You don't need to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars or sit through hours of classes in order to understand the fundamental nature of the universe. In truth, the fabric of the cosmos is just a mouse click away.

Hundreds of free videos have been made available by the world's top universities, and they feature some of the leading physicists of our era. Here, we have compiled just a fraction of these in a kind of "guide to the cosmos" that will give you a basic overview of the key concepts in physics.

Huge thanks to the wonderful Moinak Banerjee for his work on this.

Introductory Physics Videos
  1. Basic Physics lectures by Prof. Michael Dennin, University of California, Irvine
  2. Basic Physics (III) lectures by Prof. Michael Smy, University of California, Irvine
  3. Lectures on the conceptual understanding in Physics on various topics without math by Prof. Richard A. Muller, University of California, Berkeley
  4. Fundamentals of Physics with Prof. Ramamurti Shankar, brought to you by Yale Courses. This course covers Newtonian mechanics, special relativity, gravitation, thermodynamics, and waves
  5. Fundamentals of Physics (II) with Prof. Ramamurti Shankar, brought to you by Yale Courses. This course covers electricity, magnetism, optics and quantum mechanics
  6. A series of short video presentations on different topics of Physics brought to you by Khan Academy
  7. A video instructional series on physics for college and high school classrooms and adult learners
Mathematical Physics
  1. Lectures on Mathematical Physics by Prof. Michael Dennin, University of California, Irvine
  2. Mathematical Physics lectures by Prof. Carl Bender, PSI
  3. Lectures on Numerical Methods and Programming by Prof. P. B. Sunil Kumar, Department of Physics, IIT Madras
  4. Tons of lectures on Mathematical Physics by TheDigitalUniversity
  5. Lectures on Selected Topics in Mathematical Physics by Prof. V. Balakrishnan, Department of Physics, IIT Madras
Classical Mechanics
  1. Prof. Walter Lewin's lectures on Classical Mechanics, as taught in 1999
  2. Prof. Leonard Susskind's lectures on Classical Mechanics recorded on October 15, 2007 at Stanford University
  3. Prof. Leonard Susskind's course on Classical Mechanics (Fall 2011) which is a part of coursework known as The Theoretical Minimum
  4. Lecture series on Classical Physics by Prof. V. Balakrishnan, Department of Physics, IIT Madras
  5. Shiraz Minwalla's lectures on Classical Mechanics, TIFR
  6. Lectures on Classical Mechanics by Prof. Jacob Linder, brought to you by NTNU openVideo
  7. Lecture videos on Special Topics in Classical Mechanics by Prof. P. C. Deshmukh, Department of Physics, IIT Madras
Electromagnetism 
  1. Prof. Walter Lewin's course on Electricity and Magnetism
  2. Course in Electromagnetic Theory by Prof. D. K. Ghosh, Department of Physics, IIT Bombay
  3. Landau and Jackson level lecture videos on Classical Electrodynamics, along with Problem (homework) sheets
  4. Lectures on Electromagnetic Theory by Prof. Paul A. Letnes, brought to you by NTNU openVideo
Special Relativity
  1. Special relativity lectures by Prof. Leonard Susskind, at Stanford University [Lectures are *mistakenly* labeled as Quantum Entanglements Part 3]
  2. Prof. Leonard Susskind's lectures on Special Relativity from his course; The Theoretical Minimum
  3. Lectures on Special Relativity by Prof. Shiva Prasad, Department of Physics, IIT Bombay
Quantum Physics
  1. Quantum Mechanics lectures by Prof. S. Lakshmi Bala, Dept. of Physics, IIT Madras
  2. Some ace lectures on Quantum Mechanics by P. A. M. Dirac, who was one of the founders of Quantum Mechanics
  3. Introductory lectures on Quantum Mechanics by Prof. Leonard Susskind, recorded on January 14, 2008 at Stanford University
  4. Introductory lectures by Prof. Leonard Susskind on Quantum Mechanics, from his course;
  5. Lectures on Quantum Physics (I) by Prof. Allan Adams, brought to you by MIT OCW. This course covers the experimental basis of quantum physics. It introduces wave mechanics, Schrödinger's equation in a single dimension, and Schrödinger's equation in three dimensions
