It's About Time

Have a Great Summer!

Pablo Picasso. Les Demoiselles d'Avignon, 1907. The Museum of Modern Art, New York. (click here to go to a MOMA webpage that describes the significance of this painting)
	Marcel Duchamp. Nude Descending a Staircase No. 2, 1912. Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia.

Course Outline - Spring Semester 2005

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INSTRUCTOR:	Dr. Bradley W. Carroll
OFFICE:	SL 202
TELEPHONE:	626-7921
E-MAIL:	bcarroll@weber.edu
COURSE HOME PAGE:	http://physics.weber.edu/carroll/honors-time/
TEXTS:	Seven Ideas that Shook the Universe, Nathan Spielberg and Bryon D. Anderson;
	Measuring Eternity, Martin Gorst;
	Einstein's Dreams, Alan Lightman;
	Tom Stoppard: Plays Five, Tom Stoppard;
	Readings: It's About Time

Science and math background assumed: none!

OUTLINE

St. Augustine said of time,

"I know well enough what it is, provided that nobody asks me; but if I am asked what it is and try to explain, I am baffled."

In this class we will examine our understanding of time, from the ancient Greeks through Einstein's relativity. We will examine our own perceptions of time and those of other cultures as we explore deep geological time and even deeper cosmological time. Along the way we will do experiments, watch a movie, read a play, and admire works of literature, art, and music.

OFFICE HOURS

10:00 - 10:00 Daily
and
any other time I am in my office

Do the assigned reading and come prepared to discuss any of the topics. The midterms will consist of multiple-choice and short answer questions, and will be given in the Student Service Testing Center (SC 269) over a two-day period; remember to bring a picture ID and a #2 pencil for the multiple-choice. Each person is responsible for his or her own work. Academic dishonesty on any exam will result in a grade of zero being given for that examination. A second violation will constitute failure of the course.

Physics provides the fundamental description of physical reality, an exciting and sometimes startling view of the world that most people never get to see. Above all,

Ask Questions at Any Time!

If you have questions that can't be cleared up in class, drop by my office anytime to discuss the meaning and implications of the material. Relax and enjoy this exploration of time, and remember the words of British scientist J. B. S. Haldane:

"Not only is the universe stranger than we imagine,

it is stranger than we can imagine!"

GRADING

A	An overall midterm average of at least 80% and an acceptable approved project for a total of at least 90% (midterms + project) and a satisfactory effort in group discussion
B	An overall midterm average of at least 80% and a satisfactory effort in group discussion
C	An overall midterm average of at least 70% and a satisfactory effort in group discussion
D	An overall midterm average below 70% or an unsatisfactory effort in group discussion
E	An overall midterm average below 70% and an unsatisfactory effort in group discussion

The course project is worth up to 10%. It should be something original and creative, and must be at least peripherally related to the subject matter of the course. With your project you must hand in a short written paper that describes what you did and how it is connected to the course. No last-minute projects will be approved. Your project should be something we can both be proud to share with the rest of the class!

SCHEDULE AND READING ASSIGNMENTS

Click on a hyperlink for that day's handouts

Date	Topic	Reading Assignment for this Class

Jan 10	Introduction
Jan 12	Greek Astronomy	Seven Ideas, p. 14-29 Handout: The Library at Alexandria Images: Prague Clock, Prague Clock Dial
Jan 14	Time for Plato and Aristotle	Plato: Timaeus, Sec. 3-5, 7, 21; Plato: Plato’s Cave; Aristotle: Physics, Book IV, 10-14; Aristotle: On Coming-to-Be and Passing-Away Handout: The Allegory of Plato's Cave

Jan 17	Martin Luther King Holiday
Jan 19	Augustine and Time	Augustine: Confessions, Book XI; Measuring Eternity, Ch. 1
Jan 21	World Cultures and Time	Ezzell: Clocking Cultures

Jan 24	Copernicus and Kepler	Seven Ideas, p. 29-49 Handout: Symbols
Jan 26	Aristotle’s Physics and Galileo	Seven Ideas, p. 50-70; Measuring Eternity, Ch. 2-4
Jan 28	Water Clock and Pendulum	Galileo: Letter to the Grand Duchess Christina Handout: Galileo's Moon

Jan 31	Newton’s 1^st and 2^nd Laws	Seven Ideas, p. 70-74 Handout: Review for Exam #1
Feb 2	Newton’s 3^rd Law and Momentum	Seven Ideas, p. 74-78
Feb 4	Newton’s Law of Gravity	Seven Ideas, p. 78-83; Nagel: Free Will

