Eric L. Michelsen, UCSD Physics            Rev 5/12/2012


Teaching:          Physics 1B Electricity and Magnetism, Spring 2012

 

Past:     Physics 130B Quantum Mechanics, Fall 2011:  http://physics.ucsd.edu/students/courses/fall2011/physics130b/

                        Physics 2C, Spring 2011:  http://physics.ucsd.edu/students/courses/spring2011/physics2c/

Personal web page:       http://physics.ucsd.edu/~emichels/personal.html


“To exchange one orthodoxy for another is not necessarily an advance. The enemy is the gramophone mind, whether or not one agrees with the record that is being played at the moment.”  --George Orwell

 

 “But, after all, it is the leaders of the country who determine the policy and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy, or a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders.  That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the peacemakers for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in any country.”  --Hermann Goering


Light curve processing:  Windows: lightcurve.exe           Manual: lightcurve.pdf

Python plotting scripts:  barc.py             pgmf.py


Presentation:     What’s not wrong with Super_Luminal_Neutrinos.pdf  (PDF)

Presentation:     Introduction to Gravitomagnetism  (powerpoint)


Unofficial Word template for APS:        APS.dot

Unofficial Word template for AmJP:      AmJP.dot


Instructor Tools:    Tips for UCSD Physics Instructors        (includes full documentation for ‘testmake’ and ‘scangrade’)

 

New version 1.0: testmake creates multiple forms of a test

testmake takes a text input file of multiple choice questions and answers, and produces multiple versions (“forms”) of the test. 

New version 1.2: scangrade simplifies Scantron grading

 

Windows versions:        scangrade.exe   testmake.exe   

Linux and Mac versions available on request.  Please let me know.


 

eat bitmaps, spambots!

Cool research project:    Lunar Laser Ranging 


Office: SERF-317: 3rd floor, NE corner, Science and Engineering Research Facility, building just east of the bookstore
Mail code 0424
Office phone:                858-822-2018
Lab: SERF-464   
Lab phone:                   858-822-1410
Fax SERF 3rd floor:     858-534-0177

Apollo system notes
Apollo Houston Control Manual
Laser programming
Unofficial Coding Guidelines

Cool laser photo


Fun Physics web pages:

Slow motion at a trillion frames per second, literally. You can see a light pulse travel across the table, and through a bottle.  The video at the bottom is the best, including both slo-mo scenes, and describing how it works.  There are also FAQs.  http://web.media.mit.edu/~raskar/trillionfps/

 

Faces of the Moon           The Elements Song, by Tom Lehrer             Physics Songs
Cornstarch, The Movie

Cool slo-mo Slinky fall: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eCMmmEEyOO0


Free source code: Keyword parameter library, header filesample program
Free Powerpoints: Signaling and Modulation     Baseband signaling and carrier modulation
                            We Deliver    Repeating, Bridging, Switching, and Routing
                             IP (Internet Protocol) Operation    Technical details of how IP operates
                             Layer 2 Framing    Technical details of some bit stream formatting methods: HDLC, Ethernet, DS1 & 3


Trigonometry Simplified (2 diagrams)                Interactive trigonometry:  http://www.touchtrigonometry.org/

The purpose of the “Funky” series of documents is to help develop an accurate physical, conceptual, geometric, and pictorial understanding of important physics topics.  We focus on areas that don’t seem to be covered well in most texts we’ve seen.  The documents are intended for serious students of physics.  They are not “popularizations” or oversimplifications, though they try to start simply, and build to more advanced topics.  Physics includes math,  and we’re not shy about it, but we also don’t hide behind it.  Without a conceptual understanding, math is gibberish. 

These are all works in progress.  Please send me your comments.  Now with PDF hyperlinks and physical constants!

Funky Quantum Concepts.pdf
Revised 11/30/2011

Wave mechanics, 1D scattering, matrix mechanics, angular momentum, spin-1/2, updated quantum electromagnetic interactions.

"This is really well written, and the concepts are explained confidently and clearly.  Great idea.  Great start."  -- physics research associate

Funky Mathematical Physics Concepts.pdf
Revised 1/11/2012

Latest: clarified and corrected Discrete Fourier Transforms.

Numerical analysis, statistics, Laplacian operator, tensors, much more.

“... most excellent tensor paper....  I feel I have come to a deep and abiding understanding of relativistic tensors....  The best explanation of tensors seen anywhere!”  -- physics graduate student

Funky ElectromagneticConcepts.pdf
Revised 2/27/2012

Relativistic E&M, circuits, waves, polarization vectors, ...

"Finally, a systematic approach to boundary value problems."  -- physics graduate student

Funky Statistical Mechanics Concepts Revised 3/8/2011

The Carnot conspiracy, Boltzmann distribution, entropy, free energy, meet Mr. Mole, chemical potential, ...

Funky Mechanics Concepts
Revised 4/5/2012: Velocity constraints

Early version of mechanics concepts, from basic principles through Lagrangian and Hamiltonian mechanics, including rotation, constraints, oscillations, and more.

Microcontrollers.pdf

A simple introduction to microcontrollers for those who’ve never seen one.

I'm actively seeking feedback on these docs, so please send me email with any reactions and/or suggestions.  

Other  stuff:    Skeleton Calculus.pdf