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ASTR 160 - Frontiers and Controversies in Astrophysics

Lecture 14 - Pulsars. Professor Bailyn begins with a summary of the four post-Newtonian effects of general relativity that were introduced and explained last time: precession of the perihelion, the deflection of light, the gravitational redshift, and gravitational waves. The concept of gravitational lensing is discussed as predicted by Einstein's general relativity theory. The formation of a gravitational lens can be observed when light from a bright distant source bends around a massive object between the source (such as a quasar) and the observer. Professor Bailyn then offers a slideshow of gravitational lenses. The issue of finding suitable astronomical objects that lend the opportunity to observe post-Newtonian relativistic effects is addressed. The lecture ends with Jocelyn Bell and the discovery of pulsars. (from oyc.yale.edu)

Lecture 14 - Pulsars

Time Lecture Chapters
[00:00:00] 1. Review of Post-newtonian Effects of General Relativity
[00:06:15] 2. Gravitational Lensing
[00:21:05] 3. Jocelyn Bell, Binary Pulsars, and General Relativity
[00:44:17] 4. Measurement Errors and Testing Strong Field Relativity

References
ASTR 160: Lecture 14 - Pulsars
Instructor: Professor Charles Bailyn. Class Notes Lecture 14 [pdf]. Problem Set 5 and Solutions [pdf]. Transcript [html]. Audio [mp3]. Download Video [mov].

Go to the Course Home or watch other lectures:

Lecture 01 - Introduction
Lecture 02 - Planetary Orbits
Lecture 03 - Our Solar System and the Pluto Problem
Lecture 04 - Discovering Exoplanets: Hot Jupiters
Lecture 05 - Planetary Transits
Lecture 06 - Microlensing, Astrometry and Other Methods
Lecture 07 - Direct Imaging of Exoplanets
Lecture 08 - Introduction to Black Holes
Lecture 09 - Special and General Relativity
Lecture 10 - Tests of Relativity
Lecture 11 - Special and General Relativity (cont.)
Lecture 12 - Stellar Mass Black Holes
Lecture 13 - Stellar Mass Black Holes (cont.)
Lecture 14 - Pulsars
Lecture 15 - Supermassive Black Holes
Lecture 16 - Hubble's Law and the Big Bang
Lecture 17 - Hubble's Law and the Big Bang (cont.)
Lecture 18 - Hubble's Law and the Big Bang (cont.)
Lecture 19 - Omega and the End of the Universe
Lecture 20 - Dark Matter
Lecture 21 - Dark Energy and the Accelerating Universe and the Big Rip
Lecture 22 - Supernovae
Lecture 23 - Other Constraints: The Cosmic Microwave Background
Lecture 24 - The Multiverse and Theories of Everything