Physics for Future Presidents: Richard A. Muller

[xtremetom180]

very interesting thanks

[lovelplants]

i agree with slarmas.. i watched just some of his lecture and yeah truly love it.. great teacher.. and yeah a president to be must have a good knowledge in physics..

[Antithropocentric]

I find Muller's "skeptic" angle on global warming to be more political than he lets on, and generally arrogant. It's as if HE is the only one qualified to intepret the temperature record.

He admits climatologists were right all along about warming but he's still claiming they could be wrong about Man's role in it. How likely is that, and who will deliver the "official word" to the nation's deniers? Will it take Rush Limbaugh having an epiphany when the sea threatens his Florida mansions?

[Antithropocentric]

America can barely elect a President who doesn't believe in Noah's Ark, and they're supposed to grasp the intricacies of physics? That seems highly unlikely.

We can't even enforce the First Amendment Establishment Clause, which was supposed to separate religious ideology from public policy-making. It seems almost mandatory for a candidate to express their blind faith in an invisible God these days, at least on the Republican side.

[R0773N]

Sounds like he's pro-nuclear. I like that.

[cherielynnae]

I really enjoyed this beyond words. almost wished I was in Berkeley taking his classes. What an educator, bet all of his students give him credit as the best instructor they ever had. they should ask him what to do before making decision at the white house, at least he would give them an educated informed truthful decision! Im going to watch the rest of his videos.. thanks, whoever put these up!

[Ramiromasters]

I don't know why he said some of the things he said but:

747 airplane weight = 486.4 tons

maximun fuel carrier capacity 10.02 tons according to Boing.

Not 600 tons...

He is right about hydrogen but nobody is talking about using gas, but liquid to gas hydrogen.

Sell out imo...

[KTMONEY100]

@Ramiromasters I think you have a few facts mixed up. The planes were each carrying 60 tons of jet fuel. Jet fuel has 15 times the energy of TNT per ton. 60 X 15 = 900 tons of TNT Equivalent Energy. His book is very well written and he critiques both sides of each topic it speaks of. One of the best books written on the physics behind all the hype in the media.

[Ramiromasters]

@KTMONEY100 When I made that comment I wanted to point a finger at him for confusing people. But now life puts me in a situation where I realize what he is doing and... I think at his age I would probably do the same. For a scientist the worst thing you can do is to ruin your name, specially when most independent work you can do its only pay through government grants, and as a scientist the best thing its to have the money to be left alone and not participate in the noise of the world.

[DennisEatsFood]

oh lol what I always thought he was Indian

[dwarfer777]

someone sack the video conversion guy! you have no place converting and uploading videos! you have a forced 16:9 inside a fixed 4:3.

very very bad practice, supports no aspect !

[danielbooom]

i am a political scientist graduate, and now i wish i could become a physicist to have a full understanding of our reality. the only thing holding me back from starting is fear of numbers and maths. physicist will be the future authorities of society.

[fallriver31]

i can see why professor richard a muller has the most popular class.

[joebarry1]

I wish he hadn't compared scientists to judges. Scientists contribute to mankind far more than judges ever will.

[WickeDFate4]

@joebarry1 He was saying that it is important for scientists to keep in mind, the unbiased view, of the concept of a judge.

[lukej09]

12:50

"What's the Chernobyl equivalent for fossil fuel?"

Sadly British Petroleum answered that question for us...

Yes, he teaches very "mainstream" physics. But I don't think hes looking to challenge the physics world, but rather the non-physics world (well... you know what I mean: the non-enthusiasts). It's a shame that he has such low expectations though...

[requeth]

@Firagax2 Your physics teacher did a bad job explaining this to you then. Yes the isotopes could last millions of years in sufficient quantities, but the majority will have broken down to a negligible level within a reasonable time. If you watch his lectures or reads his book he goes into great detail about alternative energy and with great passion. We are at a fork in the road right now while waiting for alternative energy to become feasible. Until then we have nuclear vs gas.

[bighomiejp]

Some Chinese hit men are gonna come to his house and assassinate this fool!!

[Zubinen]

Muller needs to be careful about some of the things he says because sometimes honesty can get you into trouble.