  6. Lectures on Quantum Physics (II) by Prof. Barton Zwiebach, brought to you by MIT OCW. This course cover quantum physics with applications drawn from modern physics. Topics covered in this course include the general formalism of quantum mechanics, harmonic oscillator, quantum mechanics in three-dimensions, angular momentum, spin, and addition of angular momentum
  7. Advanced Quantum Mechanics lectures by Prof. Leonard Susskind, Stanford University
  8. Lectures on Quantum Physics by Prof. V. Balakrishnan, Dept. of Physics, IIT Madras
  9. Quantum Mechanics Lectures by Prof. Douglas Smith, held at African Summer Theory Institute
  10. Lecture series on Quantum Mechanics by Prof. J. J. Binney, where he explains how probabilities are obtained from quantum amplitudes, why they give rise to quantum interference, the concept of a complete set of amplitudes and how this defines a quantum state
  11. Lectures on Quantum Mechanics by Prof. Namik Kemal Pak, Middle East Technical University Department of Physics. Topics covered by him include systems of identical particles and second quantization, semi-classical and quantum theory of radiation, scattering theory, relativistic single-particle equations, Dirac equation and central potential problems
  12. Lectures on Quantum Entanglements by Prof. Leonard Susskind, Stanford University
  13. Lectures on Quantum Mechanics and its Applications by Prof. Ajoy Ghatak, Department of Physics, IIT Delhi
  14. Lectures on Foundations of Quantum Mechanics by Prof. Robert Spekkens, PSI
  15. Quantum Theory lectures by Prof. Joseph Emerson, PSI
  16. Lectures on Quantum Mechanical View of Reality by none other than Richard P. Feynman
  17. Lectures on Quantum Information by Prof. Andrew Childs, PSI
  18. Lectures on Explorations on Quantum Information by Prof. David Cory, PSI
  19. Several talks and discussions on a wide range of subjects such as theoretical and experimental aspects of quantum entanglement and non-locality, relativistic causality, quantum measurement problem, probability theory, etc., PSI
  20. Lectures on Topos Quantum Physics by Prof. Cecilia Flori, PSI
Statistical Mechanics
  1. Lectures on Statistical Mechanics by Prof. Leonard Susskind, Stanford University
  2. Lectures on Statistical Mechanics by Prof. Leonard Susskind from his course; The Theoretical Minimum
  3. Lectures on Statistical Mechanics by Prof. Leo Kadanoff, PSI
  4. Lectures in Statistical Mechanics by Prof. George Phillies, based on his book; Elementary Lectures in Statistical Mechanics (Springer-Verlag, 2000)
  5. Lectures in Statistical Mechanics by Prof. John Berlinsky, PSI. Please note that the acoustics/audio quality of the lectures are not that good
  6. Lectures in Statistical Mechanics by Prof. Anton Burkov, PSI
General Relativity
  1. Lectures on General Relativity by Prof. Leonard Susskind, Recorded on September 22, 2008 at Stanford University
  2. Prof. Leonard Susskind's course on General Relativity, Recorded on December 3, 2012 at Stanford University
  3. Lectures on General Relativity by Prof. Neil Turok, PSI
  4. Lectures on General Relativity by Prof. Sunil Mukhi, TIFR. His lectures are based on Robert M. Wald's and James B. Hartle's books on General Relativity
  5. Lectures on General Relativity by Shiraz Minwalla, TIFR
  6. Course on General Relativity by Prof. T. Padmanabhan, IUCAA. For User ID and Password send an email to library@iucaa.ernet.in or nagesh@iucaa.ernet.in
  7. Lectures on Advanced General Relativity by Prof. T. Padmanabhan, IUCAA. Lectures were given at Geneva, Switzerland. For User ID and Password send an email to library@iucaa.ernet.in or nagesh@iucaa.ernet.in
  8. Lectures on General Relativity by Prof. Michael Duff, PSI
  9. Lectures on Advanced General Relativity by Prof. Eric Poisson, PSI
  10. Lectures on Advanced General Relativity by Prof. Rafael Sorkin, PSI
  11. Lectures on Gravitational Physics by Prof. Ruth Gregory, PSI. Watch these lectures after you have completed the above lectures on General Relativity, or have a pretty good understanding of General Relativity
