| HPS 0410 | Einstein for Everyone | Fall 2008 |
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Revision: August 20, 2008
| Week | Lecture Date | Recitation Date | Lecture Topic | Assignment Due | Test |
| 1 | Mon. Aug. 25 | Introduction: the questions. | |||
| Mon. Aug. 25 Tues. Aug. 26 Wed. Aug. 27 |
1. The Wild and the Wonderful | ||||
| Wed. Aug. 27 | Special relativity: the basics. | ||||
| 2 | Mon. Sep. 1 | Mon. Sep. 1 What about my assignment? |
Labor Day. University closed. | ||
| Tues. Sep. 2 Wed. Sep. 3 |
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| Wed. Sep. 3 | Special relativity: the basics. | ||||
| Fri. Sep. 5.Add/drop ends | |||||
| 3 | Mon. Sep. 8 |
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| Mon. Sep. 8 Tues. Sep. 9 Wed. Sep. 10 |
3. Relativity of Simultaneity | ||||
| Wed. Sep. 10 | E=mc2 | ||||
| 4 | Mon. Sep. 15 | Origins of special relativity | |||
| Mon. Sep 15 Tues. Sep. 16 Wed. Sep. 17 |
4. Energy, Mass and Adding Velocities | ||||
| Wed. Sep. 17 | Origins of special relativity | Test 1 | |||
| 5 | Mon. Sep. 22 | Spacetime | |||
| Mon. Sep. 22 Tues. Sep. 23 Wed. Sep. 24 |
5. Origins of Special Relativity | ||||
| Wed. Sep. 24 | |||||
| 6 | Mon. Sep 29 | What is a four
dimensional space like? Philosophical significance of relativity |
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| Mon. Sep. 29 Tues. Sep. 30 Wed. Oct. 1 |
6. Spacetime | ||||
| Wed. Oct. 1 | Philosophical significance of relativity | Test 2 | |||
| 7 | Mon. Oct. 6 | ||||
| Mon. Oct. 6 Tues. Oct. 7 Wed. Oct. 8 |
7. Philosophical Significance | ||||
| Wed. Oct. 8 | |||||
| 8 | Mon. Oct. 13 | Monday classes rescheduled to Tuesday. Tuesday classes cancelled. What about my assignment? | |||
| Tues. Oct 14 | Non-Euclidean geometry | ||||
| Mon. Oct. 13 class meets on Tues Oct. 14 Wed. Oct. 15 |
8. Non-Euclidean Geometry | ||||
| Wed. Oct. 15. | General relativity | Test 3 | |||
| 9 | Mon. Oct. 20 | General relativity | |||
| Mon. Oct. 20 Tues. Oct. 21 Wed. Oct. 22 |
9. Curvature | ||||
| Wed. Oct. 22 | |||||
| 10 | Mon. Oct. 27 | Relativistic cosmology | |||
| Mon. Oct. 27 Tues. Oct. 28 Wed. Oct. 29 |
10. General Relativity | ||||
| Wed. Oct. 29 | Relativistic cosmology | Test 4 | |||
| 11 | Mon. Nov. 3 | Big bang cosmology | |||
| Mon. Nov. 3 Tues. Nov. 4 Wed. Nov. 5 |
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| Wed. Nov. 5 | Big bang cosmology/ Black holes |
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| 12 | Mon. Nov. 10 | Black holes | |||
| Mon. Nov. 10 Tues. Nov. 11 Wed. Nov. 12 Term paper topic submitted |
12. Big Bang Cosmology | ||||
| Wed. Nov. 12 | A Better Picture of Black Holes | Test 5 | |||
| 13 | Mon. Nov. 17 | A Better Picture of Black Holes | |||
| Mon. Nov. 17 Tues. Nov. 18 Wed. Nov. 19 |
13. Black Holes | ||||
| Wed. Nov. 19 | Origins of Quantum Theory | ||||
| 14 | Mon. Nov. 24 | Origins of Quantum Theory/Problems of Quantum Theory | |||
| Mon. Nov. 24 Tues. Nov. 25 Mon. Dec. 1 |
14. Origins of Quantum Theory | ||||
| Wed. Nov. 26 | Wed. Nov. 26 What about my assignment? |
Thanksgiving Recess | |||
| 15 | Mon. Dec. 1 | Origins of Quantum Theory | |||
| Mon. Dec. 1 Tues. Dec. 2 Wed. Dec. 3 |
15. Problems of Quantum Theory | ||||
| Wed. Dec. 3 | Term paper due | Origins of Quantum Theory | Test 6 |
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