Physics 262 Syllabus

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Please read the assigned sections of the book before each lecture

* Jan. 21 Tu Frist Day of Spring Semester
1 Jan. 22 W Ch. 17:17.1-17.4
2 Jan. 27 M Ch. 17:17.5-17.7
* Jan. 28 Tu (EOB) Last day to add
3 Jan. 29 W Ch. 18:18.1-18.4
4 Feb. 3 M Ch. 18:18.5-18.6 and Ch. 19:19.1
5 Feb. 5 W Ch. 19:19.2-19.5
6 Feb. 10 M Ch. 19:19.6-19.8 and Ch. 20:20.1
* Feb. 11  Tu Last Day to Drop (50 % refund)
7 Feb. 12 W Ch. 20:20.2-20.5
8 Feb. 17 M Ch. 20:20.6-20.8
9 Feb. 19 W Ch. 33:33.1-33.2
10 Feb. 24 M Exam #1 (Ch.17 - Ch. 20)
* Feb. 25  Tu Unrestricted Withdrawal End
11 Feb. 26 W Ch. 33:33.3-33.5
12 Mar. 3 M Ch. 33:33.5-33.7 and Ch. 34:34.1-34.2
* Mar. 5W Midterm reporting available
13 Mar. 5 W Ch. 34:34.2-34.3
* Mar. 10 - 16 Spring Recess
14 Mar. 17 M Ch. 34:34.4-34.8 (Optical Instruments will only be covered briefly in lecture.)
15 Mar. 19 W Ch. 35:35.1-35.2
16 Mar. 24 M Ch. 35:35.3-35.5
17 Mar. 26 W Ch. 36:36.1-36.4
18 Mar. 31 M Ch. 36:36.5-36.8
19 Apr. 2 W Ch. 37:37.1-37.2
20 Apr. 7 M Exam #2 (Ch. 33 - Ch.36)
* Note A very good book on the physics of spacetime by Brian Green, a physics professor from Columbia University is The Fabric of the Cosmos: Space, Time, and the Texture of Reality (Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., 2005). This is a very enjoyable supplemental reading taking you beyond what we are covering in class.
21 Apr. 9 W Ch. 37:37.3-37.4
22 Apr. 14 M Ch. 37:37.5-37.7
23 Apr. 16 W Ch. 37:37.7-37.9
24 Apr. 21 M Ch. 38:38.1-38.3
25 Apr. 23 W Ch. 38:38.4 and Ch. 39:39.1-39.3
* Note A very readable book on the frontier of modern physics by one of our GMU physics faculty is available: Robert Oerter, The Theory of Almost Everything: The Standard Model, the Unsung Triumph of Modern Physics (Pi Press, 2005). This is a good supplemental reading if you want to learn more about quarks, QED, Feynman diagrams, and strings.
* Note For the remaining three classes, we will go through Chapters 40-41 with less details. It is meant to be an overview on some special topics in modern physics.
26 Apr. 28 M Ch. 39:39.3-39.5
27 Apr. 30 W Ch. 39:39.5-39.6 and Ch. 40:40.1
28 May 5 M Ch. 40:40.2-40.5 and Ch. 41:41.1- 41.6
29 May 6 Tu Tenative Review day
30 May 7 W Final Exam (1:30-4:15p)