Everything Einstein
Foothill College instructor Andrew Fraknoi is scheduled to teach Physics 12, “Physics for Poets: Everything You Wanted to Know about Einstein’s Work but Were Afraid to Ask,” 6-8:30 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays from April 11 to June 22.
The approach is nonmathematical, with humor, analogies and demonstrations. No background in science or math is required; Fraknoi specializes in explaining scientific ideas in everyday language.
The course emphasizes key ideas that form the basis of modern concepts of space, time, matter and energy, including the theory of how atoms work; energy, heat, and the arrow of time; the special theory of relativity: what happens when you travel close to the speed of light; the general theory of relativity: gravity, space-time warps and black holes; and quantum mechanics: the bizarre rules that govern the world inside the atom.
In addition to examining the physics and physicists involved with these areas, the course will examine the effects such ideas have had on the humanities, including poetry, fiction, music and the public view of scientists.
Fraknoi concludes the course with a look at the work of Stephen Hawking, whose ideas combine many of these areas and take some of Einstein’s ideas to the outermost limits of cosmic possibility.
For registration information for the spring quarter at Foothill College in Los Altos Hills, visit www.foothill.edu/reg/spring06.html. Foothill evening classes are open to the public.
Goethe’s color theory
Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe was a famous poet and scientist who developed an understanding of nature as a living whole.
Learn how Goethe’s ideas have become increasingly important in the modern era in a lecture scheduled 7-9 p.m. tonight at the Waldorf School of the Peninsula, 11311 Mora Drive, Los Altos. The event costs $15.
Rudolf Steiner College offers lectures and classes to parents, educators and the general public on its Los Altos campus, located at the Waldorf School of the Peninsula. An informational meeting about the Waldorf Teacher Education Program is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. March 22.
For more information, call 948-8433 or visit www.waldorfpeninsula.org.
