Arts & Sciences 138.03: Freshman Seminar
The Wave Nature of the Universe
Syllabus


  Week 1:
    Lecture: Introduction to the Course
    Discussion: Handouts.

  Week 2:
    Lecture: Introduction to Waves
    Discussion: Waves and wave properties; light and sound; how do we see and hear?

  Week 3:
   

Lecture:

Properties of Waves
    Discussion: Interference; Museum of Holography Video

  Week 4:
    Lecture: Properties of Waves
    Discussion: Diffraction

  Week 5:
    Lecture: Rules and Scales in Working with Waves
    Discussion: Stability; Coherence

  Week 6:
    Lecture: Waves and a Discrete Quantum World
    Discussion: A hint at why we exist.

  Week 7:
    Lecture: The Statistical Nature of the Quantum World
    Discussion: A hint at how long we will survive.

  Week 8:
    Lecture: Outcomes of the Discrete World
    Discussion: Lasers; Holographic art

  Week 9:
    Lecture: The Making of a Hologram
    Demonstration: Student work; Holography in Practice

 

Week 10:

    Critique: Final Piece due
    Discussion: Class discussion of student work