Instructor: Eric Sharpe
Office: Robeson 211A
Phone: (540) 231-7890
E-mail: ersharpe at vt dot edu
Office hours: Tues, Thurs 3:30-4:30, and by appointment
Special Relativity Module
Lectures: Tuesday, Sept 14 - Tuesday, Sept 28, 2010.
Test: Thursday, Sept 30, 2010, in class.
Writing Assignment due date: Tuesday, Oct 12, 2010, in class
UPDATE: the selection from `The Ghost in the Atom' (for the writing
assignment) is *not* available from the campus print centers,
but *instead* *is* available from the campus bookstore.
(I just called and confirmed a few minutes ago.)
It's a small course booklet, stapled together,
and inside the front cover says it's a reprint from
`The Ghost in the Atom'. I'm told it only costs $3.75.
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Course Notes
- Part 1 (pp. 5-75) of Relativity: the Special and General Theory,
by Albert Einstein (placed on reserve in the library)
- this
website
A recent result on a test of general relativity at
living-room-type distances is
described
here,
and a recent claimed observation of Hawking radiation is
here.
The video shown on Tues Sept 14 can be found
here.
Practice Items
The test will consist of two problems, of the sort listed at
this
website.
For practice, do any two of the problems listed there.
Writing Assignment
For your writing assignment, read
- Chapter 1 pp. 5-30 of The ghost in the atom, by
P.C.W. Davies and J.R. Brown.
This is on reserve in the library, and in addition a xerox copy is also
available from the campus bookstore (but *not* the campus print centers,
apologies for the earlier confusion) for about $3.75, I'm told.
and then do the following two things:
- Explain in your own words what is said in the reading above
about quantum mechanics versus special relativity.
- Give an opinion on the discrepancy.
Your writeup should be comparable in length to that for the last
module: 1-2 pp, closer to 1 p if single spaced,
closer to 2 pp if double-spaced. I'm not strict about the length,
however.
Further information
-
Wikipedia
-
-
SLAC VVC
-
HowStuffWorks