Physics 10-B,
Winter
2004
55 Roessler,
TuTh
3:10-4:30pm
Syllabus
Teacher: Professor Ling-Lie Chau
Office: 431 Phy/Geo; phone: 752-2715;
e-mail: chau@physics.ucdavis.edu
Office hours:
431 Phys/Geo; TuTh 4:30-5pm-extendable; or by appointment.
The Cosmos and String Theory (the Theory
of Everything)
* Learning, as
non-scientists, up-to-date information and current
understanding of our universe.
* Cultivating logical
and creative thinking.
* Developing the
ability to do “back-of-the-envelope” numerical estimates
(two significant figures).
* Promoting self-discipline
and participation skills and spirit.
* Making it a real
life time enriching experiece.
Course Outline
· Powers
of 10, Significant Figures, and Units.
· Our
Place in the Universe
· The
Science of Astronomy
· A
Universe of Matter and Energy
· The
Universal Law of Motion
· Light:
The Cosmic Messenger
· Space
and Time
· Spacetime
and Gravity
· Building
Blocks of the University
·
Our Star, and Properties of Stars
·
Galaxies, From Here to Horizon
· Dark
Matter, Dark Energy and the Fate of the Universe
· The
Beginning of Time
Textbooks:
* J. Bennett, M. Donahue,
N. Schneider, and M. Voit, “The Cosmic Perspective,”
3RD ed., 2004.
* B. Greene,
“The Elegant Universe: Superstrings, Hidden Dimensions,
and the Quest for the Ultimate Theory,” 1999, with the 2003
Preface.
Reading Assignments
Discussion Groups:
Teaching Assistant: Mr.
Steve Tappel
Office: Room 410 Phy/Geo;
phone: 530-750-2144; e-mail: tappel@physics.ucdavis.edu
Office hours:
158 Roessler; W 7-7:30pm-extendable; or by appointment.
· Discussion
group B01 (CRN 53095): Tu 5:10-6:00pm, 130 Phys/Geo
· Discussion
group B02 (CRN 53096): Tu 6:10-7:00pm, 130 Phys/Geo
· Discussion
group B03 (CRN 53097): W 5:10-6:00pm, 140 Phys/Geo
· Discussion
group B04 (CRN 53098): W 6:10-7:00pm, 158 Roessler
Reference
Web Sites
Fractals: math, art,
& infinite possibilitues
Indras Pearls : math,
art, & infintie possibilities
Escher's endless gallery
view
Escher's Official Site
Simulation of the End of the
Cosmic Dark Age, by Gnedin of Colorado U
Cosmic Reionization:
the End of the Cosmic Dark Age, observation by Becker et al & by Djorgovski
et al, 2001
Dark
Energy Fills the Cosmos, LBL, Berkeley, 1999
Picture above: Veil Nebula, 2.5 kly away in the direction of the
Swan (Cygnus), remenats of supernovae 25 kyr ago
.
Nobel Prizes
Nobel Laureates in Physics
to
my.ucdavis.edu
to UCD Library Home
Books reserved for phy010B at Shields
to Patricia Schwarz's web, Superstring
to collection of superstring sites
to Cambridge U Superstring web
to Wright's Cosmology Tutorial
to Hubble Space Telescope Public
Pictures
to Astronomy Picture of the Day
to Imagine Site of NASA
to Home page of NASA
to site about geometry & fate
of the universe
to site of Particle Data Group
to Chau's Davis Honors
Challenge 2001 web
to Chau's Davis Honors Challenge 2002
web
List of 10C (C for constancy)
10C/C0: To begin with
10C/C1: G, Newton's law of
motion & universal law of gravity
10C/C2-4: c, Maxwell's eqs
for E&M; h, Planck's work; E=mc^2, Einstein's
special relativity
10C/C5-8: General Relativity; Quantum Physics;
Building Blocks of the Universe; Standard Model & Gauge Principle
10C/C9-10: Grand Unification
(GUT); The Theory of Everything (TOE)
Guidelines for study and for exam preparation
Class Activities
Cosmic
Microwave (CMB) Anisotropy
Simulation of the End of the
Cosmic Dark Age, by Gnedin of Colorado U
Cosmic Reionization:
the End of the Cosmic Dark Age, observation by Becker et al & by Djorgovski
et al, 2001
Class 20, 3/16/04, Final Exam Reminder;
Hightlights; & concluding matters
Class 19, 3/11/04, Announcemetnts &
Preview
Make-up Discussion Sessions & office
hr, Thu, 3/11/04; HW9, Comments & minor typos
Class 18, 3/9/04, preview; handing out
graded Quiz 3, etc.
