Online courses directory (79)

Numerical methods have been used to solve mathematical expressions of engineering and scientific problems for at least 4000 years (for some historical discussion you may wish to browse the Ethnomathematics Digital Library [1] or the MacTutor History of Mathematics Archive [2] from St. Andrews University).*  Such methods apply numerical approximation in order to convert continuous mathematical problems (for example, determining the mechanical stress throughout a loaded truss) into systems of discrete equations that can be solved with sufficient accuracy by machine. Numerical methods provide a way for the engineer to translate the language of mathematics and physics into information that may be used to make engineering decisions. Often, this translation is implemented so that calculations may be done by machines (computers). The types of problems that you encounter as an engineer may involve a wide variety of mathematical phenomena, and hence it will benefit you to have an equally wide range of numerical met…

This course will serve as your introduction to working in an engineering laboratory.  You will learn to gather, analyze, interpret, and explain physical measurements for simple engineering systems in which only a few factors need be considered.  This experience will be crucial to your success in analyzing more complicated systems in subsequent coursework and in the practice of mechanical engineering. We frequently encounter measurement systems in our everyday lives.  Consider the following examples: 1.      The many gauges found on the control panel of a motor vehicle indicate vehicle speed, engine coolant temperature, transmission setting, cabin temperature, engine speed, and oil pressureamongst many other measurements. 2.      A routine visit to a physician often entails several measurements of varying complexityinternal temperature, blood pressure, internal appearance, heart rate, respiration rate, and tissue texture, amongst many, many more. 3.      The experienced cook may use s…

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…

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.

Things in our universe can be unimaginably large and small. In this topic, we'll try to imagine the unimaginable!. Scale of the Large. Scale of the Small. Introduction to Light. Four Fundamental Forces. Scale of Earth and Sun. Scale of Solar System. Scale of Distance to Closest Stars. Scale of the Galaxy. Intergalactic Scale. Hubble Image of Galaxies. Cosmological Time Scale 1. Cosmological Time Scale 2. Big Bang Introduction. Radius of Observable Universe. (Correction) Radius of Observable Universe. Red Shift. Cosmic Background Radiation. Cosmic Background Radiation 2. Hubble's Law. A Universe Smaller than the Observable. Scale of the Large. Scale of the Small. Introduction to Light. Four Fundamental Forces. Scale of Earth and Sun. Scale of Solar System. Scale of Distance to Closest Stars. Scale of the Galaxy. Intergalactic Scale. Hubble Image of Galaxies. Cosmological Time Scale 1. Cosmological Time Scale 2. Big Bang Introduction. Radius of Observable Universe. (Correction) Radius of Observable Universe. Red Shift. Cosmic Background Radiation. Cosmic Background Radiation 2. Hubble's Law. A Universe Smaller than the Observable.

Our universe is defined by stars. This topic explores how they came to be and where they end up. This includes a discussion of black holes and galaxies. Birth of Stars. Accreting mass due to gravity simulation. Challenge: Modeling Accretion Disks. Becoming a Red Giant. White and Black Dwarfs. Star Field and Nebula Images. Lifecycle of Massive Stars. Supernova (Supernovae). Supernova clarification. Black Holes. Supermassive Black Holes. Quasars. Quasar Correction. Galactic Collisions. Parallax in Observing Stars. Stellar Parallax. Stellar Distance Using Parallax. Stellar Parallax Clarification. Parsec Definition. Cepheid Variables 1. Why Cepheids Pulsate. Why Gravity Gets So Strong Near Dense Objects. Birth of Stars. Accreting mass due to gravity simulation. Challenge: Modeling Accretion Disks. Becoming a Red Giant. White and Black Dwarfs. Star Field and Nebula Images. Lifecycle of Massive Stars. Supernova (Supernovae). Supernova clarification. Black Holes. Supermassive Black Holes. Quasars. Quasar Correction. Galactic Collisions. Parallax in Observing Stars. Stellar Parallax. Stellar Distance Using Parallax. Stellar Parallax Clarification. Parsec Definition. Cepheid Variables 1. Why Cepheids Pulsate. Why Gravity Gets So Strong Near Dense Objects.