  12. Lectures on General Relativity for Cosmology by Prof. Achim Kempf, PSI
Quantum Field theory and Quantum Electrodynamics
  1. A brilliant but pretty old course on Quantum Field Theory by Prof. Sidney Coleman, Harvard University
  2. A pretty neat course on Quantum Field Theory by Prof. Anthony Zee, held at African Summer Theory Institute
  3. Lectures on Quantum Field Theory by Prof. David Tong, PSI
  4. Lectures on Quantum Field Theory by Prof. Prasanta Tripathy, Department of Physics, IIT Madras
  5. Lectures on Quantum Field Theory by Prof. T. Padmanabhan, IUCAA. For User ID and Password send an email to library@iucaa.ernet.in or nagesh@iucaa.ernet.in
  6. Lectures on Quantum Field Theory (QFT - I) by Prof. Konstantin Zarembo, PSI
  7. Lectures on Quantum Field Theory (QFT - II) by Prof. Francois David, PSI
  8. Lectures on Quantum Field Theory by Prof. Tim Evans, Imperial College London. Check the bottom half of the webpage for the video lectures. Some of the lectures have not been recorded and some have poor audio quality
  9. Lectures on Quantum Field Theory - II by Prof. Shiraz Minwall, PSI
  10. Lectures by Prof. Achim Kempf on Quantum Field Theory for Cosmology, PSI
  11. Lectures by Prof. Ugo Moschella on Topics in QFT on Flat and Curved Spacetimes, PSI
  12. Lectures in Quantum Electrodynamics by none other than Prof. Richard Feynman, held at Auckland University
  13. Lectures on Relativistic Quantum Mechanics by Prof. Apoorva D. Patel, IISc Bangalore
Particle Physics
  1. A decent and short course on Particle Physics from YouTube
  2. Lectures on Basic Concepts of Particle Physics given by Prof. Leonard Susskind, Stanford University
  3. Lectures given by Prof. Leonard Susskind on Particle Physics: Standard Model, Recorded on January 11, 2010 at Stanford University
  4. Lectures on introduction to Super-Symmetry by Prof. Alex Buchel, PSI
  5. Super-Symmetry lectures by Prof. Jim Gates, held at African Summer Theory Institute
  6. Lectures on Particle Physics 3: Super-Symmetry and Grand Unification by Prof. Leonard Susskind, Stanford University
  7. A course on Super-Symmetry (SUSY) by Prof. Fernando Quevedo, University of Cambridge
  8. Lectures on the Standard Model of Particle Physics by Prof. Michael Peskin, PSI
  9. Lectures on Standard Model (Review) by Prof. Mark Wise, PSI
  10. Lectures in Quantum Chromodynamics, organised at CERN
  11. Particle Physics lectures by Prof. Alan Martin, held at African Summer Theory Institute
  12. Lectures on Explorations in Particle Theory by Prof. Ben Allanach, PSI
  13. Lectures on Explorations in Particle Theory by Prof. David Morrissey, PSI
  14. Lectures in Standard Model: Review by Prof. Paul Langacker, PSI
  15. Lectures in  Explorations in Particle Theory by Prof. Brian Shuve, PSI
  16. Lectures in Beyond the Standard Model by Prof. Robert Mann, PSI
Nuclear Physics
  1. Lectures on Nuclear Physics by Prof. H. C. Verma, Department of Physics, IIT Kanpur
Cosmology and Astrophysics
  1. Lectures on Cosmology by Prof. James Bullock, University of California, Irvine
  2. Lectures on Cosmology by Prof. Leonard Susskind, Recorded January 13, 2009 at Stanford University
  3. Lectures on Cosmology by Prof. Leonard Susskind from his course; The Theoretical Minimum
  4. Lectures on Cosmology by Prof. George Ellis, held at African Summer Theory Institute
  5. A mini course on Cosmology, PSI
  6. Lectures on Astrophysics from University of California, Berkeley
  7. A course on Exploring Black Holes: General Relativity & Astrophysics, from MIT OCW
  8. Lectures on Explorations in Cosmology by Prof. Matthew Johnson, PSI
  9. A series of lectures on Astrophysics and Cosmology: science of the cosmos, science in the cosmos brought to you by BBVA Foundation
  10. Lectures in Cosmology: Review by Prof. Latham Boyle, PSI
  11. Astrophysics Lectures by Prof. Catherine Chess, held at African Summer Theory Institute
Conformal Field Theory
  1. Lectures on Conformal Field Theory (Introduction): Liouville Model by Prof. Leon TakhtajanFree Online Physics Courses, brought to you by Open Culture.
