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Program Overview

The Vibrations and Waves course is designed to provide a foundational study of waves and vibrations, preparing learners for advanced courses in physics and related fields of engineering. This course explores many properties that are universal to all wave systems as well as many particular cases.

Course Description

Vibrations and Waves appear in many parts of physics, ranging from simple mechanical systems, to the light that we see, and even to the quantum realm. In this course, we develop a fundamental grounding in this important topic, beginning with oscillations of simple systems of discrete masses, continuing with waves in continuous systems (like air and water), and exploring the wave behavior of light. We end with the uncertainty principle and the wave equation of quantum mechanics.

Course Topics

• Simple harmonic motion
• Superposition
• Damping
• Forced vibrations and resonance
• Couple oscillations
• Normal modes
• Continuous systems
• Reflection and refraction
• Phase and group velocities
• Electromagnetic waves
• Polarization
• Snell’s law
• Huygens’s principle
• Interference and diffraction
• Quantum Mechanics

Prerequisites

• 8.01x: Mechanics: Kinematics and Dynamics, Mechanics: Momentum and Energy, Mechanics: Rotational Dynamics, Mechanics: Simple Harmonic Motion and Non-Inertial Reference Frames
• 8.02x: Electricity and Magnetism: Electrostatics, Electricity and Magnetism: Magnetic Fields and Forces, Electricity and Magnetism: Maxwell's Equations
• 18.01x: Calculus 1A: Differentiation, Calculus 1B: Integration, Calculus 1C: Coordinate Systems & Infinite Series
• 18.02x: Multivariable Calculus 1: Vectors and Derivatives, Multivariable Calculus 2: Integrals, Multivariable Calculus 3: Theorems and Applications

Instructors

• Yen-Jie Lee: Class of 1958 Career Development Associate Professor of Physics
• Michelle Tomasik: Lecturer in the Department of Physics at MIT
• Alex Shvonski: MITx Digital Learning Fellow, Physics at Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Instructor Profiles

Yen-Jie Lee

Yen-Jie Lee joined the MIT Physics faculty in September 2013. He served as one of the Heavy Ion Physics Group co-conveners in the CMS collaboration from 2014 to 2016. Since 2016, he has been appointed as heavy-ion physics executive board representative in the CMS collaboration.

Michelle Tomasik

Michelle Tomasik is a Lecturer in the Department of Physics at MIT where she currently works on developing online classes and assists with physics education research and teaching introductory physics.

Alex Shvonski

Alex Shvonski is a Postdoc in the Department of Physics at MIT, currently working on developing online classes. He also works with introductory physics courses at MIT, most recently creating and running in-class experiments.

Course Details

• Start: September 25, 2025
• End: January 29, 2026
• Course Format: Instructor-paced
• Estimated: 18 weeks
• Time Commitment: 12-14 hours/week
• Price: Free to Learn
• Certificate Track: $99.00
• Payment Deadline: January 19, 2026

Eligibility

Because of U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) restrictions and other U.S. federal regulations, learners residing in one or more of the following countries or regions will not be able to register for this course: Iran, Cuba, Syria, North Korea, and the Crimea, Donetsk People's Republic, and Luhansk People's Republic regions of Ukraine.