Frank Potter's Science Gems
Physical Science III

PHYSICAL SCIENCE SUBCATEGORIES

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XVII. Introduction to Chemistry

"MINIMUM" Level: Kindergarten

• To be added when verified.
  
  

"MINIMUM" Level: 3rd Grade

• Periodic Table of the Elements (Java) - R. Bock for IFMSA WebLab in Italy Click on an element and warch its electrons in simulated motion!
  
  

"MINIMUM" Level: 6th Grade

• Chemical Kinetics Simulation (Java Applet) - C. Grayce, UC Irvine Watch the reactions take place. Interactive: change the concentrations. Plot of molecule types versus time.
  
  
• MOLECULAR MODELING - New York University [SELECT Quicktour or Hypermedia Textbook] In "Molecules" ones finds: Water Module (labs, simulations, activities, challenges, reviews); Carbon Chemistry (bonding, compounds, diamond, graphite, Buckyballs, kevlar); Photosynthesis (under development); Molecules of Life (access to protein molecules in archives at other sites); 3-D Modeling of Molecules (tutorials); Ask-a-Scientist Page. Also tutorials in 3-D imaging of geometrical solids.
  
  
• PERIODIC TABLE DATA BASE - Computer Science Department, University of British Columbia Multimedia, Includes: Periodic Table of the Elements, Elements listed by Symbol, by Atomic Number, Name and Symbol. About a dozen physical properties are given including boiling and melting points, electrical and thermal conductivity, and specific heat capacity.
  
  

"MINIMUM" Level: 9th Grade

• Tutorial on Balancing Equations (requires Shockwave plugim) - Y.-L. Wong, Knowledge by Design Interactive blackboard; further exercises available.
  
  
• PERIODIC TABLES - WebELEMENTS - Mark Winter, University of Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England Multimedia. "Welcome to ... a 30 megabyte collection of 5500 files about the periodic table." The WebELEMENTS Periodic Tables include these properties of each element: General; Chemical; Physical; Nuclear; Electronic; Biological; Geological; Crystallographic; Reduction Potentials; Isotopes Abundances; Electronic Configurations; Ionization Enthalpies.
  
  
• Definitions of Chemistry Terms - University of Frostburg Terms related to ideal gas laws, thermal expansion, entropy, etc.
  
  
• Glassware Gallery - R. Tureka, Interactive Learning Paradigms Inc See what it is! "drawings and descriptions of the glassware".
  
  
• Weak Acid Strong Base Titration Simulation (Java Applets) - Y.-L. Wong, Knowledge by Design Interactive: determine the weak acid concentration...
  
  
• Ideal Gas Calculator - ThinkQuest, Advanced Network & Services, Inc. "Choose a variable to be solved, and then fill in all the other blanks except for the variable you are solving for."
  
  
• Molar Mass/Percent by Mass Calculator - D. Woodcock, Department of Chemistry, Okanagan University College, B.C., Canada Enter formula.
  
  
• MOLECULAR MODELING - New York University [SELECT Quicktour or Hypermedia Textbook] In "Molecules" ones finds: Water Module (labs, simulations, activities, challenges, reviews); Carbon Chemistry (bonding, compounds, diamond, graphite, Buckyballs, kevlar); Photosynthesis (under development); Molecules of Life (access to protein molecules in archives at other sites); 3-D Modeling of Molecules (tutorials); Ask-a-Scientist Page. Also tutorials in 3-D imaging of geometrical solids.
  
  
• ELEMENT PERCENTAGE CALCULATOR - Mark Winter, University of Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England Multimedia version that allows you to enter the empirical formula for a compound and the percentage of the total molecular weight for each element is calculated.
  
  
• ChemSketch: free software - Advanced Chemistry Development, Inc. Molecule drawing and modeling program. Download for free. "In the past four years the Chemsketch drawing package has attracted enthusiastic comments from its users and it has been acknowledged to be the most powerful and easiest to use molecular structure and chemical drawing tool available today."
  
  
• RasMol Molecule Viewer - University of Massachusetts Introduction and Gallery of molecular images: biomolecules such as proteins, ATP, tRNA, lipids, immunoglobulin, etc. Also available at UC Berkeley.
  
