CONTEMPORARY PHYSICS
SEMINAR
(Physics 172.203)
Fall 2009
This seminar is designed to expose physics majors and physics minors to a variety of contemporary
experimental and theoretical issues in the fields of physics and astronomy.
Students read and discuss reviews from the current literature.
Prerequisites: 171.101-102, 171.103-104, or 171.105-106
Instructor:
Professor Robert L. Leheny
leheny@pha.jhu.edu
Office: Bloomberg 353
Phone: 6-6442
Office hours: Monday 3-4 pm and by appointment
Meeting time: Tuesdays, 1:30 - 2:20 PM, Bloomberg 278
Course Requirement: Each week students will read an article on a topic of current interest in physics and astronomy. They should write a short paragraph summarizing the issues raised in the article and pose a question for further discussion. The summaries and questions should be sent via email to the instructor by 8 PM of the Sunday before class. The course grades will be based equally on these summaries and questions and on class participation.
Schedule of topics and readings (subject to change):
| Date | Topic | Reading |
|---|
| September 15 | Exoplanets | "The Detection and Characterization of Exoplanets," J. I. Lunine et al., Physics Today, May 2009, p. 46.
|
| September 22 | Geometrical Frustration | "Geometrical Frustration," R. Moessner and A. P. Ramirez. Physics Today, February 2006, p. 24.
|
| September 29 | Dark Energy | "Supernovae, Dark Energy, and the Accelerating Universe," S. Perlmutter, Physics Today, April 2003, p. 53.
|
| October 6 | The LHC & Physics Beyond the Standard Model | "The Coming Revolutions in Particle Physics," C. Quigg, Scientific American, February 2008, p. 46.
|
| October 13 | Mass & the Higgs | "The Mysteries of Mass," G. Kane, Scientific American Special Edition; The Frontiers of Physics, Vol. 15 Issue 3, p. 32.
|
| October 20 | No Class |
|
| October 27 | Quantum Computing | "The Limits of Quantum," S. Aaronson, Scientific American, March 2008, p. 62.
|
| November 3 | Dark Matter | "The Search for Dark Matter," D. C. Cline, Scientific American, March 2003, p. 52.
|
| November 10 | Nanophysics | "Plenty of Room Indeed," M. Roukes, Scientific American Special Edition; The Rise of Nanotech, September, 2007, p. 4.
|
| November 17 | Superconductivity | "An Iron Key to High-Temperature Superconductivity?" G. P. Collins, Scientific American, August, 2009, p. 62.
|
| November 24 | No Class |
|
| December 1 | The Arrow of Time | "The Cosmic Origins of Time's Arrow," S. M. Carroll, Scientific American, June, 2008, p. 48.
|
