Well to take some of the great advice that I have recieved from this board.

I am considering focussing my research efforts on one topic.
The topic I have chose is gravity. So here comes my question. If there was an undergrad degree in gravity ignoring the core liberal arts stuff, what would the courses look like?

In other words if I wanted to start to study gravity what are the topics I need to study and what is the recommended order.

Also what are the topics that allow me to graduate?

It would look like a B.S. degree in physics, with additional courses in general relativity (because gravity is general relativity) & astrophysics (because this is the primary practical application of gravity). But in fact, you would need an undergraduate degree in physics, and a graduate degree in gravity. At Cal State LA we had only one course in general relativity.

A B.S. Degree in Astrophysics from UCLA probably looks more to the point than a general physics degree (which is what I have). But they don't have specific courses in general relativity. Rather, GR shows up in the various other courses.

One of the best places to specifically study gravity might be Caltech, where they do have a graduate course in general relativity, and another in gravitational radiation.

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Don't try this at home - We're what you call "professionals" - MythBusters.

When I was at University of Michigan they did have an undergraduate course in Gravitational Physics. The professor was quite good, though his name escapes me at the moment. I actually understood tensors. At least for a month or so.

Surprisingly, Einstein's own "Relativity" is a great start. It's a lot of thought without much math that lays the basic concepts for Lorentz transforms in Special Relativity and the basics of General Relativity.

Available for free on a few sites, www.bartleby.com being one of them.

The first requirement for understanding what things you should equip yourself with for the undertaking of understanding the laws of, and the mechanics of... GRAVITY, would be a generous proportion of 'COMMON SENSE' Understanding that as I have little understanding of higher mathematics am myself disqualified...Good luck to you my friend. Experience has taught me that all the education and diplomas avail little to understanding. Nobody likes a know all.
Mark.

SHOOT!
People should adore me then...

I don't know anything!

Yet, I seem to inspire the opposite effect...


But then, this may be because knowing that you know nothing is considered wisdom...

Aww screw it. I just hurt my brain...

No. Neverfly., as I see it, your brain is fine.

Tommac... I am honestly attempting to advise you not to narrow your research efforts onto a single subject. A broad understanding of all is a much better goal than a narrow subject study case.
The subject 'GRAVITY' is entwined into most of astrophysics. Astronomy has many important areas of understanding. Understanding gravity is a huge ask.

Understanding gravity is definitely high on the what we would like to know more about list along with time and consciousness and other very high order things. On a look at what questions you have been asking it is a great choice.

Understanding gravity is a huge ask, astromark is spot on with that and someone is going to have to do it someday. There is so much choice.

All the very best to you Tommac in your studies and don't forget BAUT when you discover all the answers, cheers

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"Nature is obliged to let reality determine its laws, whereas mathematics is under no such constraint."

I mean I would like to skip all of the quantum stuff ... or any part of the classes that are not relevant to gravity.

I am not looking for a degree ...

What I am looking for is a list of 20 topics or so that would be the best gravity related topics. I will then start to read papers and research each of these topics and treat it like I was going to school for it ( I am kind of against formal education as I feel it is too money driven ).

I can work on my own and study ( don't worry I will still stick around with questions ). But I want to learn everything about gravity that I can. So again I am asking all of you what is a list of all gravity related topics that I can use as a checklist for my study.

I would doubt you could narrow it down that far. Maybe you can pick out the topics you want, but, watch out, they may be interrelated.

The other issue I can see is what they consider prerequisites. You may have to follow a tree back to see what background information you may need to understand the topic at hand. I haven't scoured the links to see if they mention pre-reqs. Maybe somebody here can help you outline this.

While it may be money driven, I do think that the course studies have evolved to a program that does work. So; while you may be able to self study, I think you should pay attention to some of the paths that they provide.

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Numbers are not case sensitive. (me)

Nice to see you are taking note from many of the very intelligent folks on this forum! I think you are choosing a good subject to study. I will see what turns up on the web, i would appreciate any information or links you come across too. Good luck m8

Well maybe the top 20 gravity subjects. I will work on the pre-requisites myself.

This only works in popular imagination. You can't just pick some part of physics, like gravity, and study it all by itself, as if the rest of physics does not even exist. That would be a complete waste of effort, and contrary to your intuition on the matter, you would not learn about gravity as much as you think. Gravity exists in the context of physics. So you know gravity, but never study thermodynamics. So you don't know that a collapsing gas cloud forming stars has to simultaneously obey the laws of gravity and the laws of thermodynamics, and you wind up not knowing what you are doing despite your knowledge of gravity. Remember the title of Tolman's book Relativity, Thermodynamics and Gravity. Tolman realized that the universe has to obey the laws of physics, all of them at once. He laid the theoretical basis for the later prediction of the later observed CMB. You simply cannot pick & choose which part of physics you want to study. It doesn't work.

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Don't try this at home - We're what you call "professionals" - MythBusters.

Mistake. If you're going to forth the effort, make it count. Go for the degree.

Ask any systems analyst with over 10 years experience. Put your intellectual effort into what will pay off the most in the long term. That's why we use and program for Windows (retch), despite its shortcomings, and why there are still COBOL (shudder) programmers, and why object oriented programming (shiver) is so pursued.

Take the math. Be very introspective about how you are doing. You need A's for what you want. If you aren't doing that well in a course, bail. Try again later.

Keep in mind that physics is a lot more fun than computers. Good luck, and remember that luck favors the well prepared.

Dude I am way to old to actually take this stuff seriously ... I do this just for the enjoyment of it. There is no way I would sign up for school and if I did I would do something within my field but I think i have even past the point where I dont have enough years left in my career to have it pay off more than the cost of the degree.

I am saying I will learn all of that other stuff too ... but only where it pertains to gravity. I wont ignore the other fields but really just focus on the gravity based ones.

It is apparent that your understanding is as good as any ones... Its just perhaps that you express yourself differently. Scrolling through the many postings soon shows your quest for knowledge. In a related thread (they all are.)You ask of a singlarity... all gravity related... Tommac. Do not stop asking questions for that is the only way your understanding grows more complete. BUT, do remember that this quest for knowledge can never be satisfied completely. The very rules of existence dictate that compliance with the laws of physics. Some times its enough to concede that it just is the way it is because.... Just, because.
Mark.

I beat on this idea all the time on the forum. Whatever you're proposing, as in ATM, or questioning, as in Q&A, has to fit all of physics, not one narrow part. Tolman's putting thermodynamics in the title of his book certainly puts the idea as concisely as possible.