Classical Physics Primer
A rapid upskill curriculum for physicists getting up to speed before engaging with OFT. Four modules mapping standard physics to the OFT paradigms they will eventually absorb.
This is a standalone preparation guide — not a paper in the OFT series. A "conceptual first, maths second" approach designed to scrub off the rust efficiently.
Module 1
Classical Electromagnetism & The Medium
Maxwell's equations, dielectrics, refraction, phase vs group velocity, and caustics.
Module 2
Relativity — Special and General
SR kinematics, the equivalence principle, GR as geometry, and the optical-metric equivalence.
Module 3
Quantum Mechanics & The Standard Model
The measurement problem, QED, QCD, and the fermion/boson taxonomy.
Module 4
Symmetries, Topology, and Group Theory
Noether's theorem, gauge theory, Lie groups, the Higgs mechanism, and basic topology.