printer friendly pageOSPMADRD 27: Canarian Night Skies
Exploration of night skies in Spain's Canary Islands as well as those seen from California. Science for non-majors. Constellations, Solar System, Galactic and Extragalactic objects. Unique characteristics of the Canary Islands as astronomical reserve studied prior to field trip to the Canary Islands. Comparison of naked-eye Canarian and Californian night skies. Study and exploration of relevant astronomical instrumentation as well as representative celestial objects. Astrophotography-related activities. Enrollment limited.
Terms: Win
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: WAY-SMA
Instructors:
de la Fuente Marcos, R. (PI)
OSPPARIS 40M: An Intro to Making: What is EE
Is a hands-on class where students learn to make stuff. Through the process of building, you are introduced to the basic areas of EE. Students build a "useless box" and learn about circuits, feedback, and programming hardware, a light display for your desk and bike and learn about coding, transforms, and LEDs, a solar charger and an EKG machine and learn about power, noise, feedback, more circuits, and safety. And you get to keep the toys you build. Prerequisite:
CS 106A.
Terms: Aut, Spr
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: WAY-SMA
Instructors:
Horowitz, M. (PI)
OSPPARIS 50M: Introductory Science of Materials
Topics include: the relationship between atomic structure and macroscopic properties of man-made and natural materials; mechanical and thermodynamic behavior of surgical implants including alloys, ceramics, and polymers; and materials selection for biotechnology applications such as contact lenses, artificial joints, and cardiovascular stents. No prerequisite.
Terms: Aut, Win, Spr
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: WAY-AQR, GER:DB-EngrAppSci, WAY-SMA
OSPPARIS 53: Electricity, Magnetism and Optics with Laboratory
How are electric and magnetic fields generated by static and moving charges, and what are their applications? How is light related to electromagnetic waves? Represent and analyze electric and magnetic fields to understand electric circuits, motors, and generators. Wave nature of light to explain interference, diffraction, and polarization phenomena; geometric optics to understand how lenses and mirrors form images. Workings and limitations of optical systems such as the eye, corrective vision, cameras, telescopes, and microscopes. Discussions based on the language of algebra and trigonometry. An integrated version of
Physics 23 and 24, targeted to premedical students who are studying abroad with integrated labs. Prerequisite:
PHYSICS 21 or 21S.
Terms: Win
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: WAY-SMA
Instructors:
Covert, M. (PI)
OSPSANTG 58: Living Chile: A Land of Extremes
Physical, ecological, and human geography of Chile. Perceptions of the Chilean territory and technologies of study. Flora, fauna, and human adaptations to regional environments. Guest lectures; field trips; workshops.
Terms: Spr, Sum
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-EngrAppSci, WAY-SMA
Instructors:
Reid, S. (PI)
OSPSANTG 60: Microbes and Society
The spread of microbial species is associated with the spread of human beings across the planet. Role of microbial species in shaping human history and society. What role did microbial diseases play in early human migration and the spread of humans across the continents? How can we explain the uneven spread of diseases such as flu or HIV? Which human behaviors enhance, and which thwart, the spread of microbial species?
