These lecture notes from Michael Fowler, Physics professor at University of Virginia, explore "two revolutions in our perception of the universe," the impacts of Galileo and then Einstein on our understanding of physics. The 27 lectures included here may be a useful supplement and teaching aid for educators. The lectures begin with the early Greeks and follow the progress of scientific thought...

Maintained by The Museum of the History of Science, the Oxford Virtual Science Walk Web site explores "some of the most important and interesting historic scientific sites in Oxford, from the time of the founding of the University in the 13th century and the work of Friar Bacon to advancements in modern science such as the development of penicillin." Visitors visit thirteen sites and view an...

From the American Museum of Natural History comes the online exhibit on the life and legacy of Albert Einstein. Students (who should probably be at least of high school age) can learn about Einstein's revolutionary thinking; his work with light, time, energy, and gravity; his thoughts on peace and war, on being a global citizen, and his legacy according to the museum. Although fairly brief, the...

The Center for History of Physics presents the Selected Papers of Great American Physicists Web site. Seven physicists are featured: Benjamin Franklin, Joseph Henry, Albert Michelson, Henry Rowland, Josiah Gibbs, Robert Millikan, and Arthur Compton. Each page contains a biography and various documents produced by the scientist, a letter commenting on experiments and observations on electricity in...

The Niels Bohr Library of the Center for History of Physics at the American Institute of Physics (AIP) site features an online catalog, archival finding aids, oral history interview abstracts, and a link to the International Catalog of Sources (ICOS) for History of Physics and Allied Sciences.

Named in honor Emilio Segre, Nobel Laureate for nuclear and high-energy physics, the Emilio Segre Visual Archives contains approximately 25,000 historical photographs, slides, lithographs, engravings, and other visual materials related primarily to American physicists and astronomers of the 20th century. Almost 1,500 of these are currently available online, searchable by name, keyword(s), and...

The Bohr Library site features an online catalog, archival finding aids, oral history interview abstracts, and a link to the International Catalog of Sources (ICOS) for History of Physics and Allied Sciences.

Even the most cursory explorations into how scientific discoveries are made reveals that many of these discoveries are tinged with a certain serendipity and circumstances that are not immediately attributable to a wholly reasoned and logical progression of methodical experiments. Presented by the American Institute of Physics, this online multimedia exhibit tells the story of two important 20th...

This particular online collection from the Oak Ridge Associated Universities (a university consortium that oversees the Oak Ridge National Laboratory) contains over 1000 objects, many of which are on view at this site. The Health Physics Historical Instrumentation Museum Collection has been deemed the official repository for historical radiological instruments by the Health Physics Society, and at...

Critical Point is a feature of the online version of the magazine Physics World. The article posted here, by philosopher and historian Robert Crease, revisits "the greatest equations ever." He presents the results from his survey of readers in which he asked for a short list of nominations for great equations and "to explain why their nominations belonged on the list and why, if at all, the topic...