Lecture 1 | New Revolutions in Particle Physics: Basic Concepts

(October 12, 2009) Leonard Susskind gives the first lecture of a three-quarter sequence of courses that will explore the new revolutions in particle physics. In this lecture he explores light, particles and quantum field theory.
Leonard Susskind, Felix Bloch Professor of Physics, received a PhD from Cornell University and has taught at Stanford since 1979. He has won both the Pregel Award from the New York Academy of Science and the J.J. Sakurai Prize in theoretical particle physics. He is also a member of the National Academy of Sciences.
Stanford University:
www.stanford.edu/
Stanford Continuing Studies Program
csp.stanford.edu/
Stanford University Channel on KZbin:
/ stanford

[@WXMaven]

I can only repeat what so many commenters have already said: Thank you Stanford for hosting these free lectures, and thank you, Prof. Susskind for preparing and presenting these lectures. Stanford and Prof. Susskind are gifts to the world.

[@beingnonbeing]

I feel so pampered and spoiled being able to sit in bed with my jammies on watching this lecture on particle physics. It can't get better than that!

[@IamMrDelight]

Lmao 8 years later, everyone is like this due to Covid. You my guy predicted the future

[@gorgeannecharlos509]

,yes...and a cup of coffee and why 2 🥧pie!

[@pnksounds]

FUUUUUUUUUUUTUUUUUREEEEEEEEE

[@go-away-5555]

Standford is so generous to put these online for free, and Professor Susskind is such a fantastic lecturer.

[@mikikaboom9084]

Susskind: Speed of light is very large and Planck's constant is very small Also Susskind: Let's set c=h bar=1

[@HenrikSultan]

I don't think this has been said enough, thank you Standford for these free lectures. Thank you!

[@universalsailor]

I'll tell you what I like about Lenny: he keeps it as simple as it can possibly be kept. For him there's none of that deliberatey jargon-drenching, I'm-smarter-than-you crap that marks out the lesser mind. He loves the subject. He keeps it simple because he has to think about it and, in that, simplicity is always going to be his friend. He really likes to tell people about what he's been thinking about, and he can spot a fool at fifty paces. Great shows, Maestro.

[@dannyaguirre4814]

I saw this attitude represented by a few of the students in the video as well. Made me chuckle. This is only their first lecture- their questions were valid but their approach were filled with hubris of the ignorance. The wise man knows he is a fool

[@simplelife1021]

I like the part where he teaches particle physics to the entire world for free.

[@danieldorsz1047]

@@AndreCabannes thank you !

[@RahulChaudhary-hh7gx]

@@AndreCabannes omgosh thank you

[@StudyIQ160]

@@AndreCabannes thanx buddy

[@ajaykumarchavan8472]

@@AndreCabannes please nuclear physics

[@kersi-sandiego6036]

Andre, Big THANKS.

[@aqouby]

This man is ridiculous, I love everything about him. Not only does he have amazing intelligence and a very simple way of portraying his ideas, but he is funny and honest and-- And damnit, the man fought Hawking and won, in a ways. He's one of this centuries great theoretical physicists. Just wanted to give my 2 cents.

[@annymus4502]

May I ask you guys something? So, I don’t know much about physics, but I’m planning a WEBTOON and I wanna make it about these two people...one is able to create energy and another one destroys it I KNOW YOU CANNOT MAKE ENERGY OR DESTROY IT, OK, BUT IT’S FICTION So...I figured the person who destroyed energy could make things levitate (destroying the force of gravity) and freeze things (destroy kinetic energy), but Idk what other powers I could come up with And I have no idea what energy creation could bring, I suppose you could make things move to your wish by creating force on them and you could melt stuff but Idk And what could they do together???

[@akhandanand_tripathi]

@@annymus4502 creating energy may lead to a power of move anything from anywhere, increasing kinetic energy and having ability to emit radiations of any wavelength, as wavelengths are just energy

[@annymus4502]

@@akhandanand_tripathi Ok, thanks

[@yashbush7145]

@@annymus4502 o

[@nadzach]

