PHYS 311 class diary

Lecture 1, Sep 3
Handed out course description. Discussed MAPLE, Mathcad, and other computer programs. Introduced SI units and dimensions. Assigned reading: notes, 1.1 to 1.4; PQRG, Chs. 1 and 2. Assignment 1 due Thursday Sep 10.
Lecture 2, Sep 8
Dimensions, dimensional homogeneity, and independent dimensions. Examples: the frequency of a simple pendulum, not restricted to small amplitudes, and of a physical pendulum; oscillations of a water drop and of a star. Collected student inputs on course.
Problem session 1
Hands-on instruction on using MAPLE, especially for plotting and animations.
Lecture 3, Sep 10
Dispersion relation for water waves, obtained by dimensional analysis for long waves (gravity waves) and short waves (capillary waves); how to guess the result at intermediate wavelengths (around 5 cm). Review of waves, dispersion relation, phase velocity and group velocity: water waves in deep and shallow water; sound waves; seismic waves, both bulk and surface (Rayleigh waves); electromagnetic waves; matter waves (quantum mechanical), magnetohydrodynamic waves (helicons or whistlers). Assignment 2, due Sep 17.
Problem session 2
Solutions of homework 1. Using MAPLE's package ODEplot to solve numerically the pendulum's equation of motion and plot the result.
Lecture 4, Sep 15
Computing the period of a pendulum, see 311/problems/hw2/solve2.html. Fick's law and diffusion, see the beginning of 311/notes/dimension/node8.html (Solution of the diffusion equation).
Dimensional analysis and handwaving arguments: Black holes and the Schwarzschild radius, the Compton wavelength, the Planck length.
Lecture 5, Sep 17
Heat diffusion equation in one dimension. See more of 311/notes/dimension/node8.html. Diffusion as a random walk, demonstrated by motion of steel balls. The gaussian distribution.
Atomic units, the Bohr atom, the fine structure constant. See notes/units/node2.html (Atomic units). Assignment 3, due Sep 24.
Problem session 3
Solutions of homework 2. Using MAPLE for animations.
Lecture 6, Sep 22
Heat conductivity, resistivity, conductance, resistance, R-value. Specific heats.
Currents and the continuity equation in 3-d; the divergence operator.
Astronomical units. Units of pressure.
Finished with Ch. 1 of the notes (Dimensional analysis and units), except for nuclear blast.
Lecture 7, Sep 24
General description of fluids (liquids and gases) and solids. Phase diagrams. The liquid-gas transition and the critical point. Assignment 4, due Oct 1.
Problem session 4
Solutions of homework 3. Using gradplot in MAPLE.
Lecture 8, Sep 29
The continuity equation and the divergence operator. Vorticity and the curl operator. Example: a vortex line.
Lecture 9, Oct 1
The Euler equation. The Bernoulli equation and the equation for vorticity. Pledged assignment (homework 5), due Oct 15.
Problem session 5
Solutions of homework 4. Using fieldplot in MAPLE.
Lecture 10, Oct 6
Incompressible flow around a cylinder, in detail: can be viewed as superposition of a uniform flow and a dipolar flow.
Lecture 11, Oct 8
Incompressible flow around a sphere, results only. Viscosity. First coefficient of viscosity (shear viscosity) and second coefficient (bulk viscosity). The Navier-Stokes equation, just written down. Assignment 6, due Oct 22.
Lecture 12, Oct 15
(Given by Acar Isin) The Venturi effect. The Pitot tube. Flow meters. Reference: Handbook of Modern Sensors, by J. Fraden.
Lecture 13, Oct 20
Poiseuille flow. Stokes' law for a sphere and a cylinder moving in a viscous fluid.
Lecture 14, Oct 22
Drag coefficient for a cylinder. Skin friction drag. Impact drag. Assignment 7, due Oct 29.
Problem session 6
Solutions of homework 5 (pledged).
Lecture 15, Oct 27
Magnus force on a rotating cylinder. Lift.
Lecture 16, Oct 29
Induced drag. Flight dynamics. Notes on Aerodynamics finished with this lecture.
Assignment 8, due Nov 5.
Problem session 7
Solutions of homework 6.
Lecture 17, Nov 3
Mechanical properties of solids. Introduction. References for lectures 17 to 23: Notes and Feynman lectures.
Lecture 18, Nov 5
Elasticity. Elastic moduli. Assignment 9, due Nov 12.
Problem session 8
Solutions of homework 7.
Lecture 19, Nov 10
Strains and stresses in general. Tensors.
Lecture 20, Nov 12
Plastic flow in solids. Dislocations. Epitaxial dislocations. Demo: the Frenkel - Kontorowa model. Assignment 10, pledged, due Nov 24.
Problem session 9
Solutions of homework 8.
Lecture 21, Nov 17
Elastic waves in the bulk, in rods, and in strings.
Lecture 22, Nov 19
Bending of a beam or rod. The cantilever and the beam supported at both ends.
Problem session 10
Solutions of homework 9.
Lecture 23, Nov 24
Waves in a beam under tension or compression. The buckling instability. Buckling.
Problem session 11
Solutions of homework 10 (pledged).
Lecture 24, Dec 1
The logistic equation. Iterative maps. The period-doubling route to chaos. Reference: http://www.cmp.caltech.edu/~mcc/chaos_new/Map_docs/tutorial.html
Assignment 11, due Dec 15.
Lecture 25, Dec 3
Class presentation. Course evaluations.
Problem session 11
Demos of chaotic motion.
Lecture 26, Dec 8
Class presentations
Lecture 27, Dec 10
Class presentations

V. Celli
Thu Sep 17 15:21:23 EDT 1998