PHYS 225 :: Physics Illinois :: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Schedule

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Please note: readings are to be done prior to lecture on the day they are assigned!

Week Date Lecture Discussion Homework
and Readings
Exam
1
Monday
8/21/2023
       
Tuesday
8/22/2023
Week 1, Lecture 1:
Welcome and Introduction to Special Relativity


 
 Morin: 1.1-1.2,
Appendix F 6.6.1-6.6.3
Notes on velocity
addition formula
 
Wednesday
8/23/2023
Office Hours 1:30pm-3:30pm Loomis 276
Thursday
8/24/2023
    HW 1 assigned  
Friday
8/25/2023
  Discussion 1
(solutions)
   
2
Monday
8/28/2023
       
Tuesday
8/29/2023
Week 2, Lecture 2:
The Three Fundamental Effects of Relativity


 
Morin: 1.3-1.4  
Wednesday
8/30/2023
Office Hours 12:30pm-3:30pm Loomis 276
Thursday
8/31/2023
    HW 1 due
(HW 1 solutions)
HW 2 assigned
 
Friday
9/1/2023
  Discussion 2
(solutions)
   
3
Monday
9/4/2023
Labor Day Holiday      
Tuesday
9/5/2023
Week 3, Lecture 3:  
Vectors, Matrices, and Linear Transformations


 
(Shankar: 8.1)  
Wednesday
9/6/2023
Office Hours 12:30pm-3:30pm Loomis 276
Thursday
9/7/2023
   

HW 2 due
(HW 2 solutions)
HW 3 assigned

 
Friday
9/8/2023
  Discussion 3
(solutions)
   
4
Monday
9/11/2023
     
 
Tuesday
9/12/2023
Week 4, Lecture 4:  
Derivation of Lorentz Transformations
  Morin: 2.1.3, 
Appendix D
 
Wednesday
9/13/2023
Office Hours 12:30pm-3:30pm Loomis 276
Thursday
9/14/2023
    HW 3 due
(HW 3 solutions)
HW 4 assigned
 
Friday
9/15/2023
  Discussion 4
(solutions)
   
5
Monday
9/18/2023
       
Tuesday
9/19/2023
Week 5, Lecure 5:  
Matrix Multiplication and Taylor Series


 
Morin: 2.2,
Appendix G,
(2.7)

 
Wednesday
9/20/2023
Office Hours 12:30pm-3:30pm Loomis 276
Thursday
9/21/2023
   

HW 4 due
(HW 4 solutions)
HW 5 assigned

 
Friday
9/22/2023
  Discussion 5
(solutions)
   
6
Monday
9/25/2023
       
Tuesday
9/26/2023
Week 6, Lecture 6:
Symmetries and Group Theory


 
(Shankar: 8.2 - 8.4)  
Wednesday
9/27/2023
Office Hours 12:30pm-3:30pm Loomis 276
Thursday
9/28/2023
    HW 5 due
(HW 5 solutions)
HW 6 assigned
 
Friday
9/29/2023
  Discussion 6
(solutions)
   
7
Monday
10/2/2023
       
Tuesday
10/3/2023
Week 7, Lecture 7:  
Invariant Interval and Spacetime Metric


 
Morin: 2.3-2.4 Midterm practice
(solutions)
Wednesday
10/4/2023
Office Hours 12:30pm-3:30pm Loomis 276
Thursday
10/5/2023
    HW 6 due
(HW 6 solutions)
HW 7 assigned
 
Friday
10/6/2023
  Discussion 7
(solutions)
   
8
Monday
10/9/2023
   

HW 7 due
(HW 7 solutions)
(note Monday
due date!)

