First Year Seminars

First Year Seminars • Astronomy • Physics 100-299 • Physics 300-699 • Physics 700-999 (Graduate) • Labs • Classroom Demos

ASTR 063 (006D) Catastrophe and Chaos: Unpredictable Physics (). Although Physics is the only science that enshrines uncertainty as a fundamental principle (Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle in Quantum Mechanics), it is still seen by most non-scientists as the most precise and deterministic of the sciences. While often apparently true of most everyday experiences--the launching of a rocket, the movement of a clock--determinism usually fails when times are long enough or the stimulus is strong enough. The goal of this first year seminar is to explore the richness and diversity of those important and rapidly developing areas of modern physics in which "unpredictability" is the norm. Christiansen.

PHYS 051 (006D) The Interplay of Music and Physics (3). Prof. Laurie McNeil (Bowman and Gordon Gray Professor 1996-1999) is teaching this interdisciplinary seminar jointly with Prof. Brent Wissick of the Music Department. The course explores the acoustics of musical instruments and how the particular characteristics of different instruments are used in Western classical music. Prof. Wissick, a professional cellist and a specialist in historical performance practice, provides a unique perspective on the applications of acoustic principles to the art of playing of the viola da gamba and many other stringed instruments. The students engage in experimental and analytical explorations of the sounds produced by simple systems such as a single stretched string or a cylindrical pipe. They also perform spectral analyses of more complicated systems, including the instruments that they themselves play. The occupants of Phillips Hall have thus been surprised by the sounds of the bassoon, the violin, and the trombone emanating from room 231! The class is further enlivened by visits from a professional luthier (stringed instrument maker) and a specialist in psychoacoustics (the study of the process of hearing), as well as a field trip to the pipe organ in Hill Hall. The "Grand Finale" of the class will be the students' performance, with commentary, of a musical composition on string and wind instruments they have designed and built themselves. Fall. McNeil.

PHYS 052 (006B) Making the Right Connections (3). This seminar will investigate the multiple roles that computers and microprocessors perform in scientific investigations. We will discuss how the measurements are performed, how connections are made between measuring devices and computers, how the collected data is decoded and evaluated and how the decisions based on the contents of the data are made and information fed back into the measurement process. This seminar will provide a broad perspective of modern electronic and computer-based instrumentation and their applications in data acquisition processes. Since experimentation is an important part of every research experience the students will perform a number of laboratory exercises, will take field trips to research labs and gain hands-on experience that will allow experimental verification of discussed concepts. Societal consequences of recent technological advances in the field will be discussed. Fall. Karwowski.

PHYS 053 (006D) Handcrafting in the Nanoworld: Building Models and Manipulating Molecules (). What is nanotechnology anyway? Scientists of all stripes are now actively exploring the wonderful and bizarre world of the nanoscale (one nanometer equals one billionth of a meter). This is the scale of molecules, DNA, carbon nanotubes and a host of other fascinating nano-objects. At this scale, nature has different rules, some of which are beautiful and unexpected. Scientists have only begun to learn these rules. We have also only begun applying this new knowledge to technology. Can we make computers using single molecule transistors? How do viruses and other bio systems "assemble" themselves? Can we build molecular machines that cure disease or clean up the environment? In looking at these questions, we will try to distinguishing the true promise of nanoscience from the hype. We will study the strange objects and properties of the nanoworld through class discussion and hands-on activities that include model building (with model kits, Lego etc.), scientific journal composition, and actual nanoscale experiments. Falvo.

PHYS 054 (006C) Physics of Movies (). Why does physics matter in everyday life situations? How can we comprehend the physics shown in movies? Which situations shown in movies are unphysical? How are physicists portrayed in movies? And, finally, how does physics research influence society? These are the main questions we will address during the course. Ultimately, we will gain a more fundamental understanding for physical concepts and how these concepts may shape our world view. Iliadis.

PHYS 071 (006C) Power Down: How Will Chapel Hill, NC, the U.S. and the World Deal with the End of Cheap Oil and Natural Gas? (). Cheap domestic oil propelled the USA to world economic and military dominance, and has allowed us to feed and hence boost world population. Now that half of the world's oil supply has been consumed and the rest is concentrated in unstable nations, prices are expected to rise inexorably. The effects in the first world will be to reduce dramatically the personal mobility and energy consumption that we take for granted, ending suburban sprawl and immigrant driven economic growth. In the developing world, agricultural productivity hence population will shrink. This seminar will prepare for expensive energy by: understanding what forms energy takes; learning to assess the efficiency and technologies of energy conversion; studying the implications of higher energy costs on space conditioning, fertilizer & food production, transportation, industry, pharmaceuticals, and communications/work patterns. This seminar will examine waste byproducts including the effects of greenhouse gases on global climate, and the long-term storage of nuclear waste. It will examine passive solar homes, and hear from guest lecturers who are working on the transition locally to renewable or practically inexhaustible energy sources. Cecil.