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Home » Topics, Pre-lecture Readings, and Assorted Miscellany for PHYS 1011 – 2021

Topics, Pre-lecture Readings, and Assorted Miscellany for PHYS 1011 – 2021

“The last clause of your second Position I like very well. Tis unconceivable that inanimate brute matter should (without the mediation of something else which is not material) operate upon & affect other matter without mutual contact; as it must if gravitation in the sense of Epicurus be essential & inherent in it. And this is one reason why I desired you would not ascribe {innate} gravity to me. That gravity should be innate inherent & {essential} to matter so that one body may act upon another at a distance through a vacuum without the mediation of any thing else by & through which their action or force {may} be conveyed from one to another is to me so great an absurdity that I beleive no man who has in philosophical matters any competent faculty of thinking can ever fall into it. Gravity must be caused by an agent {acting} consta{ntl}y according to certain laws, but whether this agent be material or immaterial is a question I have left to the consideration of my readers.”

From a letter written by Isaac Newton to Richard Bentley (February 25, 1692/93) where his disdain for “instantaneous action-at-a-distance” is clearly expressed.


Completely random stuff


Lectures and Tutorials

All chapter section numbers are from University Physics – Volume 1.
Simulations are from the University of Colorado’s PhET project.

Noether’s Equation: Symmetries imply that certain quantities are conserved, according to Noether’s theorem. The equation above expresses that concept: The quantity in the parentheses doesn’t change over time. (E. Otwell)

  • Tutorial 2 – Thursday, September 16 (13:30)
  • Topics: CERN talk on “Testing Fundamental Physics with Antihydrogen”

A page from Galileo’s diary depicting trajectories of a projectile with different initial velocities.

  • Tutorial 3 – Thursday, September 23 (13:30): practice problems
  • Lecture 8 – Friday, September 24 (12:30)
  • Topics: Uniform Circular Motion, Orbital Motion
  • Readings: 4.4, 7.1
  • PhET SimulationGravity and Orbits

The ALPHA antihydrogen trap.
  • Tutorial 4 – Thursday, September 30 (13:30): practice problems
  • Lecture 11 – Friday, October 1 (12:30)
  • Topics: Ideal Spring, Potential Curves, (Anti)atom Trapping, Conservative VS Non-conservative Forces
  • Readings: 5.1 (Beginning of Development of the Force Concept section), 5.6 (Spring Force section after Tension ), 7.1 (end of this chapter, Figure 7.7), 8.1 (Elastic potential energy and Gravitational and elastic potential energy), 8.4, 8.2
  • PhET SimulationHooke’s Law
  • Miscellaneous Related Stuff

  • Tutorial 5 – Thursday, October 7 (13:30): practice problems
  • Fall Reading Week – October 11 – 15
Cerenkov radiation due to spent nuclear fuel rods in water
  • Tutorial 6 – Thursday, October 21 (13:30): practice problems
  • Lecture 17 – Friday, October 22 (12:30)
  • Topics: Normal Modes of a Standing Sound Wave
  • Readings: 17.4
  • Lecture 18 – Monday, October 25 (12:30)
  • Topics: Systems of Particles, Centre-of-Mass
  • Readings: 9.6 (up to Center of Mass and Conservation of Momentum)
  • Miscellaneous Related Stuff
  • Test #1 – Wednesday, November (12:30)
  • Lecture 22 – Friday, November 5 (12:30)
  • Topics: Moments of Inertia, Parallel-axis Theorem, Rolling Motion
  • Readings: 10.5, 10.4, 11.1
  • Miscellaneous Related Stuff

Chandelier in Pisa Cathedral. Photo by Katarina Jankovic.
  • Tutorial 8 – Thursday, November 11 (13:30)

  • Tutorial 9 – Thursday, November 18 (13:30)

  • Tutorial 10 – Thursday, November 25 (13:30): problem solving

  • Lecture 32 – Monday, November 29 (12:30)
  • Topics: Review for Test #2
  • Test #2 – Wednesday, December 1 (12:30)