Syllabus and Lecture Notes
| This is an outline of the lectures and exams planned for Fall 2007. It also serves as syllabus. Reading assignments are Chapters in Hobson, Physics Concepts & Connections. |
| Lecture 1 |
Chap 1
|
Overview
The theme of this class |
Wed. 9/5
|
Fall07 1 |
| Lecture 2 |
Chap 1
|
The Way of Science Developing and testig new concepts, Occam's razor Classical concepts never die, they just become special cases The solar system as example, epicyles versus an ellipse |
Fri. 9/7
|
Fall07 2 |
| Lecture 3 |
Chap 2
|
Length scales
Logarithmic scale From the largest to the smallest Limits of observation, fundamental units, Planck length |
Mon. 9/10
|
Fall07 3 |
| Lecture 4 |
Chap 2
|
Down to Atoms
Nanoscience and nanotechnology, Biological length scales Moore's law, exponential growth |
Wed. 9/12
|
Fall07 4 |
| Lecture 5 |
Chap 3
Chap 4 Chap 5 |
The Newtonian Universe
Law of gravity, gravitational collapse, the birth of the Solar system, supernovae F = m a, acceleration, velocity, derivatives, g-forces The physics of baseball |
Fri. 9/14
|
Fall07 5 Baseball |
| Lecture 6 |
Chap 6
|
The Various Forms of Energy Work, energy, and power, energy conversion, efficiency Conservation Laws: Basic Principles of Physics Conservation of energy, 1st law of thermodynamics Conservation of momentum, angular momentum Connection between symmetries and conservation laws |
Mon. 9/17
|
Fall07 6 |
| Lecture 7 |
Chap 7
|
Statistical Physics and Thermodynamics
Entropy, the statistics of large numbers, 2nd law of thermodynamics The 2nd law breaks time-reversal symmetry Is evolution compatible with the 2nd law ? Maximum and real effiency of a power plant, a car engine |
Wed. 9/19
|
Fall07 7 |
| Lecture 8 |
Chap 8
|
Waves
From particles to waves Sound and water waves Relation between frequency, wavelength, and velocity. Interference of waves |
Fri. 9/21
|
Fall07 8 |
| Lecture 9 |
Chap 8
Chap.9 |
Electromagnetic Waves Light waves, lasers Diffraction, protein crystallography, reciprocal space The electromagnetic spectrum: Radiowaves, infrared (molecular vibrations), visible (atoms, lasers, LEDs), ultraviolet (molecular orbitals, lithography), x-rays (crystallography), Gamma rays (violent events in the universe) |
Mon. 9/24
|
Fall07 9 |
| Lecture 10 |
Chap 9
|
Solar Radiation and Greenhouse Effect
Solar spectrum Radiation laws Greenhouse effect and global warming The ozone hole |
Wed. 9/26
|
Fall07 10 |
| Lecture 11 |
Chap 8
Chap 9 |
Electromagnetism
Electric and magnetic fields in electromagnetic waves Electric field as force field Analogy between electric and gravitational forces: The atom as planetary system. Electric monopole vs. magnetic dipole The elementary charge |
Fri. 9/28
|
Fall07 11 |
| Lecture 12 |
Chap 9
|
Connecting charges and fields by Maxwell's equations
Case studies of Maxwell's equations: Magnetic field of a wire, geomagnetic field Electric power generator |
Mon. 10/1
|
Fall07 12 |
|
Review Exam 1
|
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Wed. 10/3
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Exam 1
|
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Fri. 10/5
|
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| Lecture 13 |
Chap 10
|
Einstein's Relativity
The relativity principle, observers, reference frames The velocity of light c is constant |
Mon. 10/8
|
Fall07 13 |
| Lecture 14 |
Chap 10
Chap 11 |
Special Relativity Einstein's thought experiments Time dilation, length contraction, mass increase E = m c2 Global Positioning System (GPS) |
Wed. 10/10
|
Fall07 14 |
| Lecture 15 |
Chap 10
Chap 11.1 |
General Relativity
Acceleration is indistinguishable from gravity Time travel, the twin paradox |
Fri. 10/12
|
Fall07 15 |
| Lecture 16 | Essay Topic Due Chap 11
|
Minkowski space-time diagrams, world-lines
Causality in relativity Relativistic force law, relativistic speed limit |
Mon. 10/15
|
Fall07 16 |
| Lecture 17 |
Chap 11.1-4
|
Cosmology
Curved space-time The Big Bang The microwave background, our first snapshot after the Big Bang The shape of the universe |
Wed. 10/17
|
Fall07 17 |
| Lecture 18 |
Chap 11.5-7
|
Dark matter and dark energy What happened at the very beginning ? Cosmic inflation Is there an end ? The accelerating universe |
Fri. 10/19
|
Fall07 18 |
| Lecture 19 |
Chap 5.4
Chap 1.2 |
Black Holes, the ultimate space-time warp New Space Telescopes: Hubble, Chandra, Gamma-rays, WMAP |
Mon. 10/22
|
Fall07 19 |
| Lecture 20 | ||||