  
• Hazardous Chemicals & Safety in High Schools - Chem Info Net Variety of useful information about chemical safety for Chemistry teachers.
  
  

"MINIMUM" Level: university

• Theory of Atoms in Molecules - R.F.W. Bader, McMaster University, Canada What is an Atom?; What is a bond?; The Quantum atom; More advanced topics; etc
  
  
• PERIODIC TABLES - WebELEMENTS - Mark Winter, University of Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England Multimedia, Includes: The First 105 Elements, The Isotope Pattern Calculator, Element Percentage Calculator, and practically everything you ever want to know about an element including ionic radii, electronegativities, bond enthalpies, and isotopic abundances. Lists other WebElements Sites and other periodic table services.
  
  
• Valence Shell Electron Pair Repulsion (VSEPR) - J.J. Nash, Purdue University Multimedia Movies including: Docking (transition from Trypsinogen into Trypsin); DLPE Bilayer; Argon Cluster; 3D Texture Mapping; Vibrations; Concepts with problems and examples.
  
  
• LAWRENCE LIVERMORE NATIONAL LABORATORY SAFETY & HEALTH MANUAL - LLNL Tutorial (Text & Images).
  
  

"MINIMUM" Level: graduate

• To be added when verified.
  
  

XVIII. Chemical Reactions

"MINIMUM" Level: Kindergarten

• To be added when verified.
  
  

"MINIMUM" Level: 3rd Grade

• To be added when verified.
  
  

"MINIMUM" Level: 6th Grade

• Simple Chemical Reaction Movie - UC Berkeley CH3Br + Cl -> CH3Cl + Br.
  
  

"MINIMUM" Level: 9th Grade

• To be added when verified.
  
  

"MINIMUM" Level: university

• CHEMICAL COMPOUNDS - SEARCHABLE INDEX - University of Berlin Searchable Database using appreviations of Chemical Compounds. In English and German. As an example: if you are looking for Alanine, Enter keywork search "ALA".
  
  
• Analytical Chemistry - J. Hardy, University of Akron Lecture materials associated with Analytical Chemistry II: Statistical treatment of data, aqueous solution chemistry, titration methods, electrochem, spectrophotometry, chromatography, etc. Mostly copies of slide outline. Copyrighted.
  
  
• Complex Ions - Chemistry, Oxford University "The aim of this experiment is to teach you something of the aqueous chemistry of common metal ions belonging to the first transition series and the post-transition subgroups (sometimes called the B-metals) in the presence of a variety of ligands."
  
  
• Femtosecond Chemical Reactions - K. Wynne, University of Strathclyde Slides explaining the research.
  
  
• CHEMFINDER Search - CambridgeSoft Corporation "At the moment, this database contains an eclectic 2500 compounds. We are particularly well represented in small biological molecules, including sugars, amino acids, nucleic acids, and steroids. We also have large selections of drugs and dyes, with particular emphasis on household items."
  
  
• Chemical Compounds: Abbreviations (Abkärzungen chemischer Verbindungen) - Department of Chemistry, Freie Universität Berlin Searchable database using abbreviations of chemical compounds. In English and German. If you are looking for Alanine, enter keywork search "ALA".
  
  
• Chemical Compounds: Acronyms (Akronyme ) - Department of Chemistry, Freie Universität Berlin Searchable database using abbreviations of chemical compounds. In English and German. "An acronym is a word formed from the initial letters of the words of a compound term". For example: NMR - Nuclear Magnetic Resonance.
  
  
• Chemical Compound Index - Department of Chemistry, Freie Universität Berlin "This index of chemicals compounds only refers to those compounds that are treated in web pages".
  
  
• Chemistry Glossary - Chemistry Department, Freie Universität Berlin Hypertext. "Search for terms in glossary of chemistry."
  
  

"MINIMUM" Level: graduate

• Cavity Ring-Down Spectroscopy - NIST "We are using CRDS to improve the quality of kinetic data and to measure chemical kinetics under reaction conditions that were previously inaccessible to study."
  
  

XIX. Intermediate Chemistry

"MINIMUM" Level: 9th Grade

• GLOBAL INSTRUCTIONAL CHEMISTRY - H. RZEPA Useful course materials in stereochemistry, reactions, NMR, and molecular modeling with the objective of combining material from WWW sites worldwide.
  
