For greater detail, refer to syllabus. Please complete readings by the day listed.
| week | date | topic | reading | task |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tuesday, 28 August | Introduction | syllabus | |
| Part 1: Early Physics & Astronomy | ||||
| Thursday, 30 August | The physics of Aristotle | Cushing, 15-22 | ||
| 2 | Tuesday, 4 September | The modified geocentric theory of Ptolemy | Cushing, 43-58 | |
| Thursday, 6 September | The heliocentric theory of Copernicus | Cushing, 59-66 | Quiz 1; homework 1 essay due at 2p | |
| 3 | Tuesday, 11 September | The observations of Brahe | Barbour, The Discovery of Dynamics, 264-73 (Compass) | |
| Thursday, 13 September | Kepler's laws of celestial mechanics (Michael Weissman lectures) |
Cushing, 66-73 | Quiz 2; homework 2 essay due at 2p | |
| 4 | Tuesday, 18 September | Kepler & laws of nature generally | Gingerich, 'Kepler & the laws of nature' (Compass) |
|
| Thursday, 20 September | Galileo's observational evidence for Copernicus's heliocentric theory (Lauren Pearce lectures) |
Holton & Brush, Physics, the Human Adventure, 52-8 (Compass) |
Quiz 3; homework 3 essay due at 2p | |
| 5 | Tuesday, 25 September | Galileo's kinematics & dynamics | Cushing, 74-86 | |
| Part 2: The Development of Classical Mechanics | ||||
| Thursday, 27 September | The physics of Descartes | Buchdahl, Metaphysics and the Philosophy of Science, 79-180 (Compass) | Quiz 4; homework 4 essay due at 2p | |
| 6 | Tuesday, 2 October | Newton's physics in the Principia | Cushing, 89-113 | |
| Thursday, 4 October | Newton's optics: Newton’s rings & prismatic experimentation |
Cushing, 114-31 | Quiz 5; homework 5 essay due at 2p | |
| 7 | Tuesday, 9 October | The development of Newtonian particle mechanics, Lagrangian mechanics, & Hamiltonian mechanics | Cushing, 148-63 | |
| Part 3: The Development of Electrodynamics | ||||
| Thursday, 11 October | Electricity & magnetism to Volta | Cushing, 183-94 |
Quiz 6; homework 6 essay due at 2p | |
| 419: term paper topic approval by 15 October | ||||
| 8 | Tuesday, 16 October | The theoretical & experimental physics of Øersted, Faraday, & Ampère |
Whittaker, A History of the Theories of Aether & Electricity, v. 1, 81-9 & 170-97 (Compass) |
|
| Thursday, 18 October | Maxwell's field theory & modern electrodynamics |
Cushing, 195-207 | Quiz 7; homework 7 essay due at 2p | |
| 9 | Tuesday, 23 October | The problem of the arrow of electromagnetic radiation |
Price, Time's Arrow & Archimedes' Point, 49-77 (Compass) |
|
| Part 4: The Development of Thermodynamics & Statistical Mechanics | ||||
| Thursday, 25 October | Boltzmannian statistical mechanics | Albert, Time and Chance, 22-70 (Compass) |
Midterm exam: available 10a & due 1 November (Compass); Quiz 8; homework 8 essay due at 2p |
|
| 10 | Tuesday, 30 October | Entropy & the problem of the arrow of time | Price, 'On the origins of the arrow of time' (Compass) |
|
| Part 5: The Development of Special Relativity, General Relativity, & Modern Cosmology | ||||
| Thursday, 1 November | The history of special relativity | Cushing, 225-51 | Midterm exam due 10p (Compass); Quiz 9; homework 9 essay due at 2p |
|
| 11 | Tuesday, 6 November | Minkowskian STR & Lorentzian STR | Maudlin, 27-147 | |
| Thursday, 8 November | The general theory of relativity: Part 1 | Cushing, 252-62 | Quiz 10; homework 10 essay due at 2p | |
| 12 | Tuesday, 13 November | The general theory of relativity: Part 2 | Cushing, 262-70 | |
| Thursday, 15 November | The Road to ΛCDM | Primack, 'Historical introduction to ΛCDM cosmology (PDF); Primack, 'Introduction to cosmology' video |
Quiz 11; homework 11 essay due at 2p | |
| 419: rough draft due 16 November (11a on Compass) | ||||
| 13 | 20 & 22 November | Thanksgiving Break | ||
| Part 6: The Development of Quantum Mechanics & the Standard Model of Particle Physics | ||||
| 14 | Tuesday, 27 November | The old quantum theory | Cushing, 273-82 | |
| Thursday, 29 November | The transition to modern quantum mechanics | Cushing, 282-304 | Quiz 12; homework 12 essay due at 2p | |
| 15 | Tuesday, 4 December | The measurement problem in non-relativistic quantum mechanics |
Cushing, 305-15; Maudlin, 'Three measurement problems' (Compass) |
|
| Thursday, 6 December | Bell’s inequalities & non-locality | Maudlin, 6-26 & 148-204 | Quiz 13; homework 13 essay due at 2p | |
| 16 | Tuesday, 11 December | Quantum field theory & the Standard Model of particle physics |
Quigg, Gauge Theories of the Strong, Weak, & Electromagnetic Interactions, 1-18 (Compass) |
|
| Thursday, 13 December | Reading Day; 419: final term paper draft due (10p on Compass) |
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| Friday, 14 December | Final Exam, 8a–11a (in 136 Loomis) | |||