Space, Time and Matter
Course Description
Course Description
This module seeks to explore the importance of various key ideas in the history of physics by considering a selection of examples each semester as a means of examining the why's and how's of certain scientific revolutions. The theme underlying the choice of topics to be covered will be to explore the evolutionary aspect of scientific understanding which finds, sometimes only centuries later, inter-connections between seemingly unrelated ideas. The student should take away from this module a sense of the revolutionary nature and scientific importance of the ideas explored that semester, as well as the deep inter-connections which science establishes - 'Nature's Threads' as it were. The group of fundamental ideas to be explored this semester and that, surprisingly, turn out to be intimately connected are:
- The Unification of Electricity & Magnetism
- The Relativity of Simultaneity
The student will be encouraged to engage, especially at a conceptual level, in a critical analysis of the scientific importance of certain revolutionary ideas which have occurred in the long and evolving history of physics. The course attempts to give the student an appreciation of why such ideas are regarded as being of fundamental significance by scientists. Some tutorial sessions and group project assignments will give students the opportunity to undertake simple, hands on experiments. Students taking this module should by the end of the course gain some real, quantitative sense of what physics regards as important questions and why.
Primarily, this module is aimed at providing students with an insight into the nature of science, more specifically physics, as practised by scientists both past and present and some quantitative grasp of the crucial issues involved. It also seeks to trace the gradual evolution of certain key ideas and most importantly to explore the connections between them.
Schedule
Schedule
The module commences on Tuesday, 13th August 2019 at 12 noon sharp in USP-TR1. Thereafter, the schedule is as follows:
- Lectures: Tuesday 12 noon - 2.00 pm; Venue: USP-TR1
- Tutorials:
- Group 1: Thursday 12 noon - 2.00 pm; Venue: USP-TR1
- Group 2: Friday 12 noon - 2.00 pm; Venue: USP-TR1
Structure
Structure
WEEKS 1-7: The Unification of Electricity and Magnetism
Reading Assignments:
Week 1:
Faraday’s Experimental Researches in Electricity The First Series edited & annotated by Howard J. Fisher, Introduction p 1-8
Understanding Physics (QC23UND1993) Vol. II, Chapters 9 and 10
Tutorial 1
Week 2:
Faraday’s Experimental Researches in Electricity The First Series edited & annotated by Howard J. Fisher, Introduction p 9-16
Physics: Structure and Meaning (QC21PHY1992) Chapter 3 and Appendix 6
Tutorial 2
Week 3:
Physics: Structure and Meaning (QC21PHY1992) Chapter 17
On Action at a Distance from Scientific Papers of James Clerk Maxwell, vol. 2, LIV,p.311. (Proceedings of the Royal Institution of great Britain, vol. VII, 1876)
Tutorial 3
Week 4:
Understanding Physics (QC23UND1993) Vol. II, Chapter 11
Faraday’s Experimental Researches in Electricity The First Series edited & annotated by Howard J. Fisher, Introduction p 17-28
Michael Faraday and the Evolution of the Field Concept of the Electric and Magnetic Field, L. Pearce Williams; Nature, Vol 187 p 730-733 (1960)
Week 5:
Faraday’s Experimental Researches in Electricity The First Series edited & annotated by Howard J. Fisher, First Series p 29-50
Physics: Structure and Meaning (QC21PHY1992) Chapter 18 & 19
Understanding Physics (QC23UND1993) Vol. II, Chapter 12
Thoughts on Ray Vibrations by M. Faraday (accessible from Readings folder in the IVLE)
Week 6 & 7:
Physics: Structure and Meaning (QC21PHY1992) Chapter 20, 21
Understanding Physics (QC23UND1993) Vol. II, Chapter 13 & 14
Why is Maxwell's Theory so hard to understand? by F.J Dyson (accessible from Readings folder in the IVLE)
The Feynman Lectures on Physics by R.P. Feynman, Chapter 1 (Vol. II) - Electromagnetism &
Chapter 28 (Vol. I) – Electromagnetic Radiation (accessible from Readings folder in the IVLE)
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Useful Simulations:
- Electric Fields for Distributions of Point Charges
- Magnetic Field of a Bar Magnet
- Magnetic Field of a Straight Current Carrying Wire
- Lorentz Force
- Simple Electrical Motor
- Electromagnetic Oscillating Circuit
- Electromagnetic Wave
WEEKS 8-12: The Relativity of Simultaneity
Reading Assignments:
Week 8:
Understanding Physics (QC23UND1993) Vol. II, Chapter 1 and 5
Physics: Structure and Meaning (QC21PHY1992) Chapter 22
Tutorial 7
Week 9:
Understanding Physics (QC23UND1993) Vol. II, Chapter 6
Physics: Structure and Meaning (QC21PHY1992) Chapter 23
"Zur Elektrodynamik bewegter Korper"; extract from an English translation
from the original German of the first few pages Einstein's 1905 paper on special relativity
“Versuch einer Theorie der eltrischen und optischen Erscheinungen
in bewegten Korpern"; English translation from the original German of sections 89-92 of
Lorentz' 1895 book
Week 10:
Understanding Physics (QC23UND1993) Vol. II, Chapter 7
Physics: Structure and Meaning (QC21PHY1992) Chapter 24
Tutorial 9
Week 11:
Physics: Structure and Meaning (QC21PHY1992) Chapter 25
Understanding Physics (QC23UND1993) Vol. II, Chapter 8
Tutorial 10
Week 12:
Physics: Structure and Meaning (QC21PHY1992) Chapter 26
Useful Simulations:
Week 13:
Deconstructing Nature: Linking the Threads
*Tentative sequence only; the actual lectures may depart from this by the addition/subtraction of either topics or material at the discretion of the lecturer.