  
• Analytical Chemistry Basics - B. Tissue, SciMedia "The goal of this on-line course is to provide the user with an introduction to some of the fundamental concepts and methods of analytical chemistry." Chemical equilibrium, Titration, Electrochemistry, Spectroscopy, Separations.
  
  
• Hypermedia Index to CHEMISTRY methods - B. Tissue, SciMedia Descriptions, images, and sketches of analytical instruments and techniques.
  
  
• Chemical Separations - J. Hardy, University of Akron Lecture slide series: solvent extraction; chromatography; supercritical fluid chomatography; etc. Copyrighted.
  
  
• CHEMPUTERS: CALCULATOR - Mark Winter, University of Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England "Welcome to the University of Sheffield's ChemPuter, a set of simple interactive calculators for chemistry on the World-Wide Web." Includes: Isotope Patterns Calculator; Element Percentages Calculator; Metal Oxidation Calculator; Electron Accountancy for Metal Complexes Calculator; VSEPR Calculator; MLXZ classification of an atom in a compound Calculator.
  
  
• FLUID PHASE EQUILIBRIA CALCULATOR - T. Melton, Quest Consultants Inc. "This page is designed to allow users to select a pure component or a mixture of components and determine either the vapor pressure curve for a pure component or the pressure-temperature phase envelope for a mixture."
  
  

"MINIMUM" Level: university

• Chemistry Research - Brookhaven National Laboratory A few examples of current research programs are: Surface science, nanoscience, combustion, nuclear chemistry, etc.
  
  
• JAVA PROGRAMS FOR PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY - J. Milton, B. Thomas & D. Yaron, Carnegie Mellon University Includes: Spectroscopic Simulator; Statistical Mechanical Simulator; Titrations Simulator; Why Things have Color; Particle in a Box Simulator.
  
  
• Radioanalytical Methods - J. Hardy, University of Akron Some animations accompany lecture slide series:nuclides; measurement of radiation; tracer selection; activation analysis; etc. Copyrighted.
  
  
• Mass Spectrometer Product - K. Clauser and P. Baker, UC San Francisco "...calculates the possible fragment ions resulting from fragmentation of a peptide in a mass spectrometer."
  
  
• High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC): A Users Guide - Kraemer, University of Kentucky Student project in College of Pharmacy: "HPLC is a popular method of analysis because it is easy to learn and use and is not limited by the volatility or stability of the sample compound." A quiz follows!
  
  
• Molecular Model Search (JAVA APPLET) - D. Woodcock, Department of Chemistry, Okanagan University College, British Columbia, Canada Large database.
  
  
• SPECTROSCOPIC SIMULATOR (Java Applets) - J. Milton, B. Thomas & D. Yaron, Java Programs for Physical Chemistry, Carneigie Mellon University Includes instruction in basic quantum mechanic theory and a statistical mechanics simulator.
  
  
• THERMODYNAMIC PROPERTIES CALCULATOR - T. Melton, Quest Consultants Inc. "This page is designed to allow users to select a pure component or a mixture of components and determine the vapor-liquid split (if two-phase), the liquid and vapor densities, enthalpies, heat capacities, and compositions at an input temperature and pressure."
  
  

"MINIMUM" Level: graduate

• Spin Trap and Magnetic Resonance Database - NIEHS, NIH Multimedia. "These services provide the basics for an Magnetic Resonance database on the Web. While it now contains all 9000+ records originally contained in the Spin Trap Data Base, we have expanded the format to include more information".
  
  

XX. Organic Chemistry

"MINIMUM" Level: 9th Grade

• General Organic and Biochemistry - J. Hardy, University of Akron Some animations. Lecture slide series: Chemical reactions; solutions; acids/bases; reaction rates; alkanes; phenols; amines; enzymes; nucleic acids; carbohydrate metabolism; etc. Copyrighted.
  
  
• Organic Chemistry - Y.-L. Wong, WFU Alcohols, phenols, proteins,RNA, DNA, fats and oils, vitamins, etc.
  
  
• Organic Compounds Database - compiled by H. M. Bell at Virginia Tech and hosted by the Department of Chemistry, Colby College, Waterville, Maine Large Database (Text & Images).
  
