]> January 11 Predrag Cvitanović? Just SAY IT! 1. Atlanta snowmageddon NOTE: classes cancelled due to icy conditions January 13 2. Atlanta snowmageddon II NOTE: classes cancelled due to icy conditions Chapter 1 Gravitational Physics Please read this chapter yourself. It will not be covered in the class. [emergency help] [assigned viewing] January 17 Martin Luther King Day January 18 3. Geometry as Physics Chapter 2 Geometry as Physics Predrag Cvitanović? Just SAY IT! January 20 3. Newtonian Physics Chapter 2 Geometry as Physics Sect. 2.6 and Box 2.3. Chapter 3 Newtonian Physics Sects. 3.1 - 3.4. homework #1: Chapter 2, problem 2, optional 10. Chapter 3, problem 2, optional 5. - due in class, Thu Jan 27. Democracy has been saved by Brendan Sullivan! Hartle and Cvitanović are wrong, everybody in the class is right, Earth trumps Sun in problem 2.2. Will adjust grades accordingly. [solutions to homework #1: 2.2, 2.10, 3.5] January 25 4. Variational principle Chapter 3 Newtonian Physics Sect. 3.5: Variational principle January 27 5. Principles of Special Relativity Chapter 4 Principles of Special Relativity February 1 6. Principles of Special Relativity February 3 7. E = m c square Chapter 5 Special Relativistic Mechanics Sects. 5.1 - 5.4 homework #2: [solutions to homework #2] How is this course graded? February 8 8. Variational principle Chapter 5 Special Relativistic Mechanics Sects. 5.4 - 5.6 February 10 9. Doppler shift Doppler Shift and Moving beyond a Non-Accelerating frame. homework #3: [solutions to homework #3] February 15 10. Curved Spacetime Chapter 7 Description of Curved Spacetime Sect. 7.1. February 17 11. Curved Spacetime Sects. 7.2 to 7.5. homework #4: [solutions to homework #4] February 22 12. Curved Spacetime Sects. 7.5 to 7.6. February 24 13. Curved Spacetime Sects. 7.7 to 7.9. homework #5: [solutions to homework #5] [solutions to homework #5, example 7.2] March 1 14. The Global Positioning System Sects. 6.2 to 6.6. March 3 15. Wormholes Sects. 7.7. Seek alternative sources of enlightment concerning covariant vs contravariant indices: vectors vs forms, etc.. Let me know it you found something insightful. homework #6: Note: this homework due March 17. Problem 8.1 added March 10. [solutions to homework #6] March 8 16. Geodesics Chapter 8 Geodesics The most important chapter. Wormholes are fun. March 10 9:35-10:55am Howey S204: midterm exam What does midterm cover: All the assigned reading up to March 3. The problems will be much like the assigned exercises. Scores: from 8 to 29, out of 30 max. [overview of material covered] [solutions to the midterm exam] March 15 Midterm review Please study the midterm solutions; they are very detailed, I will answer only questions that are not in the solutions provided. My advice: (1) Do work through the assigned problems, there is no other way to learn theoretical physics. (2) Do come to lectures, they can help you sort out what is important and what is not. (3) Seize the opportunities of the small class, participate and discuss unclear points. (4) Do stop by my office if you do not understand something off the bat. March 17 17. Geodesics homework #7: Note: this homework due April 7. [solutions to homework #7] March 21-25 spring break March 29 18. Geodesics Worked out Christoffel symbol in polar coordinates. March 31 19. Geodesics Symmetries, Killing vectors, freely falling frames. April 5 20. Geometry Outside of a Spherical Star Chapter 9 The Geometry Outside a Spherical Star Timelike particle orbits in Schwarzschild geometry. Redshift and particle orbits. April 7 21. Orbits in Schwarzschild geometry homework #7 due Chapter 9 The Geometry Outside a Spherical Star The geometry outside a spherical star. Lightlike orbits in Schwarzschild. Time delay of light. homework #8: [solutions to homework #8] April 12 22. Getting ready to meet Albert Chapter 20 A Little More Math A hard jump. [Max's solution: Her covariant derivatives blow my mind"] April 14 23. More Math April 19 24. Einstein Equation Chapter 21 Curvature and the Einstein equation Read sects. 21.1 and 21.2 homework #9: NOTE: due Tue April 26 2011 [solutions to homework #9] April 21 25. Einstein Equation: Schwarzschild solution Chapter 21 Curvature and the Einstein equation Read sects. 21.3 and 21.4 [Einstein equation: the battle plan] April 26 26. Stress-energy tensor Read sects. 22.1 and 22.2 Lautrup Chapter 6 Stress Optional reading from B. Lautrup, Physics of Continuous Matter, if you would like to understand the classical stress tensor. For the full story, take "Introduction to Continuum Physics". April 28 27. Einstein equation Read sect. 22.3 April 29 GT classes end Final exam syllabus: An overview of material covered by the final exam Thursday May 5 final exam 8:00am - 10:50am closed book, closed lecture notes, no calculator. solutions to the final exam, version of May 8 until May ? course opinion survey Instructor's opinion: Show this class a few indices, and it's like deer in a floodlight. Democracy does not work - nobody is going to try to explain the Einstein field equation in the first undergraduate relativity course again. I never got so many white hairs as in this course... CETL web link May 7 the future looks bright - have good holidays! the rest has yet to be worked out ... May 9 GT grades due at noon grade distribution