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    Back to Understanding Einstein: The Special Theory of Relativity

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

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    4.9
    stars
    3,122 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 s...
    ...

    Top reviews

    AP

    Aug 11, 2020

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    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.

    SS

    Dec 8, 2019

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    Almost anyone can learn about the special theory of relativity from these lectures. I actually can't believe that I studied from a professor who teaches in the USA and in so simple way. I am grateful.

    Filter by:

    351 - 375 of 1,078 Reviews for Understanding Einstein: The Special Theory of Relativity

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    By Nimish P

    •

    Jul 26, 2020

    Very well Taught & Explained by Prof. Larry Lagerstrom. Thank you a lot for this effort to everyone including the Professor, the University & Coursera for such convenient & Flexible method of teaching such complex ideas.

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    By Jayshil P

    •

    May 13, 2017

    I think this the best course for beginners who want to learn special relativity qualitatively. This course contains least mathematics. But, then also, you can learn concepts of relativity very easily without mathematics.

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    By Jyrki R

    •

    Mar 25, 2022

    Excellent combination of physics and history of physics and I loved following the lectures given by Larry in his somewhat slow, but very throughout way that really made me to understand the special theory of relativity.

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    By Sarah

    •

    Jan 2, 2021

    Prof. Lagerstorm is probably the best professor one could wish for, I am 13 and yet was able to understand in depth. His references, and explanation is so simple that it made such complex concepts easily understandable.

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    By Mathieu L

    •

    Sep 8, 2020

    Really nice course, the teacher explains well and his clear. Mathematic aspects are not too difficult to understand. I really enjoyed this course and have a much better understanding of the special Theory of Relativity.

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    By Daniel S M

    •

    Oct 7, 2020

    I am very happy with this course. I am a physicist and I learned too much, I think the best way to learn a theory is in a historical context. I recommend this course. I expect you open the course on general relativity.

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    By Gayatri P

    •

    May 22, 2021

    The course was perfect in every way...I'm in 9th grade and I could understand the concept clearly all thanks to the Professor's teaching and the guidance of the mentors who cleared all the doubts!

    Thank you once again!

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    By Bruce A

    •

    Mar 17, 2022

    I highly recommend this course to anyone wanting to understand the ideas behind special relativity without being bombarded with maths. I wish my lecturers at university were half as good as Larry Randles Lagerstrom.

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    By Sachin

    •

    Apr 27, 2018

    This course really explained well "The Special Theory Of Relativity". In addition to that you can also learn that how theories develop step by step, measurement. Also I got know a lot of things about Albert Einstein.

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    By André B

    •

    May 24, 2020

    The way the course is given, clear and slow paced, makes it easy to understand the topic for someone who hasn't done math for a long time. Which was good for me since I did the course for fun and not career related.

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    By Roger P

    •

    Aug 16, 2018

    This was a great course and Larry Lagerstrom is a wonderful teacher. I would thoroughly recommend this course to anyone interested in Einstein's Special Theory and I'm hoping that Larry will do more physics courses.

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    By Andrea P

    •

    Dec 20, 2017

    The way topics are presented is so fluid (and for the general public) that it is impossible not to follow the roadmap and conclude the course with few but very sound concepts about the special theory of relativity.

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    By Yves G

    •

    Mar 28, 2019

    Thanks to the professor

    Larry Randles Lagerstrom for this high quality course. I had exciting moments during class. It is hoped that one day humanity will become a stellar civilization ... Again thank you very much

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    By Anil

    •

    May 24, 2017

    This is one of the best course I have a taken in a while. Thank you to the Prof to make this learning experience one of the best so far, Can't imagine anyone else explaining the same material which such clarity!!!

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    By Valter J

    •

    Feb 5, 2017

    This course helped me understanding many concepts of The Special Theory of Relativity. I recommend it particularly to high school students. Thank you very much to the teacher and all that contributed for that job.

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    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

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    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!

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    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 !

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    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!!

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    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.

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    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!

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    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.

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    By Jayendra B

    •

    Sep 16, 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.

    Filled StarFilled StarFilled StarFilled StarFilled Star

    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.

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    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.

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