  

"MINIMUM" Level: university

• Nomenclature of Organic Chemistry - Advanced Chemistry Development, Inc. General categories include: Hydrocarbons; Fundamental heterocyclic Systems; Characteristic Groups containg Carbon, Hydrogen, Oxygen, Nitrogen, Halogen, Sulfur, Selenium, and/or Tellurium.
  
  
• Polymer and Coating Science Course - J. Stoffer, H. Collier, M. v.d. Mark, J. Kokorudz at Univ. of Missouri-Rolla History of polymers, physical properties, addition polymerization, polyolefins, etc.
  
  
• Organic Laboratory - J. Kofron & J. Hardy, University of Akron Sequential images: extraction; melting points; Grignard reactions; Beilstein test; etc. Copyrighted.
  
  
• Vibrational modes of Benzine - UC Berkeley Kekule mode, Breathing mode, and mpeg movie of the Chubby Checker mode!
  
  
• Smells Database - MultiCHEM, UC Berkeley Tables of molecules.
  
  

"MINIMUM" Level: graduate

• Biocatalysis/Biodegradation Pathways - L. Ellis & L. Wackett, University of Minnesota Includes Pathways for: Atrazine, 2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic Acid; Naphthalene; Pentachlorophenol, Toluene and 2,4,5-Trichlorophenoxyacetic Acid.
  
  

XXI. Biochemistry

"MINIMUM" Level: Kindergarten

• To be added when verified.
  
  

"MINIMUM" Level: 3rd Grade

• NEWTON'S APPLE EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS Numerous lessons from the 9th - 14th seasons from brain mapping to bread chemistry to the Hubble telescope to printing money to a raptor hospital: activities, questions, and further investigation suggestions.
  
  

"MINIMUM" Level: 6th Grade

• MOLECULAR MODELING - New York University [Start MathMol, then SELECT Quicktour, or, Modules, or Software] In MODULES ones finds: Water Module (labs, simulations, activities, challenges, reviews); Carbon Chemistry (bonding, compounds, diamond, graphite, Buckyballs, kevlar); Photosynthesis (under development); Molecules of Life (access to protein molecules in archives at other sites); 3-D Modeling of Molecules (tutorials); Ask-a-Scientist Page. Also tutorials in 3-D imaging of geometrical solids.
  
  

"MINIMUM" Level: 9th Grade

• DIY Glycolysis - J. Maber, Univ. of Leeds Practically everything from the beginning with glucose to the more advanced. "If you memorise the sequence of reactions from the textbook and simply enter them, you will learn very little. In fact you will find that you will sometimes learn more from choosing the wrong reactions! Each time you choose the wrong reaction type, a page of text will tell you whether the reaction is impossible, undesirable or simply not the way it has evolved. More important, it will tell you why. Hopefully you will discover that glycolysis is not simply a series of chemicals which you must memorise but a finely optimised system for squeezing energy out of glucose which has evolved over billions of years."
  
  
• DIFFRACTION (electron,neutron,x-ray); IMAGING (electron microscopy,light microscopy); CHROMATOGRAPHY; SPECTROSCOPY OF ALL KINDS!; THERMAL ANALYSIS - Brian Tissue, SciMedia Additional available tutorials: Basic Review of Spectroscopy; Review of Quantum Mechanics; Some Optics; Lasers; Atomic Spectroscopy; Mass Spectrometry; Molecular Spectroscopy and Nonlinear Spectroscopy.
  
  

"MINIMUM" Level: university

• Metabolic Pathways of Biochemistry - K.J. Miller, Dept. of Biochemistry, George Washington University "...online reference of metabolism for students, scientists, and the world. This site is designed to graphically represent all major metabolic pathways, primarily those important to human biochemistry."
  
  
• Metabolic Pathways - Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes Graphical pathway maps and ortholog group tables. "...an effort to computerize current knowledge of molecular and cellular biology in terms of the information pathways that consist of interacting molecules or genes and to provide links from the gene catalogs produced by genome sequencing projects."
  
  
• Smells Database - ModularCHEM Consortium, College of Chemistry, UC Berkeley Multimedia Database (Text & Images).
  
