PHYS 120: Physics of the 21st Century - Fall 2015


Important Announcements:  


BigBang

Physics 120 Seminar (1 credit)

Coordinator: Dr. Sebastian Kuhn (Phone: 683-5804) Email: skuhn at odu.edu

Additional Faculty:   

Dr. Balsa Terzic (Phone: 683-5281) Email: bterzic at odu.edu
Dr. Mark Havey (Phone: 683-4612) Email: mhavey at odu.edu
Dr. Rocco Schiavilla (Phone: 683-5852) Email: rschiavi at odu.edu

Course Information: Download the Syllabus  and Schedule (updated August 25!)

Meeting Place:  ROOM 303 of the Oceanography and Physics Building (OCNPS)
Meeting Time:  Wednesdays 9:00 - 9:50 a.m.
Required Textbook:   “Chaos” by James Gleick (cheaply available at Amazon; one copy in ODU library)
Optional Textbooks:   “Neutrino Hunters" by Ray Jayawardhana; "Physics for Future Presidents" by Richard A. Muller
Required classwork:  Pre-lecture reading, attendance, midterm, oral presentation



Semester Schedule:
 
Introduction


Aug 26:     Introduction, Overview of Topics to be Discussed
Sep 2:        Guest Lecture (Dr. G. Dodge): How to become a successful physics student
 
Nuclear Physics     (S. Kuhn)    [Please click link for more detailed information and reading assignments!]

Sept 9:      What are protons made of?
Sept 16:    Nuclei in the lab and in the cosmos
                  NOTE:
You must have chosen a topic and have it approved by one of the instructors by TODAY
Sept 23:    (Physics and Society) Applications of Nuclear Physics
              
 
Neutrinos     (R. Schiavilla)
Advance reading material: A summary of the "Solar Neutrino Puzzle" and A in-depth (but basic) introduction to neutrinos. See also additional material under "Interesting Links". Lecture notes: Download here
Sept 30:   How the sun produces neutrinos (and energy!)
Oct 7:      The problem of missing solar neutrinos and its solution
Oct 14:   
(Physics and Society) Facts about energy and solar energy
                NOTE:
First draft and abstract of presentation (=midterm) due TODAY*)

*) Your first draft must be in electronic format (Powerpoint, Keynote, .pdf, or similar) and contain, at the minimum, a title page, an outline (table of content), and a literature list (references). You must meet with your mentor to discuss the scope of your talk, suitable materials to use, and to get feedback on the draft and the abstract. The abstract must also be in electronic form (MS Word, LaTeX, ...) and should describe, in a few sentences, the context and the likely contents of your talk. See below for a sample abstract. SEND BOTH DOCUMENTS BY EMAIL EITHER TO YOUR MENTOR OR TO S. KUHN (skuhn at odu.edu)

Chaos   (B. Terzic)

Oct 21:    Chaos: The Definition and Origin. Advance reading material: "Prologue and The Butterfly Effect" (Chapter 1 of the book “Chaos” by James Gleick)
Oct 28:    Manifestations of Chaos. Advance reading material: "Revolution" (Chapter 2 of the book “Chaos” by James Gleick)
Nov 4:     (Physics and Society) It's a Chaotic World: What it all means. Advance reading material: "Chaos and Beyond" (Last chapter of the book “Chaos” by James Gleick)

(International Year of) Light    (M. Havey)
Advance reading material: "What is a Photon?"
   
Nov 11:    Ancient Light
Nov 18:    The Classical Period
Dec 2:      (Physics and Society) Quantum Optics
                NOTE: Final draft of presentation due TODAY

Student Presentations

Dec. 5:
 


Suggested Topics for Semester Paper/Presentation

Sample Abstract:

Nucleon Spin – Results from Jefferson Lab
Sebastian Kuhn, Old Dominion University

Over thirty years after the first experiments probed the spin structure of the nucleon, the pace of experimental and theoretical exploration of this subject keeps increasing. During its fifteen-year run with beam energies up to 6 GeV, Jefferson Lab has made many important contributions to this field - from measurements of the inclusive spin structure functions of the proton and the neutron over a wide kinematic range to seminal experiments accessing the three-dimensional nucleon spin structure through Generalized Parton Distributions and Transverse Momentum Dependent structure functions. An even brighter future lies ahead - after the 12 GeV upgrade, Jefferson Lab will completely map the spin-dependent parton distribution functions for all quark flavors in the valence region. In this talk, I will present an overview of this program, with special emphasis on recent and forthcoming results from the 6 GeV run and a glimpse of the future program with 12 GeV.

 
Interesting Links:
Society of Physics Students
ODU Experimental Nuclear Physics Group
ODU Ultracold Physics Lab
Center for Accelerator Science
Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility (JLab)
American Institute of Physics
Physics Central
Physics Links
Physics World
APS (Spotlighting Exceptional Research)

International Year of Light
Einstein still matters in the 21st century!
What is Chaos?
Nuclear Reactions in Stars
Solar (and other) Neutrinos
A wonderful introduction to solar neutrinos - in Italian!

Alice and Bob in Wonderland (Perimeter Institute)