PHYS 113: Contemporary Physics I
Welcome to Contemporary Physics I. This is a fairly unusual introductory Physics class. We will cover everything from relativity to classical mechanics to the Standard Model of Particle physics (although not in that order). We'll do programming, pen-and-paper problems, and lots of thought experiments. Please ask lots of questions, and by all means get in touch with me if you have any questions or concerns.
[Course Information] [Announcements] [Material and Links]

Course Information

A complete discussion of course policies can be found in the
course syllabus (Current Version: 9/5/12).

Instructor:
Prof. Dave Goldberg (goldberg@drexel.edu)
Office: Disque Hall Room 810
Phone: x2715
Office Hours: MW (11-12), F (1-2), or by appointment in advance

Teaching Assistant:
Ms. Kelly Douglass (kad347@drexel.edu)
Office: Disque Hall 808
Office Hours: T, Th, 1:30-2:30

Lecture: MWF 12-1. Randell 329

Recitation: W2-4 (Sec. 1), W4-6 (Sec. 2). Disque 704.

Textbook: Matter and Interaction by Chabay and Sherwood, 3rd Edition. Volume 1, Volume 2.
We will only be using the first volume this term, but I strongly recommend getting both at once, and doing so as cheaply as possible. Both volumes will be needed for the 3 term sequence.

Announcements

  • 10/19/12: The Midterm Exam will be given on October 29 during class time. Be sure to bring your calculator to the exam.
  • 10/19/12: Notes on Special Relativity
  • 11/12/12: Midterm Solution
  • 11/14/12: In class, we talked about how electrons can be sent through a double slit apparatus one at a time and still produce wave-like patterns. Here is the result of such an experiment, conducted by Akira Tonomura of Hitachi:
  • 12/3/12: The Final Exam will be given on Wednesday, December 12 from 8am-10am in Stratton 101. I apologize for the timing, but I have no say in the matter. If you have concerns about your performance, please see me before the exam. We can go over your current grade, and make sure you understand everything going in.
  • 12/5/2012: We will have a review session on Monday, December 10, from 2pm-4pm in Disque 919. Please bring all of your exam-oriented questions.
  • 12/12/12: Final Exam Solution Key

Materials and Links

Links

Homework Assignments

25%
Homework will be distributed on Mondays and will be due the next Monday. A 10% penalty will be given for each day of lateness. The lowest homework will be dropped from your final average.

Recitation Assignments

10%
Recitations will be distributed during recitation sections and will be due via email to Kelly (kad347@drexel.edu) by the end of the next recitation section. The first 30 minutes to an hour of recitation sections will be devoted to homework and concept discussion. You are not to work on your recitation assignments during the theoretical discussion.

  • Recitation #1 (9/26/2012) - Introduction to VPython and Shapes.
  • Recitation #2 (10/3/2012) - Projectile Motion
    You will need this starter program: prog2_starter.py
  • Recitation #3 (10/10/2012) - The 2-Body Problem
    For Fun: Just to see what it looks like, here is a code that simulates gravity in higher or lower dimensions. Enter the number of dimensions when prompted (up to 4 works fine, and you can put in non-integers), and the speed as a fraction of a circular orbit (1 should give you a circular orbit in all dimensions).
  • Recitation #4 (10/17/2012) - Modeling solids.
  • Recitation #5 (10/24/2012)
  • Recitation #6 (10/31/2012) - 3 Body Scattering.
    - Energy Starter: prog6_starter.py
  • Rube Goldberg Contest - Due the last recitation of term. Have fun!