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PMU199Y (2014-15) course description from the UofT Calendar

Have you wondered about the origin and workings of the natural world around us? Have you found science interesting but felt shut out because it was too full of math and jargon? Have you felt a pull to become more science-literate? If so this seminar course is for you or for anyone interested in understanding more about the universe, including our planet, seen through the lens of modern physics.

Ideas on the menu will include: space and time, relativity, black holes, quantum physics, particle physics, unification, big bang cosmology, extra dimensions, branes, and string theory. The intriguing story of these integrated phenomena unfolds over a wide distance and a long time.

No prior experience with physical science will be required, but familiarity with Grade 10 mathematics will be assumed. Students from diverse academic backgrounds are warmly welcome.

Note: this course was last taught in 2014-15. These lecture notes are provided as-is to the general public, with zero technical/academic support. The current half-year version of this course is PHY197F and support is only available to enrolled students

Notes by Week Number

  1. Scale and powers of 10
  2. The Standard Model of particle physics
  3. From Newton to Einstein
  4. Einstein, Maxwell, and the speed of light
  5. Black holes
  6. Hawking radiation
  7. Quantum weirdness
  8. [Fall Oral Presentations]
  9. Wavelike nature of quanta
  10. [Fall Test] and Clash of the 20th century titans
  11. Unification and string theory
  12. Superstrings and superstring duality, part 1
  13. Superstring duality, part 2
  14. Symmetry and symmetry breaking
  15. Cosmology: a brief history of our universe
  16. Cosmology: weighing the universe
  17. Bob Park's Seven Warning Signs of Voodoo Science
  18. Carl Sagan's Baloney Detection Kit
  19. Scientific scandals -- real and manufactured
  20. [Spring Oral Presentations]
  21. Nuclear power
  22. [Spring Test] and [Bad Physics in the Movies]
  23. Nuclear accidents
  24. Energy mix and ecological sustainability

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