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December 2, 2008 11:31:17 AM CST

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Net Makes Star of MIT Eccentric

Posted Dec 19, 07 8:11 PM CST in Science & Health,  Technology 

(Newser) – The latest Net sensation doesn’t defend Britney Spears or mimic the history of dance; instead he explains electrostatics, pendulums, and the conservation of energy. Walter Lewin, a 71-year-old MIT physics professor, is one of the first academic superstars of the Internet, bringing educational showmanship—say, demonstrating rockets by riding a tricycle propelled by a fire extinguisher—to a global classroom, the New York Times reports.

Lewin’s a beneficiary, and a central asset, of iTunes U, the iTunes Store’s higher education foray. For no charge, viewers in India and Iraq can watch Lewin fire a golf ball from a cannon at a bulletproof-vested stuffed monkey—to demonstrate free fall, of course. Said one 62-year-old San Diego florist-cum-MIT Internet student: “I walk with a new spring in my step” due to Lewin.

Source New York Times

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Walter Lewin Makes a Battery out of Cans and Water   (FreeScienceLectures (YouTube))
M.I.T.-Walter Lewin- Complete Breakdown of Intuition - Part2   (Fhran (YouTube))
M.I.T. - Walter Lewin - Demagnetization   (Fhran (YouTube))
« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow
Lewin in action   (KeenFob (YouTube))

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next »
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Internet • Britney Spears • iTunes • MIT • classroom


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