@@annymus4502 it's interesting that wisdom as old as Moses places the "Proton" at the center of 3 shells. The Proton is a king and his throne is called "The mercy seat." The shells are called "courts." Outside the courts is darkness and the evil one who hates, destroys and kills. The Proton is merciful, good and loving. He "draws" people into the outer court with "cords of love." No real cords but the magnetic power of love. The people of the enemy don't understand. The are rebellious like the evil leader and rage in anger wanting to cut the cords or "cast them from us." Each person has 3 main parts (like quarks.) In each court he gets more oil for his lamp and grows brighter as he approaches the Proton. The evil one uses deception (like fake news) and outright lies to call the man back to him. If he can get the man to "doubt" the truth, the man fall back and loses some light and power. It's very interesting that the old literature names each man in the courts an "electon." The evil one wants to steal the man's oil. In the first court his first quark is "quickened"--he is enabled to love his family and the desires of his heart turn toward good. (This increases as he moves forward until he can love even his enemies. The evil one tries to cause disruption--like maybe he entices the man's wife to cheat on him. He lays "snares and traps." There's a lot more. The pathway of the electon through the shells is called "the way of life." The second quark is about the man's ability to work--whether it's military or any kind of labor inside this kingdom. The third quark is the quickening of the mind. After those 3 (trimesters) there are mystical abilities. There are an octave of steps and with the 8th he returns to the outer shell where he teaches and serves the beginners. Iron can't hold him. And he can move from place to place quickly without being seen. He hears the lightning speak and he can hear/see into other dimensions. He can heal.

[@AmarThakuri]

One of the living legends. Everytime I fallow his Lectures, I learn the thing so easily and it motivates me time to time...

[@ColeMyersK]

Pretty incredible what the internet can do for those seeking a world class education.

[@justice5776]

And its sad how this still has less than 400k views over 8 years later.

[@eduardos.366]

Susskind has so many lectures online. Thanks Leonard!

[@youteubakount4449]

Maybe, but this isn't it. 2 hours to give 2 constants and babble... too bad. At least some other videos are more interesting

[@CalvinHikes]

Many try but no one knows particle physics like Susskind

[@brucesvondo8315]

Try ttt

[@tamasmihaly1]

So many professors ban all recording devices from their lectures. Mr. Susskind is a saint. He hands out gold freely like it's nothing to him. What a man.

[@schmetterling4477]

I have never seen a professor who did that.

[@HueyTheDoctor]

I love how Susskind eats during the lecture and talks with his mouth full lol. If it were anyone else it might be annoying but with Susskind it's just endearing.

[@sin-itirotomonaga3220]

Susskind is a brilliant scientist as well as a brilliant teacher.

[@mattias2099]

Love these lectures! (Speed of light is 299792458 m/s not 299762458 m/s.)

[@UncertainHeisenberg1]

I have degrees in chemistry and physics. I jokingly looked this topic up and found professors that collated a significant amount of knowledge processed through a research project I developed. WTF is KZbin!? The availability of knowledge is mind boggling to me, as well as inspiring. Knowledge shouldn't be limited to a person or family with more funds than another; knowledge, especially scientific in nature should be free for any person to enjoy.

[@annymus4502]

May I ask you guys something? So, I don’t know much about physics, but I’m planning a WEBTOON and I wanna make it about these two people...one is able to create energy and another one destroys it I KNOW YOU CANNOT MAKE ENERGY OR DESTROY IT, OK, BUT IT’S FICTION So...I figured the person who destroyed energy could make things levitate (destroying the force of gravity) and freeze things (destroy kinetic energy), but Idk what other powers I could come up with And I have no idea what energy creation could bring, I suppose you could make things move to your wish by creating force on them and you could melt stuff but Idk And what could they do together???

[@GeetarAdam]

Lol. Good teacher. Great sense of humor and he doesn't take himself too seriously. Always an advantage in a discipline where egos can become so inflated.

[@ice9ify]

So far i am working through all the lectures and they are all very well done. I think it is deserved that I show my appreciation to put this out there for us interested people to watch and learn from. Thanks alot Stanford, for me this shows you really take educating people as the core of what you are doing.

[@richhagenchicago]

I would like to add my thanks to Stanford for posting these lectures. I am in Chicago, and although we have colleges and universities here, it would have been very difficult for me to fit refresher physics courses into my schedule. Thank you for delivering physics to the masses. Thanks Professor Susskind.

[@fibosxpivots6238]

His grandmother was probably born around 1890. Thanks a lot , Master !

[@420SanJuan]

you know the world is becoming a better place when education is essentially free. thank you Stanford!