Classical gravity. How masses attract each other (according to Newton). Introduction to Gravity. Mass and Weight Clarification. Gravity for Astronauts in Orbit. Would a Brick or Feather Fall Faster. Acceleration Due to Gravity at the Space Station. Space Station Speed in Orbit. Introduction to Newton's Law of Gravitation. Gravitation (part 2). Introduction to Gravity. Mass and Weight Clarification. Gravity for Astronauts in Orbit. Would a Brick or Feather Fall Faster. Acceleration Due to Gravity at the Space Station. Space Station Speed in Orbit. Introduction to Newton's Law of Gravitation. Gravitation (part 2).

In this tutorial we begin to explore ideas of velocity and acceleration. We do exciting things like throw things off of cliffs (far safer on paper than in real life) and see how high a ball will fly in the air. Introduction to Vectors and Scalars. Calculating Average Velocity or Speed. Solving for Time. Displacement from Time and Velocity Example. Acceleration. Airbus A380 Take-off Time. Airbus A380 Take-off Distance. Why Distance is Area under Velocity-Time Line. Average Velocity for Constant Acceleration. Acceleration of Aircraft Carrier Takeoff. Deriving Displacement as a Function of Time, Acceleration and Initial Velocity. Plotting Projectile Displacement, Acceleration, and Velocity. Projectile Height Given Time. Deriving Max Projectile Displacement Given Time. Impact Velocity From Given Height. Viewing g as the value of Earth's Gravitational Field Near the Surface. Projectile motion (part 1). Projectile motion (part 2). Projectile motion (part 3). Projectile motion (part 4). Projectile motion (part 5). Introduction to Vectors and Scalars. Calculating Average Velocity or Speed. Solving for Time. Displacement from Time and Velocity Example. Acceleration. Airbus A380 Take-off Time. Airbus A380 Take-off Distance. Why Distance is Area under Velocity-Time Line. Average Velocity for Constant Acceleration. Acceleration of Aircraft Carrier Takeoff. Deriving Displacement as a Function of Time, Acceleration and Initial Velocity. Plotting Projectile Displacement, Acceleration, and Velocity. Projectile Height Given Time. Deriving Max Projectile Displacement Given Time. Impact Velocity From Given Height. Viewing g as the value of Earth's Gravitational Field Near the Surface. Projectile motion (part 1). Projectile motion (part 2). Projectile motion (part 3). Projectile motion (part 4). Projectile motion (part 5).

You understand velocity and acceleration well in one-dimension. Now we can explore scenarios that are even more fun. With a little bit of trigonometry (you might want to review your basic trig, especially what sin and cos are), we can think about whether a baseball can clear the "green monster" at Fenway Park. Visualizing Vectors in 2 Dimensions. Projectile at an Angle. Different Way to Determine Time in Air. Launching and Landing on Different Elevations. Total Displacement for Projectile. Total Final Velocity for Projectile. Correction to Total Final Velocity for Projectile. Projectile on an Incline. Unit Vectors and Engineering Notation. Clearing the Green Monster at Fenway. Green Monster at Fenway Part 2. Unit Vector Notation. Unit Vector Notation (part 2). Projectile Motion with Ordered Set Notation. Optimal angle for a projectile part 1. Optimal angle for a projectile part 2 - Hangtime. Optimal angle for a projectile part 3 - Horizontal distance as a function of angle (and speed). Optimal angle for a projectile part 4 Finding the optimal angle and distance with a bit of calculus. Race Cars with Constant Speed Around Curve. Centripetal Force and Acceleration Intuition. Visual Understanding of Centripetal Acceleration Formula. Calculus proof of centripetal acceleration formula. Loop De Loop Question. Loop De Loop Answer part 1. Loop De Loop Answer part 2. Visualizing Vectors in 2 Dimensions. Projectile at an Angle. Different Way to Determine Time in Air. Launching and Landing on Different Elevations. Total Displacement for Projectile. Total Final Velocity for Projectile. Correction to Total Final Velocity for Projectile. Projectile on an Incline. Unit Vectors and Engineering Notation. Clearing the Green Monster at Fenway. Green Monster at Fenway Part 2. Unit Vector Notation. Unit Vector Notation (part 2). Projectile Motion with Ordered Set Notation. Optimal angle for a projectile part 1. Optimal angle for a projectile part 2 - Hangtime. Optimal angle for a projectile part 3 - Horizontal distance as a function of angle (and speed). Optimal angle for a projectile part 4 Finding the optimal angle and distance with a bit of calculus. Race Cars with Constant Speed Around Curve. Centripetal Force and Acceleration Intuition. Visual Understanding of Centripetal Acceleration Formula. Calculus proof of centripetal acceleration formula. Loop De Loop Question. Loop De Loop Answer part 1. Loop De Loop Answer part 2.

