12:20-1:10 MWF SW 007
This course will provide an overview of the concepts of "modern
physics," and show how our discovery of these new ideas led to the
development of many of the devices and technologies we often take for
granted today.  We will start by discussing the theories of
relativity and quantum physics, theories that revolutionized our
understanding of the physical universe in the early part of this
century.  We will compare the predictions of these theories to those
of classical physics, and examine the experimental evidence that
could not be explained using older models.  Finally, we will spend
much of the semester seeing how these same ideas, once considered
purely abstract and mathematical, are now being applied in areas such
as medical imaging, carbon dating, lasers, communications devices,
and the whole "technology revolution" of computers and the microchip.

The course assumes knowledge of high school algebra, but does not
require trigonometry or calculus. Extensive use will be made of the
World Wide Web. There will be three exams and two 5-page papers in
the course, and short weekly homework sets emphasizing concepts and
short-answer problems.