  2. Lectures on Conformal Field Theory by Prof. Jaume Gomis, Prof. Pedro Vieira, and Prof. Freddy Cachazo
String Theory
  1. Lectures in String Theory and M-Theory by Prof. Leonard Susskind, Stanford University
  2. Lectures on Topics in String Theory by Prof. Leonard Susskind, Stanford University
  3. Lectures on Explorations in String Theory by Prof. Pedro Vieira, PSI
  4. Lectures on String Theory (Review) by Prof. Freddy Cachazo, PSI
  5. Lectures in Explorations in String Theory by Prof. Andrei Starinets, PSI
  6. Lectures on String Theory (Review) by Prof. Davide Gaiotto, PSI
  7. Lectures in String Theory by Prof. Melanie Becker, held at African Summer Theory Institute
  8. Lectures in String Theory by Prof. Shiraz Minwalla, TIFR
Loop Quantum Gravity
  1. Lectures on Loop Quantum Gravity by Prof. Lee Smolin, PSI
  2. Lectures on Loop Quantum Gravity by Prof. Renate Loll, PSI
  3. Lectures on Explorations in Quantum Gravity by Prof. Carlo Rovelli, PSI
  4. Lectures on Quantum Gravity (Review) by Prof. Bianca Dittrich, PSI
Effective Field Theory
  1. Lectures on Effective Field Theory by Prof. Iain Stewart, brought to you by MIT OCW
  2. Lectures on Introduction to Effective Field Theories by Prof. Cliff Burgess, PSI
Condensed Matter Physics
  1. Lectures in Condensed Matter Physics by Prof. Nandini Trivedi, PSI
  2. Lectures in Condensed Matter Physics by Prof. Dmitry Abanin and Prof. Assa Auerbach, PSI
  3. Lectures in Condensed Matter Physics (II) by Prof. John Berlinsky, PSI
  4. Some ace lectures in Condensed Matter Physics, brought to you by Boulder School for Condensed Matter and Material Physics
  5. Lectures on Condensed Matter (Review) by Prof. Dmitry Abanin and Prof. Alioscia Hamma, PSI
  6. Lectures on Condensed Matter Physics by Prof. Anushya Chandran, Prof. Roger Melko, and Prof. Xiao-Gang Wen, PSI
  7. Lectures on Explorations in Condensed Matter Physics by Prof. Guifre Vidal, PSI
  8. Lectures in Condensed Matter Physics by Prof. Marcel Franz, PSI
Miscellaneous Basics 
  1. Prof. Walter Lewin's course on Vibrations and Waves
  2. A course on Circuits and Electronics by Prof. Anant Agarwal, brought to you by MIT OCW
  3. A course on Information and Entropy as taught by Prof. Paul Penfield and Prof. Seth Lloyd, brought to you by MIT OCW
  4. Lectures by Prof. S. Srinivasan on Digital VLSI System Design, Department of Electrical Engineering, IIT Madras
  5. Lectures by Prof. Leonard Susskind on Classical Theory of Fields, Recorded April 14, 2008 at Stanford University
  6. Lectures by Prof. Richard Feynman on The Character of Physical Law
  7. Dirac Memorial Lecture by Prof. Richard Feynman
  8. A blog completely dedicated to Science Video and Audio lectures
  9. There are tons of lectures at Perimeter Institute's Recorded Seminar Archive (PIRSA)Tip: Go to section "4. Collections" Select: Year. Select: Conference/School or Course. Then click on: View.
  10. A series of playlists on different topics in Physics by DrPhysicsA
  11. 50 Best Sources of Free STEM Education Online
  12. The Best Physics Videos
  13. Microsoft's Project Tuva which presents Nobel Prize winning physicist Richard Feynman's Messenger Series lectures
  14. Some ACE talks held at University of California, Berkeley
  15. Harvard University's Video Archive
  16. Lectures given by Nobel Prize winners, held in Stockholm, Sweden
  17. This website provides comprehensive collection of audio/video courses and lectures in Physics from educational institutions around the world
  18. Lectures/Talks on various subjects in Physics for all of you, brought to you by Aspen Center for Physics
  19. Video/Audio lectures on different topics of Physics, recorded at African Summer Theory Institute
  20. Tons of courses in Physics from NPTEL
  21. Lectures in different topics of Physics, brought to you by Perimeter Institute of Theoretical Physics
  22. Videos of the Lectures at the program on Topology and Field Theories, held at Center of Mathematics, University of Notre Dame
  23. A series of lectures in Honour of the 90th Birthday of Freeman Dyson, organized by Institute of Advances Studies, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
  24. Tons of Physics Courses by MIT OCW
  25. Tons of Courses from UC Irvine
  26. Tons of lectures and talks on many disciplines, brought to you by International Centre for Theoretical Sciences, TIFR
  27. Talks from Walter Burke Institute for Theoretical Physics, Caltech
  28. Talks and lectures from Institute for Advanced Studies, Princeton
  29. Talks and Lectures by Ace Physicists on many topics in Theoretical Physics
  30. Talks and Lectures by Ace Physicists from the Quantum Foundations of a Classical Universe workshop
  31. Flipping Physics from a high school physics teacher

Share This Article