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Physics

PHYS E-1a Principles of Physics I: Mechanics (11897)

Fall term

Wolfgang Rueckner, PhD, Manager of Lecture Demonstration Services and Instructional Laboratories in Physical Sciences, Harvard University.

Class times: Tuesdays beginning Sept. 1, 6-9 pm. Required weekly laboratories and discussion sections to be arranged.

Course tuition: undergraduate credit $1,100.

This course is an introduction to classical mechanics: kinematics, Newton's laws of motion, conservation laws, elasticity, oscillations, wave mechanics, and sound phenomena. Applications to the life sciences are emphasized. This is a noncalculus introductory course. Prerequisites: good working knowledge of algebra, trigonometry, and geometry. (4 credits)

PHYS E-1b Principles of Physics II: Electricity and Magnetism, Light, and Atomic Structure (20199)

Spring term

Wolfgang Rueckner, PhD, Manager of Lecture Demonstration Services and Instructional Laboratories in Physical Sciences, Harvard University.

Class times: Tuesdays beginning Jan. 26, 6-9 pm. Required weekly laboratories and discussion sections to be arranged.

Course tuition: undergraduate credit $1,100.

This course is a continuation of PHYS E-1a and covers topics in electricity, magnetism, electric circuits, wave phenomena, geometrical and physical optics, the interaction of light with matter, and the structure of matter. Applications to the life sciences are emphasized. This is a non-calculus course. Prerequisites: PHYS E-1a or the equivalent, and good working knowledge of algebra, trigonometry, and geometry. (4 credits)

PHYS E-6/W Physics Made Simple: From Concepts to Practice (22604)

Spring term

Jeffrey Borenstein, PhD, President, Power Industries, Inc.

Class times: Wednesdays beginning Jan. 27, 5:30-7:30 pm. Optional sections to be arranged.

Course tuition: noncredit $600, undergraduate credit $900.

Writing-intensive course.

This course covers the revolutionary ideas of modern physics, from the atom to the Big Bang theory and beyond. Einstein gave us a new understanding of time (even time travel). Quantum mechanics explains the tiny world of the atom with a theory never dreamed of by Newton. Does God place dice with the universe? We consider this question, and discuss lasers, teleportation, and mysterious connections in the universe. We also explore global climate change, and recent discoveries in cosmology and string theory. (4 credits)

PHYS E-123a Laboratory Electronics: Analog Circuit Design (10228)

Fall term

Thomas C. Hayes, JD, Lecturer on Physics, Harvard University.

Class times: Thursdays beginning Sept. 3, 6-9:30 pm. Optional sections Sundays, noon-3 pm.

Course tuition: noncredit, undergraduate, and graduate credit $1,800.

Limited enrollment.

This course forms the analog half of a two-semester sequence that provides a lab-intensive survey of electronics (the digital half of this sequence is ENSC E-123). The course introduces analog electronics, with little mathematical or physical analysis and much opportunity to design and build circuits. The treatment moves quickly from fundamentals (for example, passive circuits made with resistors, capacitors) to designs with transistors and then gives most of its attention to the design of circuits using operational amplifiers: circuits such as integrators, amplifiers, oscillators, filters, and a servo loop. Students apply amplitude and frequency modulation in both transmission and reception. Each meeting includes a lab session. Prerequisites: high school algebra; some knowledge of elementary electrical concepts is helpful but not essential. (4 credits)



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