Work and energy. Potential energy. Kinetic energy. Mechanical advantage. Springs and Hooke's law. Introduction to work and energy. Work and Energy (part 2). Conservation of Energy. Work/Energy problem with Friction. Introduction to mechanical advantage. Mechanical Advantage (part 2). Mechanical Advantage (part 3). Intro to springs and Hooke's Law. Potential energy stored in a spring. Spring potential energy example (mistake in math). Introduction to work and energy. Work and Energy (part 2). Conservation of Energy. Work/Energy problem with Friction. Introduction to mechanical advantage. Mechanical Advantage (part 2). Mechanical Advantage (part 3). Intro to springs and Hooke's Law. Potential energy stored in a spring. Spring potential energy example (mistake in math).

Here is your chance to change the course of history! In this eight-week experience, you will begin developing profitable social and technological innovations to tackle our pressing energy and climate obligations. Course content includes videos and short readings carefully selected and organized to be accessible to a wide audience regardless of nationality, educational background, professional interests, or academic focus. All of the assigned work in this course is designed to help you dream up and begin developing your own sustainable energy innovation. Your innovation may be a physical product, or a service. It may be a technical innovation, or a social one. It need not make you rich, but you will be challenged to at least make your project self-supporting. The course materials, my feedback, and, most importantly, interactions with your classmates, will all help as you try to make your ideas real. You can complete the coursework in two to four hours per week, and any additional time you spend will just improve the chances your project is successful. Students should have completed the Intro to Sustainable Energy course on Canvas Network, or something similar, prior to taking this course. The "Introduction" course is publicly viewable with a CC Attribution Non-Commercial Share Alike license.

In this six-week course, you will learn the basics about our energy and climate obligations. You will also prepare yourself to continue learning as these issues evolve. You will evaluate demand-side (e.g. more efficient buildings and automobiles) and supply-side (e.g. solar and wind) strategies for more sustainable use of energy. The course will require fact-based analysis of our energy obligations and possible ways to meet them. Please also consider enrolling in Sustainable Energy Innovation which begins June 2.

The Big Bang theory has revolutionized our understanding of how the Universe was formed. It presents the scientific proof that shows how the Universe expanded from an infinitely small point around 13.7 billion years ago. In this free online course the learner will discover how scientists calculated when the Big Bang happened and how the Universe expanded after the Big Bang. The formation of the first atoms is discussed and how they are responsible for the cosmic background radiation that is found throughout the Universe. This free online course will be of great interest to students of astronomy and physics and to all learners who would like to learn more about the Big Bang theory and what it has to say about the formation of the Universe. <br />

The power of electrical energy has been harnessed by engineers over the past century to transform society and how we live our lives. The phenomenon of electrical energy has been known since the 16th century, but it was only in the 19th century that rapid progress was made in the areas of electrical technology and electrical engineering. <br /><br />ALISON's free online electrical technology course introduces the basic laws of electricity, sources of electricity and electricity safety procedures. It also reviews electrical technology such as resistors, inductors, capacitors and series, and parallel circuits. <br /><br />ALISON's free online electrical technology course will be of great interest to all learners who would like to learn the basics of electricity and how electrical technology works to bring all the benefits of modern living into our lives.<br />