This course will take you from

elementary mechanics to the

unsolved mysteries of the physical universe!

PHYS 1303

Introductory Mechanics

Fall 2009

LECTURER: Dr. Simon Dalley

· Text: "Physics for Scientists and Engineers" Vol.1 by R. A. Serway & J. W. Jewett, 7th Edition, ISBN 0495112437. (Optional: Vol.2, Chap 39 only, for Relativity)

· Lecture: Tue, Thu, 9:30am-10:50 am

· Office Hours: Tue 11:00 am - Noon, 207 Fondren Science, or other times by appointment.

· Homework Help Sessions: Tue 5:00-6:20 pm & 6:40-8:00 pm, 153 Fondren Science with TA Banafsheh Ferdousi ferdousi@physics.smu.edu

· Contact:

o Phone (214) 768-2109

o Mail Physics Department Office, 102 Fondren Science

o E-mail: <sdalley@physics.smu.edu>

INFORMATION

· Syllabus

· Rules

· Homework

· Test Grading Schemes

· Disability Accommodations, Religious Observances, Extracurricular Activities, Absence

RESOURCES

· WWW resources:

o Access the Serway and Jewett student companion site

o Meet Galileo, who founded Mechanics, and Newton, who perfected it.

o Consult a Milky-Way map, and view Hubble telescope pictures of other (spiral) galaxies performing circular motion; see also the effects of the rapidly rotating Pulsar Neutron star in the Crab Nebula.

o Non-Inertial frames of reference give rise to fictitious forces, such as the Coriolis force that governs large scale weather patterns on Earth.

o Check out a crash test video of how your car absorbs the impulse of a collision.

o Follow the collisions of elementary particles (protons, quarks, electrons,..) performed at the largest machines in the world, such as the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC).

o Play with an orbit simulator to understand how “freely falling” objects can stay above Earth’s surface.

o Listen to sound clips of varying intensity and frequency to determine your threshold of hearing

o Meet Einstein, who revolutionized the concepts of space, time, and energy.

o Stopwatch