~ Early Web Links ~

The Open Source Physics project, supported by NSF and the AAPT, provides free computational curriculum resources including simulations, modeling tools, and student worksheets designed to help learners explore physical phenomena through computer modeling. Highlights include the Tracker video analysis tool and Easy Java Simulations (EJS) framework, making it a comprehensive hub for physics educators and students at all levels.

William J. Beaty, a Seattle electrical engineer, explores the fascinating physics of traffic jams, showing how waves propagate through congested highways much like fluid dynamics. The site features animations, experiments, and practical techniques for how a single driver can actually dissolve traffic slowdowns, making it a genuinely mind-expanding read for any commuter.

John G. Cramer's subject index collects his long-running 'Alternate View' column from Analog Science Fiction & Fact Magazine, organizing hundreds of short essays on cutting-edge science into topics like quantum mechanics, cosmology, wormholes, and space drives. Running from 1984 to the present, this archive is a remarkable resource for hard SF readers and writers who want rigorous, accessible science writing from a working physicist.

A lecture page from a University of Houston astronomy course (ASTR 3131) explaining Einstein's theory of general relativity and the concept of curved spacetime. It covers how mass and energy deform the fabric of spacetime, using accessible analogies like a ball on a bedsheet to illustrate four-dimensional curvature.

Richard Fitzpatrick is a Professor of Physics at the University of Texas at Austin, specializing in fusion studies, with this page serving as a hub for his research, teaching materials, academic papers, talks, and books. Visitors interested in plasma physics or fusion energy will find a gateway to substantial scholarly resources from an active academic researcher.

A physics professor at SUNY Stony Brook takes aim at pseudoscience and scientific quackery, exploring the psychological and personality traits that lead people to reject well-established science like evolution, vaccination, and modern physics. The page is a sharp, witty critique of fringe theorists who show up insisting their ideas will overturn all known physics, drawing a careful distinction between bold legitimate scientists and true cranks.

Created by Norman Hugh Redington at MIT, The Net Advance of Physics is an encyclopedic collection of review articles and tutorials covering the full breadth of physics, organized alphabetically and continuously updated since 1995. Special features include a 19th century physics retro archive, history of science resources, a science poetry collection, and curated links to recent controversies in the field.

RainbowSpec is an in-depth yet beginner-friendly educational site exploring how rainbows and color work, covering everything from the visible spectrum and refraction to supernumerary rainbows, fogbows, glories, and thin film interference. The site is thoughtfully organized with starred pages marking foundational concepts, and it links to classic atmospheric optics references that inspired its creation.

Mike Daub is a physics and mathematics educator with a master's from UC Berkeley who spent five seasons at the South Pole researching experimental cosmology on the ACBAR project. His personal site covers his academic background, libertarian politics, photography, and a no-nonsense hand-coded HTML philosophy with no frameworks or tracking.

Created by physicist E. Butikov of IFMO, this collection presents interactive Java applets simulating remarkable three-body gravitational motion problems, including the famous figure-eight periodic orbit and restricted three-body scenarios. It bridges classical Newtonian mechanics and celestial mechanics with hands-on simulations suitable for students and advanced researchers exploring planetary system dynamics.