Course Number: 1300 (3)
Course Title: Environmental Physics

REPRESENTATIVE TEXTBOOK

Notes by the instructor (see DeFord's published notes)
 

COURSE DESCRIPTION

This course is given periodically - typically once a year. It is designed to bring students up to date with currently interesting topics in science. It is non-mathematical, but examines the topics studied critically and in some depth. The course is divided into more or less independent modules of varying length. In addition to the reading and exams there is a significant research component in which the student picks topic of interest to him or herself from the physical and biological sciences (one of each) and then writes an 8 page paper at the level of an educated layman.

The topics covered in recent editions of the course include: Elementary particles, the origin of the universe, nuclear energy, nuclear weapons and the resulting military strategies, meteorology, plate techtonics, quantum mechanics, chemical reactions and the periodic table, genetic engineering, and the immune system.
 

CO-REQUISITE

None
 

OTHER COMMENTS

None