[@NoiSeCommander]

Thank you very much Leonard Susskind and the University of Stanford! I am doing my final paper, for my pre- University education in Holland, about Bose-Einstein condensation and these lectures help a lot!!!!

[@bennyyarnold]

Thanks so much. You've taught me so much at the young age of 14 I can hold conversations about science (most of the time I lose them in it) with people on the CMU and Pitt campuses on school field trips. All thanks to you Mr. Susskind!

[@drajah1986]

Keep it up! the educated minds are drastically reducing in populous, I implore you to advance your mind. It's a beautiful thing to understand concepts and think beyond a conditioned realm. Intellect where used responsibly can launch our civilization at light speeds into the future.

[@mathsocraft7816]

Same Here My Friend. But My Thanks Is To The Whole Internet Of Things. At Age 13 I Know Many Things.

[@UncertainHeisenberg1]

Forgive me if I sound rude in saying this but, it's very presumptuous to claim you lose others in conversation about rudimentary particle(atomic) physics lecture matters. More so, that your confidence about the nature of the topic in general is validated by your so claimed superiority in the nature of the subject. There are a lot of beautiful mathematics that is involved in understanding the subtle intricacies of what modern scientists know today. Intuition, logic, critical thinking, and more importantly the desire to understand the process is what is important. This process takes time.

[@dryolymatics007]

Very great Professor indeed... I started watching His lecture videos way before i began my undergrad studies ,,,, and all the time He is my go to guy if i come across something i do not understand. Thank You Prof ,,,, Your work is really helping the whole world

[@lucasmelo010]

Simply amazing. The edge of human knowledge been taught for free during 1 hour and a half. :) Thank you Standford.

[@Musicfromouterspace]

I really enjoy your lectures. Thank you so much for posting them. Your explanations are always clear and understandable. Cheers

[@nighthawkviper6791]

I gotta say, I appreciate Dr. Susskind for contributing to this open source but also to Stanford for providing an entire library of near-complete course lectures.

[@user-mf8gk3mh4w]

Intro and history of radioactivity; Quantum mechanics 41:30; relativity 56:00; dimensions and units 1:05:05; momentum 1:33:00;

[@oldpain7625]

His lectures are so freaking dense. 40 minutes in and I need to start looking things up before I can continue listening without confusion. His advice to visit his content on KZbin is wise. Thank you to everyone involved in creating and sharing this!

[@fsh3702]

Great！The first time I had understand general relativity is from the lecture of Leonard Susskind. Before that I have watched many lessons and videos and books about GR, but all are in futility, I just cannot master the idea of general relativity, until I check Leonard Susskind's video, it's a blessing and truly an enlightenment.

[@motcenothman8247]

Thank you Standford thank you L.Susskind for your wonderful lectures

[@nobodyfromnowhere9731]

I like how he says you have to memorize Planck's constant, then reads it off a piece of paper ^_^

[@alicetries5954]

first two digits and exponent are all i needed to memorize i just also had to know that wasn't all but omg the one that really gets my goat is when a professor says there isnt a book for the class then sells you their pdf. always the skumbag hustle with so many profs i had.

[@TimFSpears]

Perhaps funnier is he did the same with c but mis-transcribed it.

[@yp06407012]

@TirianB writing 2.99762458x10^8 instead of just 299762458 will help us know that the number has 9 digits all together. Othewise with just 299762458 one has to count the digits to understand its magnitude.

[@Ubernoob85]

Another thanks to Stanford University for the great (and free!) lectures. I had an interest in this subject but never dreamed I could get a lecture (from Stanford, none-the-less) for free.

[@clearclearskies]

You're a gifted teacher. Thank you.

[@bushje]

Thanks for keeping these up here! Loving Prof. Suskind. what a special guy!!

[@mayanksharma5516]

beautiful!!! Thank you Mr.Sussikind

[@03Kabbotta11]

Classical Mechanics - Statistical Mechanics - Special/General Relativity - Quantum Entanglement/Mechanics - Revolutions in Particle Physics - String/M-Theory....roughly. Enjoy! They are all amazing. And if you want more afterwards look up Balakrishnan's Classical Physics/Quantum Physics lectures...they are incredible and much more in depth.

[@ThePhysicsConnection]

We love you Susskind!

[@MichaelHarrisIreland]

I thought it was great, in content and style. I don't know what I did to deserve such dedication by some people who try to understand the world and then explain it to me.

