It has been a long and twisted road that has led from the wild conjectures of early Greek and Babylonian thinkers to the insights of Einstein. This course will explore some parts of this path and the web of ideas that led (sometimes in surprising and indirect ways) to our current ideas about the nature of the universe and its unimaginable immensity. Major themes will be astronomy, the dazzling contributions of Newton in the 17th century, and Einstein's Special Theory of Relativity. The ideas are often startling and beautiful. I will try to emphasize the roles that ideas of beauty, symmetry, and aesthetic rightness have played in the unfolding of our so-called scientific ideas. No previous knowledge of physics is required, although very elementary algebra and a basic ability to use graphs and geometric diagrams will be needed. Lecture demonstrations will be used to illustrate physical principles and historic experiments.
The required textbook will be Revolutions in Physics by Barry Casper and Richard Noer.
Students will be required to turn in weekly problem assignments that will help in understanding the ideas being studied. It should be possible to solve these problems with methods which can be learned in this course. There will be occasional quizzes, two midterms and a final exam. The grade will be based on a score which gives 1/3 weight to the homework and 2/3 weight to the exams. Sorry, no late assignments, no make up exams, no extra work for extra credit. On the other hand, help from the instructor and the teaching assistants will as be plentiful and available as we can make it.
Office: 316 North Physics
Phone: (801) 581-6408
Email: dick@mail.physics.utah.edu
Address: Department of Physics, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112
Web coordinator: Paul Sommers
