Freshman Seminar: Why things are the way they are
Fall 2003
- Instructor: Prof. Clare Yu
- Office: FRH 2168
- Phone: 949-824-6216
- E-mail: cyu@uci.edu
- Office Hours:
Class:
3:00 pm-13:50 pm Monday RH 184
- Grading :
To earn a C or better, you cannot miss more than one class.
You should do the assigned reading before class.
Your grade will be based on class participation and the final exam.
The final exam will be closed book. It will be on Monday Dec. 8
from 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm in RH 184.
- Goals: To understand why different materials have
different properties.
- Required Textbook:
- Why Things Are the Way They Are, B. S. Chandrasekhar.
We will cover the entire book.
- Course Web Page: Course materials such as the syllabus
are available on the course
web page (http://eiffel.ps.uci.edu/cyu/freshman.seminar/class.html).
- Oct. 6: Crystals
- Discuss Chapters 1 and 2.
- Oct. 13: Particles and Waves
- Oct. 20: The Atom and Statistical Physics
- Discuss Chapters 4 and 5.
- Oct. 27: The Quantum Mechanical Crystal
- Nov. 3: Mechanical and Thermal Properties
- Discuss Chapters 7 and 8: Copper Wires and Glass Rods; Silver spoons
and Plastic Spoons.
- Nov. 10: Interaction with Light
- Discuss Chapter 9: Glass Panes and Aluminum Foils.
- Nov. 17: Electrical Properties
- Discuss Chapter 10: Electric Bulbs and Insulated Cables.
- Nov. 24: Magnets
- Dec. 1: Superconductors and Conclusion
- Discuss Chapters 12 and 13.