spacetime
  • Section Three—Special relativity: from light to dark
  • Section Four—General relativity: from flat to curved

• Is there a required textbook?

  • No textbook is required. Notes will be posted weekly. A list of supplemental resources, including textbooks, will be provided.​​

• What are the learning outcomes of this course?

  • Explain the meaning and significance of the postulates of special and general relativity.

  • Discuss significant experimental tests of both special and general relativity.

  • Analyze paradoxes in special relativity.

  • Apply appropriate tools for problem solving in special relativity.

  • Describe astrophysical situations where the consequences of relativity qualitatively impact predictions and/or observations.

  • Describe daily situations where relativity makes a difference.

Despite spectacular recent progress, there is still a lot we don't know about our universe. We don't know why the Big Bang happened. We don't know what most of the universe is made of. We don't know whether there is life in space. We don't know how planets form, how black holes get so big, or where the first stars have gone. This course will take you through nine of the greatest unsolved problems of modern astrophysics. We can't promise you the answers, but we will explain what we do and don't know, and give you an up-to-date understanding of current research. This course is designed for people who would like to get a deeper understanding of these mysteries than that offered by popular science articles and shows. 

This is the first of four ANUx courses which together make up the Australian National University's first year astrophysics program. It is followed by courses on exoplanets, on the violent universe, and on cosmology. These courses compromise the Astrophysics XSeries. Learn more about the XSeries program and register for all the courses in the series today!

The discovery of exoplanets is one of the greatest revolutions in modern astrophysics. Twenty years ago, we had no idea whether any of the countless stars out there beyond our solar system had planets or not.

Today, things are totally different. Over 1,000 planetary systems have been discovered. The universe is teeming with planets. And what strange planets they are - hot Jupiter-like planets skimming the surfaces of their stars, cold and lonely free-floating planets far from any star, planets made of diamond, planets with rain made of glass, super-Earths and even planets orbiting neutron stars. In this course, we’ll bring you up-to-date with the latest research on exoplanets, and how this research has revolutionised our understanding of the formation of solar systems like our own.

This course is designed for people who would like to get a deeper understanding of these mysteries than that offered by popular science articles and shows. You will need reasonable high-school level mathematics and physics to get the most out of this course.

This is the second of four ANUx courses which together make up the Australian National University's first year astrophysics program. It follows on from the introductory course on the Greatest Unsolved Mysteries of the Universe, and is followed by courses on the violent universe and on cosmology. These courses compromise the Astrophysics XSeries. Learn more about the XSeries program and register for all the courses in the series today!

A flow is called hypersonic if the Mach number is greater than 5. This means that the flow speed is more than five times the speed of sound. In air at room temperature, the speed of sound is around 340 m/s, so a Mach 5 flow would have a flow speed of 1.7 km/s or just over 6,000 km/h. When a rocket launches a satellite into earth orbit, when a probe enters the atmosphere of another planet or when an aircraft is propelled by a supersonic combustion ramjet engine (a scramjet), hypersonic flows are encountered. Hypersonics – from Shock Waves to Scramjets introduces the basic concepts associated with flight at speeds greater than Mach 5 and takes students to the stage where they can analyse the performance of a scramjet engine that might be used in a future access-to-space system.

Preparing for the AP Physics 2 exam requires a deep understanding of many different topics in physics as well as an understanding of the AP exam and the types of questions it asks. This course is Part 1 of our AP Physics 2 series designed to prepare you for the AP exam. 

In Part 1, you will learn about fluids and thermodynamics. You will explore pressure, buoyant forces and concepts that involve conservation of mass and energy. You will also be learning about heat, its transfer and how we have taken advantage of its behavior in different types of technology.

As you work through this course, you will find lecture videos taught by expert AP physics teachers, practice multiple choice questions and free response questions that are similar to what you will encounter on the AP exam and tutorial videos that show you step-by-step how to solve problems. By the end of the course, you will be prepared to take on the AP exam!

This course is authorized as an Advanced Placement® (AP®) course by the AP Course Audit. The AP Course Audit was created by the College Board to give schools and students the confidence that all AP courses meet or exceed the same clearly articulated curricular expectations of colleges and universities.

By taking an AP course and scoring successfully on the related AP Exam, students can:

• Stand Out in College Admissions
• Earn College Credits
• Skip Introductory Classes
• Build College Skills

Advanced Placement® and AP® are trademarks registered and/or owned by the College Board, which was not involved in the production of, and does not endorse, these offerings.

Ce cours est une première introduction à la mécanique des fluides. Nous allons aborder tout d'abord les propriétés physiques des fluides : les états de la matière et la notion de viscosité. Un chapitre sera dédié à la tension de surface et à la capillarité. Nous introduirons ensuite le concept de similitude et l’utilisation des nombres adimensionnels. Nous allons alors considérer la statique des fluides à travers la loi de l'hydrostatique. La dynamique des fluides sera abordée en premier lieu par la cinématique. Ensuite, nous traiterons des équations de bilan avec notamment une application du théorème de conservation de l’énergie cinétique : le théorème de Bernoulli. Dans le dernier, nous montrerons que ce théorème relativement simple permet d’expliquer et de calculer des écoulements tels que ceux observés dans les rivières. Les vidéos du cours seront enrichies de vidéos d’expériences qui illustreront les concepts clés et par des quiz pour tester votre intuition et vos connaissances. Le dernier module vous permettra de piloter à distance une expérience d'hydraulique qui a lieu dans les laboratoires de l'EPFL.

This course is presented in French.