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-SMA
Instructors:
Bendavid, E. (PI)
PHIL 165: Philosophy of Physics: Philosophical Issues in Quantum Mechanics (PHIL 265)
Graduate students register for 265. NOTE:
Phil 165/265 alternates topics yearly between "Philosophical Issues in Quantum Mechanics" and "Philosophical Problems of Space, Time and Motion". The course may be repeated with a different subject matter. nnIn Winter 2017-18, the subject is ""Philosophical Issues in QM"nnI. TOPICS: After introducing a simplified version of Dirac's 'bra-ket' vector space formalism for the quantum state (a.k.a. function), the first third of the term is a historical overview of Heisenberg's uncertainty relations, wave-particle duality, the problem of quantum measurement, and the non-classical nature of spin. We survey the treatment of these issues within Bohr's doctrine of complementarity and the so-called Copenhagen interpretation of QM. We review Einstein's several arguments for the incompleteness of QM, leading up to the famous EPR (Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen) paper of 1935, the resulting issue of quantum entanglement as discussed by Einstein and Schrödinger, and the complexities of Bohr's response to EPR. In the second third of the term, we examine a well-known 'no go' theorem on EPR-type experimental set-ups stemming from Bell in the 1960s, according to which no hidden variables theory satisfying a certain locality condition (apparently assumed by EPR) can reproduce all the predictions of QM. In the last third, we survey current variations of, or interpretive options for, standard QM: Bohmian mechanics (a.k.a. pilot wave theory), spontaneous collapse theories, and Everett's relative-state interpretation with its many worlds/ many minds variants. We end by scrutinizing the recent decoherence program (a.k.a.localization induced by the scattering of environmental particles) that purports to explain the quantum-to-classical transition, i.e., the emergence of the world of classical physics and macroscopic objects and properties from quantum physics. We consider whether decoherence is justifiably viewed as solving the quantum measurement problem. nnII. PREREQUISITES: No detailed knowledge of quantum physics or advanced mathematics is presumed. Some background in philosophy, natural science or mathematics will be helpful. Students will benefit from possession of a modicum of mathematical maturity (roughly equivalent to a familiarity with elementary single-variable calculus or the metatheory of first-order logic).
Terms: Win
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II, WAY-SMA
| Repeatable
for credit
Instructors:
Ryckman, T. (PI)
;
Ettel, J. (TA)
PHYSICS 14N: Quantum Information: Visions and Emerging Technologies
What sets quantum information apart from its classical counterpart is that it can be encoded non-locally, woven into correlations among multiple qubits in a phenomenon known as entanglement. We will discuss paradigms for harnessing entanglement to solve hitherto intractable computational problems or to push the precision of sensors to their fundamental quantum mechanical limits. We will also examine challenges that physicists and engineers are tackling in the laboratory today to enable the quantum technologies of the future.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: WAY-FR, WAY-SMA
Instructors:
Schleier-Smith, M. (PI)
;
Cotler, J. (TA)
PHYSICS 15: Stars and Planets in a Habitable Universe
Is the Earth unique in our galaxy? Students learn how stars and our galaxy have evolved and how this produces planets and the conditions suitable for life. Discussion of the motion of the night sky and how telescopes collect and analyze light. The life-cycle of stars from birth to death, and the end products of that life cycle -- from dense stellar corpses to supernova explosions. Course covers recent discoveries of extrasolar planets -- those orbiting stars beyond our sun -- and the ultimate quest for other Earths. Intended to be accessible to non-science majors, material is explored quantitatively with problem sets using basic algebra and numerical estimates. Sky observing exercise and observatory field trips supplement the classroom work.
Terms: Aut, Sum
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER: DB-NatSci, WAY-SMA
Instructors:
Hubickyj, E. (PI)
;
Macintosh, B. (PI)
;
Kurinsky, N. (TA)
...
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Instructors:
Hubickyj, E. (PI)
;
Macintosh, B. (PI)
;
Kurinsky, N. (TA)
;
Ruffio, J. (TA)
;
Yang, H. (TA)
PHYSICS 16: The Origin and Development of the Cosmos
How did the present Universe come to be? The last few decades have seen remarkable progress in understanding this age-old question. Course will cover the history of the Universe from its earliest moments to the present day, and the physical laws that govern its evolution. The early Universe including inflation and the creation of matter and the elements. Recent discoveries in our understanding of the makeup of the cosmos, including dark matter and dark energy. Evolution of galaxies, clusters, and quasars, and the Universe as a whole. Implications of dark matter and dark energy for the future evolution of the cosmos. Intended to be accessible to non-science majors, material is explored quantitatively with problem sets using basic algebra and numerical estimates.
Terms: Win, Sum
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER: DB-NatSci, WAY-SMA
Instructors:
Gill, M. (PI)
;
Simeon, P. (PI)
;
Wechsler, R. (PI)
...
more instructors for PHYSICS 16 »
Instructors:
Gill, M. (PI)
;
Simeon, P. (PI)
;
Wechsler, R. (PI)
;
DeRose, J. (TA)
;
Scherlis, A. (TA)
;
Totorica, S. (TA)
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