Physics 263 -- Spring, 2006

General Information about Physics 263

Course title:

[official title]: Particles and Waves 3    [working title]: Mathematical Methods in Physics I

Required Text:

Basic Training in Mathematics: A Fitness Program for Science Students by R. Shankar will be the principal text. We'll refer to the text as "BTM". One reason for using this text is that it is easy to read; please make sure you do so! Reading assignments will be posted on the 263 web page.

Recommended Supplementary Reference:

The Mathematics Companion by A.C. Fischer-Cripps is an excellent compilation of "what you need to know" for undergraduate physics (and for 263!). It is not required this year, but I recommend getting a copy (it is $18 from Amazon).

Philosophy and Goals:

This is the second round of a new version of Physics 263, which in the past has focused on a conceptual introduction to modern physics (and quantum mechanics in particular). Starting last year, the focus is on ensuring a solid foundation in mathematics and computational methods upon which subsequent physics (or other science or engineering) courses can build. It is neither a substitute for the standard math prerequisites nor is it a remedial math course. The philosophy and goals for the mathematical component are summarized nicely in the Preface and Note to the Student from BTM. The goals of the computational component are to introduce selected concepts of numerical analysis and visualization along with a gentle introduction to programming by example (e.g., instead of writing programs from scratch, you'll modify sample programs). In both cases, effective learning requires practice, practice, and more practice!

Prerequisites:

The official prerequisites are 262 and Math 254 or Math 263. You are not assumed to have taken the linear algebra, vector analysis, or differential equations courses. See Prof. Furnstahl if you're concerned about your preparation. Prior computer programming experience is not assumed.

Material:

Ideally we would cover most of the BTM chapters. However, since we only have 10 weeks, it is not feasible to do that at a reasonable pace. Last year we did selections from chapters one through nine (see the Spring, 2005 webpage for details). This year we'll make some adjustments based on feedback from last year's class. We will try to do as many problems as possible from the book, either in class or on problem sets.

We'll use MATLAB both as a learning and visualization tool for the mathematics, and also to learn some basics of computational physics and programming.

Instructor:

Prof. Richard "Dick" Furnstahl
office: M2048 Physics Research Building (PRB) (mezzanine floor: "M" button on the elevator, between floors 2 and 3)
email: furnstahl.1@osu.edu or furnstah@mps.ohio-state.edu
phone: 292-4830 (office) or 847-4026 (home) [you can leave a message on either phone]

Graders:

Kohjiro Kobayashi
office: 2041 PRB
email: kobayashi.31@osu.edu or koh@mps.ohio-state.edu
phone: 292-8529 (office)

Yiannis Proestos
office: M2041 PRB
email: proestos.3@osu.edu
phone: 688-3296 (office)

Tutor:

Ivan Kotov
office: TBA
email: kotov@physics.ohio-state.edu
phone: 292-4775

Smith 1094 and Computer Consultant:

Terry Bradley
office: 1199 PRB
email: bradleyt@mps.ohio-state.edu
phone: 292-8598 (office)

Schedule:

The class officially meets five days a week at 11:30am. In practice, most weeks we'll meet for three days in Smith 1005 for lecture and one day in Smith 1005 for an optional math review/problem solving session. On the fifth day we'll be in Smith 1094; you'll have a choice of hours for this session.

Problem sets will be due twice a week, on Tuesdays and Fridays at 5:30pm in the 263 box in 1011 (by the mailboxes). Late homework will not be accepted.

There will be one short quiz a week (most, but not all, weeks) at the end of class on Thursday. The quizzes are to check on the math basics you have to know by instinct, so that they don't distract from the physics.

The final exam will be comprehensive (i.e., it will cover all topics).
[Note: The schedule is subject to change at short notice!]

Office Hours:

By appointment (asking in class or by email is easiest) and . . .
[to be announced] (Furnstahl)

Grading:

Assigned problems from BTM plus supplementary problems [20%]

1094 Worksheets [10%]

Quizzes (must pass 5/7 quizzes, with 3 tries allowed) [20%]

Midterm (in class, May 4) [20%]

Final on Wednesday, June 7 from 11:30am-1:18pm [30%]

Web Pages:

This info: http://www.physics.ohio-state.edu/~ntg/263/physics263_info.php

Course home page: http://www.physics.ohio-state.edu/~ntg/263/physics263.php