[@KipIngram]

11:50 - What? The periodic table is VERY well organized. It's not "exactly" periodic, but it absolutely reflects the filling of different stages of orbital structure.

[@PaulO-gu3od]

Interesting video, hats off to the lecturer, really enjoyable. A person in the audience asked why Planck's radians were measured at 2 times pie times frequency, my guess is that he looked at the field as a radiating circle first and then used the associated Math to express his evaluations. Thanks Leonard.

[@commentingpausedtoprotectus]

I love these lectures! Mr Susskinds accent reminds me of a Sopranos cast member, "Hey I'm gonna teach you about atoms or whatever the fuck!"

[@theindiefanclub]

When you ask "what practical use" that is the moment that you stop being a scientist. Nothing fundamental has ever been discovered by asking "what practical use does this have". You find applications *later*, understanding the inner workings of the world around us is a worthy enough ambition.

[@JimmyGray]

The undergrad pre med joke at 38:04 made me really laugh as an MD who attended that lecture :)

[@jeremyburke6630]

sick burn lol

[@sghrd]

Prof. Susskind lectures have to be elected for humanity world heritage

[@arthurmee]

You are so right. An amazing ability to communicate this stuff.

[@TheLaubum]

thanks alot, great stuff. I love how at about 1:42:00 something as simple as w = 2 x pi x f manages to confuse even the smartest of people.

[@rolandbrooks386]

An excellent delivery for the layman to follow

[@user-sz5dt9ih7f]

Absolutely brilliant lecture. Thank you, Professor Susskind!!!

[@coldironhands1]

thanks for putting these lectures up!!!! This is great.

[@MarriageArezou1]

Great teacher. Thank you so much for free sharing.

[@brainstormingsharing1309]

Absolutely well done and definitely keep it up!!! 👍👍👍👍👍

[@fazergazer]

The Professor so enjoys the discussion and questions. Can’t imagine what life would be for him without this interaction. Like air for us!

[@deyomash]

planck's constant is not h-bar, plancks constant is h h bar is the reduced plancks constant which is h/2pi

[@coastwalker]

follow all of these lectures if you want to know what the Higgs Boson is. Dont worry about the math, you will follow the arguments without being able to take an exam in it - This guy is a total genius at explaining complicated stuff whilst focusing on the key ideas that almost anybody can grasp ~ or having heard the explanation could google and understand. Brilliant fun, thanks Leonard.

[@weishanlei8682]

You are my hero! I like your teaching style.

[@tomekczajka]

1:06:00 "c=2.99762458 * 10^8 m/s plus or minus something in the last digit". Actually it's exact as of 1983, since that's how a meter is defined. Except there's a typo, it should be 2.99792458.

[@SarvParteekSingh]

Great lecture! Minor error at 2:15 - the atomic number of Helium is 2. Its atomic mass is 4.

[@TmyLV]

Leonard Susskind: One of the greatest physicist and physics teacher from our time, in the same LEAGUE as Feynman and other legends...😀

[@csmcmillion]

"QM is a subtle and difficult subject. Yet, in his QM series, he said "Everything in QM is easy".

[@maneabogdan1902]

Is the best and amazing teacher ever

[@OneNubNinja]

Every time I fall asleep and wake up in the morning and open my YT app, I’m on one of this guys lectures. How tf do i go from skyrim to this.

[@ChickenSpeed]

this has better audio than the MIT lectures on YT, and that came out in 2015

[@7milesdavis]

Why does this video have any dislikes? Thanks Stanford, great videos

[@AndraBullar]

Explain the double slit experiment using classical physics, and you have a Nobel prize waiting for you.

[@life_score]

Amazing way of thinking 👏

[@connieyoung9607]

Love these lectures Very interesting.

[@RTRVII]

Love Leonard Susskind!

[@mmartin5816]

Thank you Lenny!

[@pakisium]

Watching after 14 years and still pleading on eyes ❤😂

[@MrScieman]

I like the way that each time a student ask a question, he grabs something to eat. :-)

[@12388696]

Be more considerate - he is in his seventies now. Imagine how many profs can explain this so crystal clear in their seventies?

[@AmazingStoryDewd]

How does age effect how well you can explain something. I had elderly physics professors as well. They were articulate.

