Class Lectures
| Date | Marion | Topic |
| W 27 Aug | 8.8 |
Transfer orbits and fly-bys |
| F 29 Aug | 8.9 | Precession of orbits | |
| M 1 Sep | 9.1-9.3 | Systems of particles;
center of mass; linear momentum |
| W 3 Sep | 9.4 | Systems of particles;
angular momentum |
| F 5 Sep | 9.5 |
Systems of particles; energy |
| M 8 Sep | 9.6 | Elastic collisions of 2 particles |
| W 10 Sep | 9.7 | Kinematics of elastic collisions |
| F 12 Sep | 9.8-9.9 | Inelastic collisions; cross sections |
| M 15 Sep | 9.9 | Impact parameter; differential cross sections; lab to CM transformations |
| W 17 Sep | 9.10-10.2 | Rutherford scattering; rotating coordinate systems |
| F 19 Sep | 10.3 | Centrifugal and Coriolis forces |
| M 22 Sep | 10.4 | Motion relative to the Earth
|
| W 24 Sep | 10.4 | Foucault Pendulum |
| F 26 Sep | 11.1-11.3 | Rigid bodies; inertia tensor |
| M 29 Sep | 11.4-11.5 | Principal axes; parallel axis theorem |
| W 1 Oct | 11.6 | What is a tensor? |
| F 3 Oct | 11.7 | Euler angles |
| M 6 Oct | 11.8 | Euler's equations for a rigid body |
| W 8 Oct | 11.9 | Force-free symmetric top |
| F 10 Oct | 11.10 | Symmetric top with one point fixed |
| W 15 Oct | - | Test 1 |
| F 17 Oct | 11.11 | Stability of rigid-body rotations; the tippy-top |
| M 20 Oct | 12.1-12.2 | Two coupled harmonic oscillators |
| W 22 Oct | 12.2-12.3 | Two coupled oscillators (con't); weak coupling |
| F 24 Oct | 12.4 | Many coupled oscillators (general problem) |
| M 27 Oct | 12.7 | Molecular Vibrations |
| W 29 Oct | 12.9 | The loaded string |
| F 31 Oct | 12.9 | The loaded string, continued |
| M 3 Nov | 13.1-13.2 | The continuous string |
| W 5 Nov | 13.3-13.4 | Energy of a vibrating string; wave equation |
| F 7 Nov | 13.5-13.6 | Forced and damped motion of string; general solution of wave eq. |
| M 10 Nov | 13.7 | Separation of variables; boundary conditions |
| W 12 Nov | 13.8-13.9 | Phase velocity, dispersion, group velocity, wave packets |
| F 14 Nov | - | Test 2 |
| M 17 Nov | 14.1-14.3 | Galilean transformations; Lorentz tranformations |
| W 19 Nov | 14.3-14.4 | Transformation of velocity; length contraction |
| F 21 Nov | 14.3-14.4 | Time dilation; muon decay |
| M 24 Nov | 14.7,14.9 | Four vectors; 4-velocity; 4-momentum, covariant and contravariant forms |
| M 1 Dec | 14.9,14.11 | Relativistic kinematics |
| W 3 Dec | - | Events, worldlines, geodesics and the light cone |
| F 5 Dec | - | Equation of geodesic separation; Riemann tensor; stress energy tensor; Einstein field equation |
| Th 18 Dec | - | Final Exam 1:30pm |
Syllabus