The standard model of physics says that gravity is a constant and universal force, pulling everything together. Yet the universe is expanding at an accelerated rate. In General Relativity this problem is fixed by dark matter - but there may be another answer.

In this course, award-winning theoretical physicist Claudia de Rham concisely outlines the history of gravity and general relativity, before putting forward a theory that could fix some of General Relativity’s seemingly unfixable problems.

By the end of the course, you will have learned:

• What Minkowski Coordinates are, and how they relate to four-dimensional geometry
• About the planet Vulcan, and how its non-existence displayed the limitations of Newtonian physics
• Why time moves differently in different parts of space
• Why Einstein got in a dispute trying to disprove his own theory
• What a graviton is, and why we can't detect it
• How gravitational waves can allow us access to the early universe
• How a radical new theory of gravity could eliminate the need for dark matter

As part of the course, there are in-video quiz questions to consolidate your learning, and discussion boards to have your say.

IAI Academy courses are designed to be challenging but accessible to the interested student. No specialist knowledge is required.