Physics 2005 Summer C term 2009
Instructor: G.R.Boyd
preferred email: grboyd2005@gmail.com
otherwise boyd@phys.ufl.edu
office: NPB 2153
course hours: M W F 2nd period = 930am to 1030am NPB 1002
office hours: right after class. usually in the ’couch’ rooms down the hall
from my office.
help in general:
i have two jobs here, teaching and research. In general, i’m always available
to help students if you set up a time. I have to take care of both those
responsibilities, but don’t hesitate to find me for anything.
textbook ’technical physics’
what can you actually learn from this class?
This is a physics class for nonphysics majors, to state the obvious. There
are several things I hope you can take away from this class. First, this is the
second term in a year-long sequence where you learn about the physical world
–this term focuses on electromagnetism. That’s great! Much of the technology you are surrounded by and rely on depends intimately on mankind’s
knowledge of this physics. Understanding these aspects of the world around
you is the first thing you can learn, i hope you can look at the rainbow in a
CD’s reflection and experience the world around you one layer deeper than
you have before. What is probably far more useful to learn from this class
is: how to cope with frustrating problems, learning to master a technical
subject, and learning some critical reasoning skills. Instead of banging your
head against the wall and leaving frustrated, you have a chance to react differently to the puzzles physics-problems pose, just as you might react to any
difficult circumstance. If we are expected to grow as people in college, then
you form new habits: I hope you can take this course as an opportunity to
really get something meaningful out of college.
grades:
Im going to give a weekly quiz, homework, several exams, and a final.
The final grade is determined by a plot where one axis is weekly work
quizzes/homework, and another is exams. Homework will be due a week
after it is assigned. One homework at the end of the course (chapters 29-31)
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is to write a brief report on some current interesting modern physics. Late
homework is never accepted under any circumstances since you have a week
to do it. The percentages will be announced later once i have an understanding of how the class is performing. I hope that if you show up and do all the
work, i think you are guaranteed a C.
A – you are in command of the material, have mastered all the skills, and
able to go beyond cases presented to you
B – you have mastered the cases presented to you, but new circumstances
are probably uncomfortable
C – you can do some work, have mastered most topics, but make mistakes
sometimes also
D – you showed up, worked, but havent understood the material completely.
are able to some kinds of problems and not others.
F – your attendance was poor, you’ve mastered less than half of the topics
we covered, if you cheat you fail
HITT I would like to use the HITT system for attendance mainly
absences, tragedies, bad days, and days you just dont feel like attending:
I will drop the lowest quiz for everyone to help absorb the shocks of life. Your
job as a student (and someone paying tuition) is to show up and complete
all the work, so attendance is a big part of that. If you absolutely must miss
an exam, please talk to me well in advance of the actual exam. If for some
reason a last minute emergency prevents you from attending an exam, then
i count the final extra since it’s cumulative, but only for well-documented
excuses. The default policy is that if you have an absence for any reason,
that’s your free drop.
make up anything:
the policy on making up anything is that you get a different assignment to
prevent the possibility of cheating. it might be harder, it might be the same
level of difficultly, but it’s definitely going to be different. If all goes well you
wont need to make up anything since you attended all classes or used your
’1-freebee’
Academic Honesty:
Students are reminded that they are to abide by the Honor Code of the University of Florida. Dishonesty in any form will not be tolerated; cheating
during an exam or quiz will result in failure for the entire course.
books which could enrich this course:
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Understanding Physics – Isaac Asimov (readable down to earth physics)
A brief history of time –S.Hawking (a now classic about modern physics and
our universe as we know it)
How Things Work – Louis A. Bloomfield (im looking to replace a book i used
to look at as a child ’how things work’ Roger Jean Segalat )
i’d like to mention a philosophy of science and epistemology book, but i
dont have a specific one. You shouldnt leave your physicsperience without
understanding what makes truth true, and why ph.d. stands for doctor of
philosophy. two ideas are: Philosophy of Science: A Very Short Introduction
by Samir Okasha, and think by simon blackburn. If you want to go deeper,
plato’s Theaetetus is a good place to start. Will Durant and Bertrand Russell have both written histories of western philosophy which would contain
parts relevant to physics.
other more technical books:
Feynman Lectures on Physics -R.Feynman (at a higher level than this course,
but a wonderful overview by a nobel laureate)
General Chemistry –Linus Pauling (it’s chemistry, but overlaps with us, again
very good and by a nobel laureate)
any general physics text, like ’halliday and resnick’, or one used for any other
survey course.
Schedule: (This is tentative)
Week of May 11
Chapter 19 force fields: (vectors, electrostatics)
Week of May 18
Chapter end of 19, 20 (more electrostatics)
Week of May 25
memorial day
Chapter 20/21, what’s in electronics: circuits elements (R,C, etc.)
Week of June 1
Chapter 21 circuits that dont change in time
EXAM 1 JUNE 5th, chapters 19-21
G.B. in hong kong, june 6-12, substitute prof.
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Week of June 8
Chapter 22 magnetism
Week of June 15
Chapter 23/24 flux/lenz’z law/ RLC circuits /circuits that change in time
dont skip june 19th, ill probably have a circuits quiz
June 20-28, summer A/B gap
Week of June 29
Chapter 25/26 light, begin optics: mirrors
Week of July 6
Chapter 27/28 more optics: lenses, glasses, telescopes, microscopes
Week of July 13
Chapter 28 optics: interference, double-slit, oil slicks, and the structure of
crystals
EXAM 2 JULY 20th, chapters 19-21 Week of July 20
Chapter 29/30 ATOMIC PHYSICS: boom!
Week of July 27
Chapter 31 and supplementary material: nuclear physics, particle physics,
astrophysics and cosmology
G.B. in UCSB 2-15 Aug. FINAL EXAM AND REVIEW GIVEN
BY SUBSTITUTE
FINAL AUGUST 5th IN CLASS CHAPTERS 19-28
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