1. Final Notes:
    1. The last homework is a take home exam hw7.
    2. The last homework is due Tuesday December 18 before 6:00p.m.
    3. Homeworks 1--6 must be turned in or resolved before Friday December 14 before 6:00p.m to receive full. Homeworks 1--4 will receive half credit, homework 5 will receive 75% credit, and homework 6 will receive full credit.
    4. All materials can be placed under my door in Physics C-135.
    5. Grading will be based on 1/3 first four homeworks, 1/3 test, 1/3 last three homeworks.
  2. Old Notes:
    1. The long sixth homework hw6 and was due December 4. This will be counted as TWO homeworks.
    2. The long sixth homework hw6 and is due December 4. This will be counted as TWO homeworks.
    3. The fifth homework is hw5 and was due on November 20th.
    4. Exam took place on 13th. :
      1. The first exam was from problems on the first four homeworks : hw1, hw2 , hw3, hw4
      2. The formulas I needed to solve the problems are formulas
      3. The homeworks #1 -- #4 will still be graded at half credit.

Lecture Notes and Tentative Schedule

Week 1: 8/28 The size of the solar system and Galileo l1 and slides. Based on M. Fowler's Lecture 5.
Week 2: 9/XX The motion of the stars and planets l2a, l2b, l2c, slides. Based on M. Fowler's Lectures 4 and 18 .
Week 3: 9/18 Galileo and Accelrating Bodies Based on M. Fowler's Lectures 15,16,17
Week 4: 9/25 Law of Gravitation, Derivation of Kepler, Precession of the Perihelion of Mercury, First hint of GR l4a, l4b, l4c, l4d, typed notes, l4_slides
Week 5: 10/2 The makings of General Relativity l5a l5b l5c l5_slides
Week 6: 10/9 More distance measures and Special Relativity l6_typed_notes relativity_note l6_slides
Week 7: 10/16 Review and more General Relativity l7a l7b l7c l7_slides and notes
Week 8: 10/23 Final bit of GR, standard candles, shape of the galaxy, the expanding universe l8_slides_and_scans
Week 9: 10/30 NO CLASS DUE TO HURRICANE
Week 10: 11/6 Type Ia supernova and end of greatness l9
Week 11: 11/13 The accelerating universe and black body radiation l10 and l11
Week 12: 11/20 Accelerating universe -- Black body radiation l10 and l11
Week 13: 11/27 The cosmic microwave background l12
Week 14: 12/04 Reionization and the Gunn-Peterson Trough l13

Course Organization

Overview

This course is an attempt to explain with minimal mathematics the physics of today. We will start with human size physics -- classical mechanics. Then we will discuss ever smaller length scales, placing the recent discoveries of the Higgs Boson into context. Then we will study the physics at ever larger length scales, discussing Einstein's theory of special and general relativity. Finally we will survey modern cosmology and discuss the experimental basis for dark energy and dark matter.

The course will start with Gallileo and Newton and basic notions of momentum and energy will be introduced. A minimal number Physics 121 type problems in mechanics will be assigned to build a common language.

Lecture Instructor:

Assist. Professor Derek Teaney: derek.teaney gmail.com

Derek Teaney
Department of Physics & Astronomy
PO Box 3800
Stony Brook, NY 11764-3800

Office: Physics C-135

(631)632-4489, Fax 9718

Grade Determination

Your grade will be based on

First Four HW 33%
Exam one 33%
Last two HW and take home final 33%

Finally, I will examine your in class work to decide borderline cases.

Schedules

Class Meetings

The class meets Tuesday in Physics 116.

Office Hours

Please feel free to contact me at anytime. My official office hours are,

Final Exam

The final exam is on Tuesday, December 18 from 11:15--1:45 p.m in P116.

Resources and Other Materials

There is no book for this course. Nevertheless, there are a number of excellent resources available online.
  1. Michael Fowler's excellent course -- Lecture Notes on Gallileo to Einstein . We will follow these notes fairly closely during the first couple of lectures.
  2. The excellent web site hyperphysics
  3. Wikipedia is often (but not always!) an excellent source.

Other Items

Academic Integrity

Each student must pursue his or her academic goals honestly and be personally accountable for all submitted work. Representing another person's work as your own is always wrong. Faculty are required to report any suspected instances of academic dishonesty to the Academic Judiciary. Faculty in the Health Sciences Center (School of Health Technology & Management, Nursing, Social Welfare, Dental Medicine) and School of Medicine are required to follow their school-specific procedures. For more comprehensive information on academic integrity, including categories of academic dishonesty, please refer to the academic judiciary website at http://www.stonybrook.edu/uaa/academicjudiciary/

Religious Holidays

If the schedule of homeworks, exams or other assignments is in conflict with your religion's Holidays, please let me know in an email by the end of the first week of instructions and I will do my best to accommodate your needs. Please note that I cannot make changes in the course schedule after the first week of classes. No consideration will be made if someone approaches me in this matter at a time close to the due date or the exam date.

Americans with Disabilities Act

If you have a physical, psychological, medical or learning disability that may impact your course work, please contact Disability Support Services, ECC (Educational Communications Center) Building, room128, (631) 632-6748. They will determine with you what accommodations, if any, are necessary and appropriate. All information and documentation is confidential.

Critical Incident Management

Stony Brook University expects students to respect the rights, privileges, and property of other people. Faculty are required to report to the Office of Judicial Affairs any disruptive behavior that interrupts their ability to teach, compromises the safety of the learning environment, or inhibits students' ability to learn.