  
• AMINO ACIDS - Department of Chemistry, Freie Universitat Berlin Multimedia. In English and German.
  
  
• AMINO ACID PROPERTIES - R. Beavis, Rockefeller Institute Databases and tutorials including structural and genetic code properties (Text & Images).
  
  
• AMINO ACID SELECTOR (Requires free CHEMSCAPE CHIME PLUG-IN) - W. McClure, Carnegie Mellon Universtiy "The selection forms above each frame let you view each of the 20 amino acids using the Chemscape Chime Plug-in."
  
  
• ProteinProspector - K. Clauser & P. Baker, Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, UCSF "Tools for mining sequence databasesin conjunction with Mass Proteometry experiments."
  
  
• MOLECULAR MODELS; The Representation of - Francois Savary, Department of Physical Chemistry, University of Geneva Multimedia Course (Text, Images & MPEG's). Includes Structural Models; Surfaces; Properties of Surfaces; Properties of Isovalue Surfaces; Animated Models; Virtual Reality; Shading Techniques; Shadows; Transparency; Ray Tracing; Radiosity Method; and Texture Mapping.
  
  
• STRUCTURAL CLASSIFICATION OF PROTEINS - A. Murzin, S.E. Brenner, T.J.P. Hubbard & C. Chothia, MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology and Centre for Protein Engineering, Cambridge, England Structural Classification of Proteins begining with "top of the hierarchy; sequence homology search and keyword search".
  
  
• PRINCIPLES OF PROTEIN STRUCTURE - Birbeck College in Collaboration with the Virtual School of Natural Sciences (VSNS) and the Globewide Network Academy (GNA) Multimedia Course (Text, Images & MPEG's). Includes: Protein Synthesis, Primary Structure, Protein Geometry, Molecular Forces, Secondary Structure, Super-Secondary Structure, Tertiary Structure, Protein Folds, Quaternary Structure, and Protein Interactions. Also includes Protein Families (Immunoglobulins and Antibodies, Cytokines and their Receptors, Lecins, Growth Factors Globins, Proteases, TM Barrels and Chaperones, Viruses, Publications, Research, etc.
  
  
• PRINCIPLES OF PROTEIN STRUCTURE 1995 Version - Birbeck College in Collaboration with the Virtual School of Natural Sciences (VSNS) and the Globewide Network Academy (GNA) Multimedia Course (Text, Images & MPEG's). Includes: Protein Synthesis, Primary Structure, Protein Geometry, Molecular Forces, Secondary Structure, Super-Secondary Structure, Tertiary Structure, Protein Folds, Quaternary Structure, and Protein Interactions. Also includes Protein Families (Immunoglobulins and Antibodies, Cytokines and their Receptors, Lecins, Growth Factors Globins, Proteases, TM Barrels and Chaperones, Viruses, Publications, Research, etc.
  
  
• ATLAS OF SIDE-CHAIN AND MAIN-CHAIN HYDROGEN BONDING - I. McDonald and J. Thornton, University College London (Text & Images). "This document is a graphical summary of hydrogen bonding in a dataset of high-resolution protein structures. It shows the distributions of the frequencies and geometries of hydrogen bonds formed by main-chain and side-chain donors and acceptors."
  
  

"MINIMUM" Level: graduate

• J. of Biological Chemistry On-line - Stanford University Multimedia Movies including: Docking (transition from Trypsinogen into Trypsin); DLPE Bilayer; Argon Cluster; 3D Texture Mapping; Vibrations; The actual journal!
  
  
• Pheromone research - Dept of Ecology, Lund University, Sweden Details of research into pheromones, etc.
  
  
• Chiral separations - ChromTech Corp., Sweden Hundreds of graphs, searchable by name or by formula, and a course on chiral chromatography.
  
  
• ParAlign - DNA and protein sequence database - University of Oslo Give it the amino acid sequence.
  
  

XXII. Biosphere

"MINIMUM" Level: Kindergarten

• To be added when verified.
  
  

"MINIMUM" Level: 3rd Grade

• Niel's Timelines and Scales of Measurement - N. Brandt, Penn State University
  Includes Science/Technology History Timeline; Evolution Timeline; Geological Timeline; Cosmological Timeline; Scales of Measurement; etc. Choice of TEX, DVI, or ASCII files to view.
  
