PHYS 401 - Physics and Human Thought

Credits: 3

The course will cover some of the important ideas in physics and their relationship to other areas of human thought, e.g. philosophy, literature, and art. These relationships will be made through readings from works that have a direct connection to physics. The emphasis will be on learning the physical principles and their significance. The physical theories that will be covered include Newton’s laws, energy conservation, the second law of thermodynamics, special relativity, and quantum mechanics. These theories will be framed in the context of the times in which they developed. The course will involve both the solving of “traditional physics problems” and the writing of essays relating the ideas developed in the problems to a wider context. Prerequisite(s): MATH 111 or equivalent and PHYS 101 or equivalent. Lecture-Lab (ex: 3-1 means 3 hrs lecture and 1 hr lab): (3-0)

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