[ddmdUp]

Umm... like what? Not everything should be said, but shouldn't everything be honest?

I'm really interested... please let me know your real thoughts.

[Zubinen]

Muller is a physicist and a professor; a person who has little to no political power. I was referring to his views on climate change, explanations of uranium/plutonium, criticism of presidents, etc. When I said he needs to be careful, I referring to something he might say, not something he had already said.

[marcus93hawk]

@Zubinen I always thought he has some political power. Even though "some" is a relative term, I have herd on several occasions of him going to several countries to speak, not just to the masses, but also to high political figures. her in the us as well.

[mrhrtn88]

love his lectures so much...

Thank you =)

It's been a long time since I enjoyed watching lecture this much...

[1Airsprint1]

This guy is a truly amazing teacher and person.

[sajnajmr]

the right way of thinking

[RobbiePSullivan]

I'm in his class, last week he stated he has not abandoned the nemesis theory.

[uggligr]

The WISE mission went up yesterday and it will either find the object or prove that it does not exist. This theory has finally become falsifiable.

I think that basically it's true. But I've done GravitySimulations of it; it has probably disturbed the closer Kuiper belt rather than the Oort cloud. This means it can be much smaller, as little as 5 Jupiter masses. That's why it hasn't been found.

Pretty quick, it will be.

[akimjjb]

So , was the object found?

[uggligr]

The search will take some time, about a year. They just finished calibrating it.

[akimjjb]

ok thx for answering

[mik99D]

It is odd. I read his book "Nemesis" about 20 years ago. I thought is was interesting but a quack idea about the Sun being a binary star. The Sun's twin called 'Nemesis' was a brown dwarf with an orbit around a half light year from the Sun. The orbital period was around tens of millions of years and launched comets from the Oort cloud which leads to large impacts on the Earth causing mass extinctions. I wonder if he still believes this! It was his PhD thesis! Barmy

[jackdav34]

I'm a big fan of Professor Muller. His book is terrific.

[KrutoyPostowoy]

gotta love this dude.

such a positive figure

[Virgoking101]

thank you profesor Muller for your great work!!!!!!

[slarmas]

I've watched his classes (all of them) twice and the only problem is that they eventually end. He is far more interesting than any TV show because what he says and teaches is real. If all teachers were like this we would have the most brilliant country in the world. This guy should not only teach Physics he should be watched as an example of how to teach. I could sit through years of his classes and never get bored. On a scale of 1- 10 I give him a 20.

[123hello10]

On a scale of 1- 10 I give him a ∞

[glupsamja]

@slarmas i couldn't agree more

[glupsamja]

@slarmas I couldn't agree more slarmas!

[johnzammitpace]

Professor Richard A. Muller is a first class lecturer in Physics. I recomend listening to his lectures to everyone interested in this subject, anyone of any age. He has always something to give to the listener/student or anybody in any other professions.  John E. ZAMMITPACE (Malta) Avant-Garde Composer, jazz guitarist.

[jenko701]

This guy is the best ,I love what he does.

[TheEnergyRoadmap]

love it...great interview! But re: criticism of hydrogen. Sometimes we confuse physics for business. Yes, it is a carrier and storage medium, but that's fine. Electricity is also a net less carrier of energy- and the future of transportation is not one fuel, but many. H2 is important because it stores electrical energy via a chemical bond in a way that batteries cannot compete with size, cost and performance. So, love science angle, but market applications often follow different rules

[DeletedDelusion]

Now he only has to write a book so the people who elect the president understand the basics of physics too.

[wufwugy]

wheres the webcast of the class

[kleei2]

webcast (dot) berkeley (dot) edu

Letters and Science - Descriptive Introduction to Physics

[archaedemos]

i watched several semesters and loved them all. Muller is extremely easy to listen too and comprehend. He even has responded ,(and quikly) to a few emails i have sent him. He is definitly my most fav Hero in his own Time. (: and its My time too.!! Check my Heisenburg vid. and let me know what ya think anyone!! . (:

[TheCuriousSkeptic]

I watched a full semester. Loved it.

[RabidApe]

hehehehe

I've watched AT LEAST two all the way through...

there are a LOT on the berkeley webcast site

I think they webcast it pretty much every semester