PHYS 1 Understanding the Universe: From Atoms to the Big Bang, with Laboratory
An introduction to the evolution of physical theories and models of natural phenomena from ancient Greece to modern times. Topics include Pre-Socratic and Aristotelian natural philosophy; the scientific revolutions of Copernicus, Kepler, Galileo, and Newton, and the birth of mechanics; electromagnetism, thermodynamics, and the physics of light in the nineteenth century; the emergence of quantum mechanics and relativity theory; modern particle physics and the search for unification; the interface of particle physics and cosmology; and physics and its contexts (other sciences, worldviews, technologies, the Cold War). Students will carry out five biweekly laboratory experiments illustrating major discoveries. No student may receive credit for both Physics 1 and Physics 2. Identical to Physics 2, but with the laboratory.
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