[@petergreen5337]

❤Thank you very much Professor and class

[@7itanium452112]

@universalsailor Exactly, I'm not sure where i read this, but the quote goes something like this."If your theory can't explain something in basic words, then it's not much of a theory."

[@BarriosGroupie]

Such an effortlessly gifted teacher, yet a pioneer - such a rare combination

[@GoodScienceForYou]

I am certainly way ahead of you on my understanding of modern physics.

[@channel-ug9gt]

Answer for 1:28:12 : e^(-iw) is in the Fourier transform, plane-wave equation, Schrödinger eq, etc... 1=e^(i*2*pi)

[@ryandelmar7969]

I had no idea Nosferatu was a physics professor...brilliant!

[@jakelabete7412]

That's his day job. He moonlights as a vampire. Guess I'm not the only one who noticed.

[@nietszche98]

I'm tired of people saying how old they are. It doesn't matter; just watch the video.

[@kavish2307]

"It's more a question of biology than physics" . Susskind is hilarious

[@YoNiQe]

has anyone had a detailed look into both this and the "New Revolutions in Particle Physics: Standard Model" series and is able to tell me where they overlap or complement eachother and if I should hear one before the other?

[@Kalles_Kaviar]

❤❤❤❤ good lecture , loved learning this class in 🏗🏗🏗🏗🔦🔦🔦🔦

[@farcenter]

brilliant teaching

[@sandrocavali9810]

My favorite hero. Dr sussnind

[@johnboyd2564]

I love Leonard.

[@orsozapata]

@imthetopstoner simply, the flux of energy from the sun is distributed on concentric spheres of larger and larger radius, so the energy per unit surface is smaller and smaller. :)

[@daanlib]

So when the filter has a certain thickness, the blob changes into little blibs?

[@aishwarytiwari2534]

which notes should i refer complementary to this course ?

[@marlonbrade9424]

i love the last part .

[@AndraBullar]

You missed the entire point. Yes, transistors have been around since the 50's, and they were invented using quantum mechanics. COMPUTING can function without quantum mechanics, before the transistor we used electron tubes, but the MODERN COMPUTER would not have been possible without it. Todays's transistors are too small to be constructed without quantum mechanics taken into account. I would also be delighted to see how you deal with the century of experiments backing quantum mechanics.

[@KingArcturus]

forms of light, solids, liquids, gases, plasmas, variations in gravity, motion, energy and time all fall into this category. When it is said that the speed of light has limits, what type of light is referred to? If nothing can move faster then the speed of light. Sorry if this seems arbitrary. I am not a physics expect just a theorizer. Please feel free to enlighten me. I suppose you could try an experiment on mars simultaneously as on earth to prove the correct speed of light.

[@chuckmaddison2924]

At what point does the color of an object vanish as you break apart the object into smaller and smaller parts.

[@johnsongibbs6021]

He's mentioned that electrons have the same mass, yet I've read that they've never been measured at rest. If the data is empirical, could electrons possibly be unique? Similar in geometry? Just curious.

[@AndraBullar]

And also how, precisely, would you describe the function of a PET scan, without the use of positrons and their quantum effects?

[@AsifRaihan]

Thank you soooooomuch

[@AndraBullar]

What you seem to have a hard time gripping is this: Quantum mechanics is a MODEL describing the behaviour of atoms and subatomic particles, and it has passed all experimental obstacles for a century. These are the only things important. A model does not have to be a perfect representation of reality, the only important feature is that it can make accurate predictions. Newtonian mechanics is not perfect and does not make perfect predictions - but it works in the scale it was meant to be used.

[@josephlau13d77]

1:06:21 isn't speed of light c equals to 2.99792458 x 10^8 m/s instead of 2.99762458 x 10^8(instead of 6 should be 9)

[@franckmalers2299]

To the guy that asks (1:28:40) why is it convenient to use radians, well, in one word: trigonometry writing sinusoidals (or waves) is then, way more convenient. For example, I think that cos (pi/2) is simpler that cos(90). It gets more obvious when playing with sinusoids, complex numbers and exponentials. It is way painless this way when relating to other equations also using pi, like e^(i pi).

[@rachaelranney4746]

I wish there more people like him doing lectures. I play Minecraft while I am listening to him.

[@MarkCidade]

In statistics, something is random if it is nondeterministic and it follows some probability distribution. That describes quantum phenomena, including radioactive decay.

[@karlwashere123]

Yes. Thank you.