Feb 7	Dividing Time: Clocks and Music	Andrewes: A Chronicle of Timekeeping; Crosby: Time; Crosby: Music Image: Strasbourg clock (1352) Link: Gregorian Chant radio
Feb 9	Geological Time	Measuring Eternity, Ch. 5-9
Feb 11	Kinetic, Potential, and Thermal Energy	Seven Ideas, p. 84-100

Feb 14	Conservation of Energy	Seven Ideas, p. 100-105; Measuring Eternity, Ch. 10
Feb 16	Heat Engines	Seven Ideas, p. 106-124 Handout: Newcomen Engine Animation: Newcomen Engine Link: Fairbottom Bobs, an early Newcomen Engine Link: The Newcomen Steam Engine
Feb 18	Entropy and the Arrow of Time	Seven Ideas, p. 124-138; Byron: Darkness

Feb 21	Presidents’ Day Holiday
Feb 23	Algorithms and Chaos	Hall: Exploring Chaos Handout: Arcadia, Act 1, Scene 1 Questions
Feb 25	Arcadia 1	Arcadia, Act 1, Scene 1 Handout: Arcadia, Act 1, Scene 2 Questions Image: Et in Arcadia Ego, by Nicolas Poussin (1647) Link: An Arcadia Glossary

Feb 28	Arcadia 2	Arcadia, Act 1, Scene 2 Handout: Arcadia, Act 1, Scenes 3 and 4 Questions
Mar 2	Arcadia 3	Arcadia, Act 1, Scenes 3 and 4 Handout: Arcadia, Act 2, Scenes 5 and 6 Questions
Mar 4	Arcadia 4	Arcadia, Act 2, Scenes 5 and 6 Handout: Arcadia, Act 2, Scene 7 Questions

Mar 7	Arcadia 5	Arcadia, Act 2, Scene 7 Handout: Arcadia: The Main Themes
Mar 9	Biological Clocks	Whitrow: Biological Clocks; Wright: Times of Our Lives
Mar 11	The Perception of Time	Sacks: The Lost Mariner; Sacks: A Matter of Identity; Damasio: Remembering When; Pickover: The Brain’s Time Machine Handouts: Experience, Split-Brain Experiment, Review for Exam #2 Link: Evidence for a Young World

Mar 14-18	Spring Break

Mar 21	Dating Techniques	Measuring Eternity, Ch. 11; Einstein’s Dreams
Mar 23	What is Light?	Seven Ideas, p. 139-155 Handout: Double Slit Interference
Mar 25	Einstein’s Two Postulates and the End of Simultaneity	Seven Ideas, p. 156-165; J. Schwartz & M. McGuinness: The Relativity of Simultaneity

Mar 28	Time Dilation and Length Contraction	Seven Ideas, p. 165-168
Mar 30	Twin Paradox, E = mc²	Seven Ideas, p. 169-174
Apr 1	General Relativity	Seven Ideas, p. 174-183

Apr 4	Art and Physics	Shlain: Cubism/Space; Shlain: Futurism/Time Handout: Art and Physics
Apr 6	Blackbody Radiation and Photons	Seven Ideas, p. 184-199 Handout: Three Failures of Classical Physics
Apr 8	The Bohr Atom	Seven Ideas, p. 199-205

Apr 11	Matter Waves and Probability	Seven Ideas, p. 205-216 Handout: Wave-Particle Duality
Apr 13	The End of Determinism	Seven Ideas, p. 216-224; Feynman: Probability and Uncertainty
Apr 15	Stars and Stellar Evolution	Ferris: The Evolution of Atoms and Stars Handout: HR Diagrams, The Spectrum of the Sun, Summary of Stellar Evolution
Movie Night!	"Primer"	Bradbury: A Sound of Thunder; Hilton-Young: The Choice

Apr 18	Black Holes	Pasachoff & Filippenko: Black Holes; Davies: How to Build a Time Machine
Apr 20	The Expanding Universe	Measuring Eternity, Ch. 12, 13; Pasachoff & Filippenko: A Universe of Galaxies, p. 315-318 & p. 330-335 Handout: Cepheid Variable Stars, The Expanding Universe
Apr 22	The Big Bang and Nucleosynthesis	Measuring Eternity, Ch. 14; Pasachoff & Filippenko: Cosmology, p. 365-377; Pasachoff & Filippenko: In the Beginning, p. 391-402 Handouts: The Cosmic Microwave Background, Review for Exam #3

Apr 25	The Formation of Structure in the Universe	Pasachoff & Filippenko: A Universe of Galaxies, p. 321-330 & p. 335-338 Handout: Dark Matter
Apr 27	The Accelerating Universe	Measuring Eternity, Ch. 15; Pasachoff & Filippenko: Cosmology, p. 377-388 Handout: The Accelerating Universe, Cosmology
Apr 29	Course Wrap-Up	Davies: That Mysterious Flow; Musser: A Hole in the Heart of Physics