Science often gets a bad rap for being inaccessible. But it’s actually never been easier to satisfy your curiosity on subjects ranging from computer technology, biology, astrophysics, climate science, and just about anything in between. In fact, it’s just a few clicks away.
These online courses from edX allow you to learn an array of topics under the instruction of experts from the field. Best of all, it can be done online and it’s free. Yep, free. Not bad, right?
If any of the courses below take your fancy, then click the link and enrol within a matter of minutes. Alternatively, you can check out the hundreds of courses on offer from top universities like Harvard and MIT on the edX website.
1) From Atoms to Stars: How Physics Explains Our World
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Physics is the key to unlocking the great questions of our universe, but grand theories of quantum mechanics and the colossal forces of spacetime can sometimes be a bit intimidating.
This course, however, can satisfy your curiosity on everything from atomic forces to vast galaxies, while only requiring a basic background knowledge of physics and mathematics.
2) Cybersecurity, Surveillance and Security
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The Information Age is a dangerous time, especially because the majority of people have no idea how any of it works. As issues of privacy and national security become more and more important, knowledge about cybersecurity is fast becoming a crucial part of everyday life, as well as a valuable career skill.
In this course, you’ll immerse yourself into the debate of how the Internet has become a battlefield for competing ideas of privacy, security, sovereignty, human rights, and freedom.
3) Introduction to Solar Systems Astronomy
Image credit: NASA
As fascinating as our own planet is, the worlds beyond our own are something truly amazing. If you’ve ever wanted to know what’s really going on in our cosmic neighborhood, this course allows you to understand the origins, structure and evolution of our Solar System.
The course gives you the chance to virtually walk through the Lunar Exploration Museum and Arizona State University’s Moeur Building, a leading facility for developing geological instruments on Mars.
4) Reinvent Yourself: Unleash Your Creativity
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One of the main things that makes humans so incredible is our ability to be creative, whether that’s applied to science, the arts, or even your career. It’s often thought that only a lucky few are born with creativity running in their blood, but it’s actually something within us all, if we know the right way to guide and foster it. This course has a renowned innovation expert teach some proven methods on how you can ignite your creativity and use it to help your career progression.
5) Hypersonics - from Shock Waves to Scramjets
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Forget supersonics. Hypersonics refers to speeds of Mach 5 and above, so anything above 6,175 km/h (3,800 mph). This course will tell you everything you need to know about the basic concepts associated with traveling five times the speed of sound, from aerospace rocket propulsion to how to model these insanely fast flows.