Physics of Contemporary Challenges | 2025-Spring

Course Name
Physics of Contemporary Challenges
Course Number
PH 315
Year/Term
2025
Display other available years here.
Course Credits
3
Class meeting times
3 hours of lecture per week
Prerequisites
Recommended: PH 211
Course description
An introduction to thermal and quantum physics in the context of contemporary challenges faced by our society, such as power generation, energy efficiency, and global warming.

Topic/Day

Activities

Resources

Homework Due

1 Monday (W1)
Introduction
Writing answers to HW questions
9 Rules for Typography in Physics
A quick guide to LaTeX
Classroom norms
Introduction to Term Project
Ethan's OneNote Class Notes
Textbook - Sustainable Energy Without the Hot Air (SEWHA):
* SEWHA Ch 8 - Hydroelectricity
Videos:
* Magnitude Analysis by Simon Clark (4min30sec)
* David MacKay Lecture, author of SEWHA.
2 Wednesday
Hydroelectric power from a coarse-grained model.
Rain Power Estimate
Reading Assignment - 3 pages from the book "Scale" by Geoffrey West.
3 Friday
Energy for transportation - a coarse-grained model.
SEWHA Ch 3 - Cars
SEWHA Appendix A: Cars II
HW week 1
4 Monday (W2)
Energy for transportation - refining and applying
TEDx Talk by Sanjoy Mahajan (aerodynamics)
5 Wednesday
Wind energy - a coarse-grained model.
Wind energy
SEWHA Ch 4: Wind
SEWHA Appendix B: Wind II
6 Friday
Uncertainty - from age of universe to air density.
Uncertainty in air density
HW week 2
7 Monday (W3)
Size scale and energy scale of nuclei
Fission and fusion
8 Wednesday
Nuclear Physics Continued
9 Friday
Nuclear Physics Continued
Homework 3
10 Monday (W4)
Energy flow. Energy conservation. The need to define entropy.
Dropping hot metal into water
"6 Ideas Unit T" by Thomas Moore:
  1. Ch 2 (first half of chapter) pages 20-24 “Macrostates and microstates”
  2. Ch 3 pages 38-47 “Entropy and Temperature”
Youtube videos:
  1. How entropy powers the Earth 3 minute video by MinutePhysics
Entropy Introduction
11 Wednesday
Entropy, continued
12 Friday
Midterm
Practice midterm (not to be turned in)
13 Monday (W5)
Entropy Continued
"6 Ideas Unit T" by Thomas Moore:
  1. Section T5.4 Equipartition Theorem
14 Wednesday
Entropy Continued
15 Friday
Entropy continued
HW Week 5
16 Monday (W6)
Equipartition Theorem
17 Wednesday
Quantum mechanics: Introduction to the Schrodinger equation, wavefunctions describing matter waves.
18 Friday
Quantum mechanics: Introduction to partial differential equations and functions of space and time.
"6 Ideas Unit Q" by Thomas Moore:
  1. Chapter 1 pages 4-12 Wave Models
  2. Chapter 2 pages 20-29 Standing Waves and Resonance
HW Week 6
Quantum
"6 Ideas Unit Q" by Thomas Moore:
  1. Chapter 11 “Spectra”
  2. Chapter 5 “The Wave Nature of Particles (de Broglie wavelength)”
  3. Section 10.3 “A Quanton in a Box”
Videos to watch:
  1. Electron microscopes explained by Physics Girl
19 Monday (W7)
Partial Differential Equations
Walt Lewin's PDE Lecture, 10-minutes
Draft of Term Project
20 Wednesday
Musical Instruments
21 Friday
Musical Instruments
Week 7 HW
22 Monday (W8)
Quantum Light Emission
23 Wednesday
Quantum, E = hf
Light Emission - Practice for Midterm
24 Friday
Midterm 2
25 Monday (W9)
MEMORIAL DAY HOLIDAY
26 Wednesday
Planck's Law of Radiation
Wavelength of peak intensity
Using the Stefan-Boltzmann law
Grey space capsule
Black space capsule
27 Friday
Planck's Radiation Law
Temperature of the Earth
Optical depth of atmosphere
HW Week 9
28 Monday (W10)
Climate Models
Earth under plexiglass
29 Wednesday
Climate Models
30 Friday
Climate Models
Week 10 HW
31 Friday 12/10
Contemporary Challenges Review