Physics of Contemporary Challenges | 2026-Spring

Course Name
Physics of Contemporary Challenges
Course Number
PH 315
Year/Term
2026
Display other available years here.
Course Credits
3
Class meeting times
3 hours of lecture per week
Prerequisites
Recommended: PH 211
Course description
An introduction to thermal and quantum physics in the context of contemporary challenges faced by our society, such as power generation, energy efficiency, and global warming.

Topic/Day

Activities

Resources

Homework Due

1 Monday (W1)
Introduction
Writing answers to HW questions
9 Rules for Typography in Physics
A quick guide to LaTeX
Classroom norms
Introduction to Term Project
* Ethan's OneNote Class Notes
* SEWHA Ch 8 - Hydroelectricity
Videos:
* Magnitude Analysis by Simon Clark (4min30sec)
* David MacKay Lecture, author of SEWHA.
2 Wednesday
Hydroelectric power from a coarse-grained model.
Rain Power Estimate
*Reading Assignment - 3 pages from the book "Scale" by Geoffrey West.
*Also available in plain text
3 Friday
Energy for transportation - a coarse-grained model.
SEWHA Ch 3 - Cars
SEWHA Appendix A: Cars II
HW week 1 w/Solution
4 Monday (W2)
Energy for transportation - refining and applying
TEDx Talk by Sanjoy Mahajan (aerodynamics)
5 Wednesday
Wind energy - a coarse-grained model.
Wind energy
SEWHA Ch 4: Wind
SEWHA Appendix B: Wind II
6 Friday
Uncertainty - from age of universe to air density.
Uncertainty in air density
HW week 2 w/Solution
7 Monday (W3)
Size scale and energy scale of nuclei
Fission and fusion
8 Wednesday
Nuclear Physics Continued
9 Friday
Nuclear Physics Continued
Homework 3 w/Solution
10 Monday (W4)
Energy flow. Energy conservation. The need to define entropy.
Dropping hot metal into water
"6 Ideas Unit T" by Thomas Moore:
  1. Ch 2 (first half of chapter) pages 20-24 “Macrostates and microstates”
  2. Ch 3 pages 38-47 “Entropy and Temperature”
Youtube videos:
  1. How entropy powers the Earth 3 minute video by MinutePhysics
Entropy Introduction
11 Wednesday
Entropy, continued
12 Friday
Midterm
Practice midterm (not to be turned in) w/Solution
13 Monday (W5)
Entropy Continued
"6 Ideas Unit T" by Thomas Moore:
  1. Section T5.4 Equipartition Theorem
14 Wednesday
Entropy Continued
15 Friday
Entropy continued
HW Week 5
16 Monday (W6)
Equipartition Theorem
17 Wednesday
Quantum mechanics: Introduction to the Schrodinger equation, wavefunctions describing matter waves.
18 Friday
Quantum mechanics: Introduction to partial differential equations and functions of space and time.
"6 Ideas Unit Q" by Thomas Moore:
  1. Chapter 1 pages 4-12 Wave Models
  2. Chapter 2 pages 20-29 Standing Waves and Resonance
HW Week 6
Quantum
"6 Ideas Unit Q" by Thomas Moore:
  1. Chapter 11 “Spectra”
  2. Chapter 5 “The Wave Nature of Particles (de Broglie wavelength)”
  3. Section 10.3 “A Quanton in a Box”
Videos to watch:
  1. Electron microscopes explained by Physics Girl
19 Monday (W7)
Partial Differential Equations
Walt Lewin's PDE Lecture, 10-minutes
Draft of Term Project
20 Wednesday
Musical Instruments
21 Friday
Musical Instruments
Week 7 HW
22 Monday (W8)
Quantum Light Emission
23 Wednesday
Quantum, E = hf
Light Emission - Practice for Midterm
24 Friday
Midterm 2
25 Monday (W9)
MEMORIAL DAY HOLIDAY
26 Wednesday
Planck's Law of Radiation
Wavelength of peak intensity
Using the Stefan-Boltzmann law
Grey space capsule
Black space capsule
27 Friday
Planck's Radiation Law
Temperature of the Earth
Optical depth of atmosphere
HW Week 9
28 Monday (W10)
Climate Models
Earth under plexiglass
29 Wednesday
Climate Models
30 Friday
Climate Models
Week 10 HW
31 Friday 12/10
Contemporary Challenges Review