Course Texts
Course Texts
The course texts will be various chapters from the following books:
- Understanding Physics by Isaac Asimov (QC23UND1993); (Barnes & Noble Books,1993; ISBN 0-8802-9251-2)
Understanding Physics Volume 2 - Physics: Structure and Meaning by Leon N Cooper (QC21PHY1992); (University Press of New England, 1992; ISBN 0-87451-592-0)
- Faraday’s Experimental Researches in Electricity The First Series edited & annotated by Howard J. Fisher; (Green Cat Books, 2004; ISBN 1-888009-27-6)
The recommended texts can either be consulted in the Scholar's reading room.
Students should MAKE ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN that they have thoroughly read SOME of the weekly reading assignments as well as at least have browsed through the rest BEFORE THE TUTORIAL during the particular week that these have been assigned. This must not be 'postponed' to later on in the course and students should manage their time to allow for this!
Additional Readings
Additional Reading Materials
For various parts of this module, students will profit from reading or at least browsing through relevant sections or chapters of some of the following books. They may also be useful as resource materials for student essays during the course. The books may either be consulted in the Scholar's reading room or, alternately, should be available from the RBR section of the Central Library.
HISTORICAL & GENERAL
The Man Who Changed Everything: The Life of James Clerk Maxwell by Basil Mahon (QCMAN2003);
(John Wiley & Sons, 2004; ISBN 9780470881714)
The Electric Life of Michael Faraday by Alan Hirshfeld; (Walker & Company, 2006; ISBN 0-8027-1 470-6)
Michael Faraday: A Biography by L.Pearce Williams; ( Basic Books, New York; 1964)
Experimental Researches in Electricity by Michael Faraday
A Treatise on Electricity and Magnetism Vol 1 by James Clerk Maxwell
A Treatise on Electricity and Magnetism Vol 2 by James Clerk
Einstein: His Life and Universe by Walter Isaacson; (Simon & Schuster, 2007; ISBN-13: 978-0-7432- 64730; ISBN -10: 0-7432-6473-8)
Einstein's Clocks, Poincare's Maps: Empires of Time by Peter Galison (QB209EIN2003); (Norton, 2003; ISBN 0-393-32604-7)
The Evolution of Physics by A. Einstein and L. Infeld (Simon & Schuster, 1966; ISBN0-671-20156-5)
Energy, Force and Matter: the conceptual development of nineteenth century physics by P.M. Harman (Cambridge Studies in the History of Science; Cambridge University Press, 1982; ISBN 0-521- 288126)
The Physical Sciences by R.M. Hazen & J. Trefil (Q158PHY1996); (John Wiley & Sons 1996; ISBN 0 471 002496)
ELECTRICITY and MAGNETISM
Electricity and Magnetism by Peter Fairley (QC527ELE2008); (Great Ideas of Science series; Twenty- First Century Books, 2008; ISBN 978-0-8225-6605-2)
Waves: Principles of Light, Electricity, and Magnetism by Paul Fleisher (QC661WAV2002); (Secrets of the Universe series; Lerner Publications Company, 2002; ISBN 0-8225-2987-4)
Electricity, Magnetism and Light by Wayne Saslow; (Academic Press, 2002; ISBN 0-12-619 455-6)
Fields of force: The development of a world view from Faraday to Einstein by W. Berkson; (Halsted Press / John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1974; ISBN-13: 978-0470070291)
Maxwell on the Electromagnetic Field: A Guided Study by T.K. Simpson (QCMAX1997); (Rutgers University Press 2003; ISBN 0-8135-2363-X)
Innovation in Maxwell's Electromagnetic Theory by D.M. Siegel; (Cambridge University Press 1991; ISBN 0-521-53329-5)
EINSTEIN’S THEORY OF SPECIAL RELATIVITY
Relativity Simply Explained by Martin Gardner; (Dover, 1997; ISBN 0-486-29315-7)
It's About Time: Understanding Einstein's Relativity by N.David Mermin; (Princeton University Press, 2005; ISBN 0-691—12201-6)
Einstein's Universe: The Layperson's Guide by Nigel Calder (Penguin, 1990; ISBN 0-14-013516-2)
Great Ideas in Physics by Alan Lightman (McGraw Hill, 2000; ISBN 0-07-135738-6)
Relativity by A. Einstein (Routledge, 2001; ISBN 0 415 25384 5)
Assessment
Assessment
There is no final written exam for this module. Assessment will be on the basis of the following continuous assessment criteria:
| Group Projects: | 25% |
| Tutorials and/or Test Quizzes: | 15% |
| Mid Term Essay Assignment: | 25% |
| Final Term Paper: | 35% |