Class 17, 3/4/03, Quiz 3
3/2/04
news, Water on Mars
Hint to HW8, SA8.2
Class 16, 3/2/04,
Highlights; Announcements
and Preview
Class 15, 2/26/04, Highlights;
a bonus challenge;
& Announcements & Preview
Blackhole in NGC613, 65 Mly away
Periodic Table from cs.ubc.ca web site
Wave Packet animations, Rochester U web site
Hints to HW7
Class 14, 2/24/05;
Highlights ; New Policies & Reminders;
Preview
particle
physics, SLAC, Stanford, CA
particle physics, CERN, European Center
particle
physics, Fermilab, IL
All about known matter: ParticleDataGroup educational
site
Class 13, 2/19/04:
Quiz2;
S4 of TB1:
Building Blocks of the U
Futherest
object (a galaxy, 13 Gyr away, Z~7) observed through gravitational
lensing, by Richard Ellis at al.
Futherest object, from Astro-picture-of-the-day
Class 12, 2/17/04:
Spactime & Gravity; Review for Quiz2
Class 11, 2/12/04; Reminder of Quiz 2
Hulse & Taylor: new type of pulsar & gravitational
radiation
Rubbia & van der Meer: discovering force particles
(W & Z) of electroweak force, adding to the photon
Glashow, Salam, & Weinberg: electroweak theory
Yang & Lee: parity violation; Yang & Mills:
gauge symmetry
Penzias & Wilson: discovering cosmic microwave
background
Bethe: explaination of star energy
Pauli, 1945 Nobel Prize: exclusion principle; quantum physics; proposed
neutirno
Davisson & Thomson, 1927 Nobel Prize, showed the
wave property of electron in the 1920'
Schroedinger's wave eq. for partivles in 1926
& Dirac's anti-matter in 1928 & 1930, etc. 1933 Nobel Prize.
De Broglie, Nobel Prize 1929: theoretical discovery of wave properties
of particles in 192
Heisenberg: uncertainty relations, etc.
Einstein: photo electric effect, special &
general relativity, Brownian motion, etc.
Michelson & Morley: Observing constant c,
indepent of motions of an observer
J.J. Thomson, 1906 Nobel Prize: Discovered electron in 1897
Lorentz of the Lorentz transformation, a forerunner
of Einstein and his special relativity
Class 10, 2/10/04,
Beginning
of 10C list; Comments & hints about SA5.2 of HW5
Class 9,
2/8/04
Class 8,
2/3/04
Class 7, 1/29/04,
Quiz 1
Class 6,
1/27/04
Class 5,
1/22/04
Class
4, 1/20/04
MSNBC: Symphony of Everything
Class
3, 1/15/04
The Ptolemy Univers
Ptolemy, Copernicus, Brahe, Kepler,
Galileo, Newton
Class 2, 1/13/04
1 L = 10^-3 m^3 = 10^3 cm^3, also
see a web about liter
Class 1, 1/8/04
Useful web site on units: site
of Rowlett at U of N Carolina
Useful web site on fundamental
constants: site of Particle Data Group
Useful web site on latest estimate
of age of the universe
Units confusion bunrt the $125M Mars
Polar Lander
Directives:
See Syllabus
Further Guidelines for Homework
Important e-mails
e1,1/3/04: Welcome, Mars,
& No 1/7/04 discussion meetings
e2, 1/8/04: After-class web update; Careful reading
of Syllabus due to complete by 1/13/04
e3, 1/9/04: Class web address modified;
Bonus pts for during-class conributions
Copyright
c 2004 by Professor Ling-Lie Chau. Copyrights
reserved for all original material presented in
this course. Request for permission or further information
should be addressed to Professor Ling-Lie Chau.