Midterm Exam
In-Lecture
Tuesday
10/10/2023
No Lecture -- Midterm Exam    
Wednesday
10/11/2023
Office Hours 12:30pm-3:30pm Loomis 276
Thursday
10/12/2023
   

 

Friday
10/13/2023
No discussion this week    
9
Monday
10/16/2023
Tuesday
10/17/2023
Week 9, Lecture 8:  
Relativistic Energy, Momentum, and Force;
Separation of Variables in 1D

 
Morin: 3.1, 3.5.1
(Shankar: 10.3)
 
Wednesday
10/18/2023
Office Hours 12:30pm-3:30pm Loomis 276
Thursday
10/19/2023
    HW 8 assigned
Bonus assignment
(due on day of final)
 
Friday
10/20/2023
  Discussion 8
(solutions)
   
10
Monday
10/23/2023
       
Tuesday
10/24/2023
Week 10, Lecture 9:  
Relativistic Force in 2D; Vector Fields,
Curvilinear Coordinates, and 
Vector Differential Operators


 
Morin 3.5.2
(Shankar: 7.1-7.3,
7.5-7.8)
 
Wednesday
10/25/2023
Office Hours 12:30pm-3:30pm Loomis 276
Thursday
10/26/2023
    HW 8 due
(HW 8 solutions)
HW 9 assigned
 
 
Friday
10/27/2023
  Discussion 9
(solutions)
   
11
Monday
10/30/2023
       
Tuesday
10/31/2023
Week 11, Lecture 10:  
4-vector Manipulation, Doppler Effect


 
 
Morin: 4.1-4.3, 2.5  
Wednesday
11/1/2023
Office Hours 12:30pm-3:30pm Loomis 276
Thursday
11/2/2023
    HW 9 due
(HW 9 solutions)
HW 10 assigned
 
Friday
11/3/2023
  Discussion 10
(solutions)
   
12
Monday
11/6/2023
       
Tuesday
11/7/2023
Week 12, Lecture 11:  
Relativistic Kinematics and Natural Units
  Morin: 3.3-3.4, 4.4  
Wednesday
11/8/2023
Office Hours 12:30pm-3:30pm Loomis 276
Thursday
11/9/2023
    HW 10 due
(HW 10 solutions)
HW 11 assigned
 
Friday
11/10/2023
  Discussion 11
(solutions)
   
13
Monday
11/13/2023
       
Tuesday
11/14/2023
Week 13, Lecture 12:
Line and Surface Integrals, Stokes' Theorem,
Differential Forms of Maxwell's Equations


 
(Shankar: 7.4, 7.9,
7.11)
Index notation review

 
Wednesday
11/15/2023
Office Hours 12:30pm-3:30pm Loomis 276
Thursday
11/16/2023
    HW 11 due
(HW 11 solutions)
HW 12 assigned
 
Friday
11/17/2023
  Discussion 12
(solutions)
   
14
Monday
11/20/2023
Fall break, no class      
Tuesday
11/21/2023
Fall break, no class      
Wednesday
11/22/2023
Fall break, no class      
Thursday
11/23/2023
Fall break, no class      
Friday
11/24/2023
Fall break, no class      
15
Monday
11/27/2023
       
Tuesday
11/28/2023
Week 15, Lecture 13:  
Complex Numbers and Fourier Transforms


 
(Shankar: Ch. 5)  
Wednesday
11/29/2023
Office Hours 12:30pm-3:30pm Loomis 276
Thursday
11/30/2023
    HW 12 due
(HW 12 solutions)
HW 13 assigned
 
Friday
12/1/2023
  Discussion 13
(solutions)
   
16
Monday
12/4/2023
       
Tuesday
12/5/2023
Week 16, Lecture 14:  
Wave Equation from Maxwell's Equations
  (Shankar: 7.11,
Einstein 1905 paper)
 
Wednesday
12/6/2023
Office Hours 12:30pm-3:30pm Loomis 276 HW 13 due
(HW 13 solutions)
(note Wednesday
due date!)
 
Thursday
12/7/2023
 
Friday
12/8/2023
Reading Day -- No discussion    
 
17
Monday
12/11/2023
     

Final Exam

Tuesday
12/12/2023
 

 
Bonus assignment
due
Formula sheet
Final practice problems
Wednesday
12/13/2023

Final Exam

1:30 - 4:30 pm

Room 0035 

Campus Instructional Facility

   
Thursday
12/14/2023
     
Friday
12/15/2023