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Content for Second Semester - 132 

Content for First Semester - 131

Catch up readings: For those of you who have come to us from a traditional first-semester physics class, follow this link to pick up the topics we did in 131 that are non-traditional.

132 Class homepage 

(Files unlinked or marked with *** are not yet written.)

Outline of Second Semester Content 

Cover sheet and Authors

Interlude 2: The Micro to Macro Connection

7. Thermodynamics and Statistical Physics

7.1 Kinetic theory: the ideal gas law

• 7.1.1 Partial pressure - gases
• 7.1.2 Partial pressure - liquids  
• 7.1.3 Reading the content in the ideal gas law  

7.2 The 1^st law of thermodynamics

• 7.2.1 Organizing the idea of energy  
• 7.2.2 Enthalpy
• 7.2.2.1 Example: Enthalpy
• 7.2.3 Thermodynamic equilibrium and equipartition
• 7.2.4 Example: Degrees of freedom

7.3 The 2^nd Law of Thermodynamics  

• 7.3.1 The 2^nd Law of Thermodynamics: A Probabilistic Law  
• 7.3.2 Implications of the Second Law of Thermodynamics: Entropy 
• 7.3.2.1 Why entropy is logarithmic
• 7.3.2.2 Biological Consequences of the 2nd Law of Thermodynamics
• 7.3.2.3 A way to think about entropy -- sharing
• 7.3.2.4 Calculating entropy 
• 7.3.2.4.1 Example: Arranging energy and entropy  
• 7.3.2.4.2 Example: Entropy and heat flow
• 7.3.2.4.3 Example: Calculating entropy by counting microstates
• 7.3.2.4.4 Example: Entropy of mixing and the Gibbs' Paradox 

• 7.3.3 Motivating free energy 

• 7.3.3.1 Gibbs free energy
• 7.3.3.2 Example: Free energy of an expanding gas
• 7.3.3.3 Example: The one atom gas

• 7.3.4 How energy is distributed: Fluctuations

• 7.3.4.1 Boltzmann distribution
• 7.3.4.2 Boltzmann distribution and Gibbs free energy
• 7.3.4.3 Example: The Boltzmann distribution 

8. Electricity

8.1 The Electric field (also 4.2.4.4)     

• 8.1.1 The concept of field
• 8.1.2 Making sense of the idea of field
• 8.1.3 Motivating simple electric models
• 8.1.3.1 A simple electric model: a line charge
• 8.1.3.1.1 Line charge integral (technical)
• 8.1.3.2 A simple electric model: a sheet of charge 
• 8.1.3.3 A simple electric model: a sphere of charge  

8.2 The electric potential

8.3 Electricity in Matter

• 8.3.1 Screening of electrical interactions in salt solution
• 8.3.1.1 Debye length 
• 8.3.2 Nernst potential 

8.4 Capacitance

• 8.4.1 Two parallel sheets of charge
• 8.4.2 The capacitor
• 8.4.3 The dielectric constant 

8.5 Electric Currents

• 8.5.1 Quantifying electric current
• 8.5.2 Resistive electric flow: Ohm's law
• 8.5.3 Ways to think about current: A toolbox of models
• 8.5.4 Kirchhoff's principles
• 8.5.4.1 Example: Resistors in series
• 8.5.4.2 Example: Resistors in parallel
• 8.5.4.3 Example: Batteries in series and parallel
• 8.5.4.4 Example: A complex network
• 8.5.5 Electrical energy and power

9. Oscillations and Waves

9.1 Harmonic Oscillation

• 9.1.1 Mass on a spring
• 9.1.1.1 Hanging mass on a spring
• 9.1.1.2 The pendulum
• 9.1.1.3 Reading the content in the harmonic oscillator solution 
• 9.1.1.4 Example: Oscillator graphs
• 9.1.1.5 Example: Oscillator calculations 
• 9.1.2 Damped oscillators
• 9.1.2.1 Damped oscillators - the math (technical)
• 9.1.3 Driven oscillators: resonance
• 9.1.4 Non-linear oscillators -- attractors and chaos
• 9.1.5 Quantum oscillators -- discrete states

9.2 Waves in 1D

• 9.2.1 Waves on an elastic string
• 9.2.2 Wave pulses
• 9.2.2.1 Propagating a wave pulse - the math
• 9.2.3 Wave speed
• 9.2.4 Superposition of waves in 1D
• 9.2.4.1 Beats
• 9.2.4.2 Standing waves
• 9.2.5 Sinusoidal waves
• 9.2.6 Summing different wavelengths -- spectral analysis

9.3 Sound waves

• 9.3.1 The nature of sound
• 9.3.2 Analyzing sounds
• 9.3.2.1 Interference
• 9.3.2.2 Doppler effect
• 9.3.3 The ear

10 Three models of light 

10.1 The ray model of light

• 10.1.1 Basic principles of the ray model
• 10.1.2 Flat mirrors
• 10.1.3 Curved mirrors 
• 10.1.3.1 Curved mirror equations
• 10.1.4 Lenses
• 10.1.4.1 Lens equations
• 10.1.5 The eye
• 10.1.6 Optical instruments 

10.2 The wave model of light

• 10.2.1 Electromagnetic radiation and Maxwell's rainbow
• 10.2.1.1 Polarization
• 10.2.2 Huygens' principle and the wave model
• 10.2.2.1 The math of Huygens' principle
• 10.2.2. 2 Huygens and the basic results of the ray model (technical) ***
• 10.2.2.2.1 Arago's bright spot ***
• 10.2.3 Two-slit interference
• 10.2.3.1 The diffraction grating *** (done in UP) 
• 10.2.4 Diffraction
• 10.2.4.1 Interference from two wide slits  
• 10.2.4.1.1 Resolution and the Rayleigh criteria (done in UP)
• 10.2.4 1.2 Bragg scattering ***
• 10.2.4.2 The Diffraction grating 
• 10.2.4.3. What you can learn from spectra

10.3 The photon model of light

• 10.3.1 Basic principles of the photon model
• 10.3.1.1 Reconciling the wave and photon model - sort of

10.4 Color and light

10.5 Interaction of light with matter

• 10.5.1 Visual implications
• 10.5.2 Black-body radiation
• 10.5.3 The photoelectric effect

11. The wave model of matter

• 11.1 Quantum oscillators -- discrete states
• 11.2 Quantum string
• 11.3 Fluorescence