  

"MINIMUM" Level: 6th Grade

• OCEAN IMAGE ARCHIVE - NASA Pictures and temperature maps plus earth observation movies.
  
  

"MINIMUM" Level: 9th Grade

• To be added when verified.
  
  

"MINIMUM" Level: university

• ATMOSPHERIC CHEMISTRY AND AIR QUALITY GLOSSARY - Department of Chemistry, Sam Houston State University, Texas Multimedia (Text & Images). Photochemical smog, etc.
  
  

"MINIMUM" Level: graduate

• To be added when verified.
  
  

XXIII. Elementary Particles

"MINIMUM" Level: 6th Grade

• To be added when verified.
  
  

"MINIMUM" Level: 9th Grade

• Neutrino Oscillations at Super-Kamiokande - D. Casper, UCI Latest eveidence for the muon neutrino having a small mass value. Possible indication that the Standard Model of particle physics needs some revision. Glosary and links.
  
  
• Particle Physics - Fermilab Tour of elementary particles, matter and energy, quantum mechanics, electroweak force, color force, accelerators, detectors, astrophysics, glossary.
  
  
• Guided Tour of Fermilab Exhibit - Fermilab Tour of high-energy physics and how the collider works.
  
  
• The Particle Adventure - Particle Physics Data Group, Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory Multimedia: Standard Model, the experimental evidence, and the open questions, plus other related science concepts such as The History of Particle Physics, Why do atoms and particles decay?, etc. Beyond the Standard Model.
  
  
• The Review of Particle Physics - UC Berkeley - Lawrence Berkeley Lab Physical properties of elementary particles and the Standard Model.
  
  
• The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) - CERN "To smash protons moving at 99.999999% of the speed of light into each other and so recreate conditions a fraction of a second after the big bang. The LHC experiments try and work out what happened."
  
  

"MINIMUM" Level: university

• Neutrino Oscillations at Super-Kamiokande - D. Casper, UCI Latest eveidence for the muon neutrino having a small mass value. Possible indication that the Standard Model of particle physics needs some revision. Glosary and links.
  
  
• The Sudbury Neutrino Observatory "The Sudbury Neutrino Observatory (SNO) is a 1000 tonne heavy water Cherenkov detector under construction in INCO's Creighton mine near Sudbury, Ontario. Located 6800 feet below ground, SNO is designed to detect neutrinos produced by fusion reactions in the sun. SNO will provide revolutionary insight into the properties of neutrinos, as well as yielding constraints on reaction mechanisms in the sun..."
  
  
• REVIEW OF PARTICLE PROPERTIES - Authors: Manuel Aguilar-Benitez, Betty Armstrong, Michael Barnett, Carlo Caso, Gianni Conforto, Ronald L. Crawford, Simon Eidelman, Paul Gee, Karin Gieselmann, Christoph Grab, Donald E. Groom, Atul Gurtu, Kenneth G. Hayes, Juan Hernandez, Ken-ichi Hikasa, Gerhard Hohler, Setsuya Kawabata, Paolo Lantero , D. Mark Manley, Aneesh Manohar, Lucien Montanet, Rolland J. Morrison, Hitoshi Murayama, Keith Olive, Frank Porter, Matts Roos, Rafe H. Schindler, Robert E. Shrock, James Stone, Nils A. Tornqvist, Thomas G. Trippe, Gary S. Wagman, Charles G. Wohl, Ronald L. Workman. Maintained by Gary S. Wagman, Particle Data Group, Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory (LBL) Includes: Introduction; History Plots; Using Particle Physics Databases; Summary Tables; Tests of Conservation Laws; Reviews, Tables, and Plots; Illustrative Key to the Full Listings; Abbreviations Used in the Full Listings and Full Listings.
  
  
• Interactive Particle Reaction Database - HEPDATA at U. of Durham Enter initial particles or products or author or detector, etc.
  
  

"MINIMUM" Level: graduate

• Modified STANDARD MODEL OF LEPTONS AND QUARKS - F. Potter @ UC Irvine Predictions for leptons and quarks based upon the finite rotational subgroups of the gauge group of the Standard Model. Awaits the discovery of the b' quark of the 4th quark family at Fermilab for verification. All particle mass ratios predicted by relationship to elliptic invariant function J. Consequences enormous for future particle research!
  
  
• Unique Unification of Fundamental Interactions in Discrete Spacetime - F. Potter @ UC Irvine "At the Planck scale I combine a finite subgroup of SO(3,1) operating in 4-dimensional discrete spacetime with a finite subgroup of the lepton and quark Standard Model gauge group SU(2)L x U(1)Y x SU(3)C acting in 4-dimensional discrete internal symmetry space. Telescoping up to higher dimensions via icosians, the unique result is a specific finite subgroup Weyl E8 x Weyl E8 of SO(9,1) in 10-D discrete spacetime that is related to E8 x E8. Spinor-spinor-vector triality, the Leech lattice, and the Monster Group probably dictate all the physics!!"
  
  
• Let's Fix String Theory! - F. Potter, Sciencegems.com A short 2-minute Quicktime summary of how string theory will eventually incorporate discrete spacetime and specific discrete rotational subgroups of the Standard Model gauge group SU(2)L x U(1)Y x SU(3)C to uniquely unify the fundamental interactions. The consequence is that fundamental mathematics dictates the fundamental physics, so there is "no choice in the creation of the world".
  
  
• The Second Superstring Revolution - J.H. Schwarz, Caltech An approach to the new string theory as only an originator can present it!
  
  

XXIV. General Relativity

"MINIMUM" Level: 9th Grade

• Microwave Background in the Universe - NASA Variety of FAQ's about the MAP mission to profile the temperature of the universe and a little about general relativity and its role in the big picture.
  
  
• Introduction to Cosmology - NASA "...introduces basic concepts in modern cosmology and describes the MAP mission at a general level. " Topics include: Big Bang model; expansion of the universe; theory of inflation; chemical elements origins; large scale structure; Milky Way; life and death of stars, etc
  
  
• Virtual Trips to Black Holes and Neutron Stars - R. Nemiroff, Michigan Technological University "Ever wonder what it would look like to travel to a black hole? A neutron star? If so, you might find this page interesting. Here you will find descriptions and MPEG movies that take you on such exciting trips. These movies are scientifically accurate computer animations made with strict adherence to Einstein's General Theory of Relativity. The descriptions are written to be understandable on a variety of levels - from the casually curious to the professionally inquisitive. It is hoped that students from grade school to graduate school will find these virtual trips educational. "
  
  
• Einstein - NOVA Science information on Einstein's ideas.
  
  
• Satellite observations of Black Holes confirm frame-dragging effect - NASA "Frame dragging is one of the last frontiers in relativity. More familiar and already proven are the conversion of mass into energy (as seen in atomic bombs and stars) and back, the Lorentz transformations that make objects near the speed of light grow thinner and heavier and stretch time, and the warping of space by gravity (as seen when light is bent by a massive object). Einstein also predicted that the rotation of an object would alter space and time, dragging a nearby object out of position compared to predictions by the simpler math of Sir Isaac Newton. The effect is incredibly small, about one part in a few trillion, which means that you have to look at something very massive, or build an instrument that is incredibly sensitive and put it in orbit."
  
  
• THE HOT BIG BANG MODEL - P. Shellard, U. of Cambridge, UK "This tour introduces the Big Bang cosmology and its successes, while emphasising its incompleteness and the areas in which Cambridge Relativity group members are working. The key question that interests us, as we delve backwards in time before the standard cosmology, is: Why was the universe the way it was at one hundredth of a second?"
  
  
• Cambridge Cosmology - U. of Cambridge, UK Tour for the public: The Hot Big Bang Model; Galaxies and Clusters; Relic radiation; Cosmic Strings et al.; Inflation; and some movies.
  
  

"MINIMUM" Level: university

• General Relativity Tutorial - J. Baez, UC Riverside Mostly definitions of mathematical concepts.
  
  
• Gravity in Flatland: Time Travel? - Caltech Some theoretical physics fun!!
  
  

"MINIMUM" Level: graduate

• General Relativity Tutorial - J. Baez, UC Riverside Mostly definitions of mathematical concepts.