Physics 281: Estimation and Scaling in Physics, Part I
Spring Term, 2014
Class meets MWF 2:00 to 3:20 PM, SERF 383.
Note: This class is being coordinated with sections B00 and C00 of Physics 281, taught by George Fuller and Pat Diamond, respectively. Even though the official time for this section is M 2:00–3:20, we will use times on MWF, likely from 2:00–2:50. MWF 2–3:20 is a catch-all placeholder for all sections.
This course presents a diverse set of topics and methods used by
working physicists to confront real-world physical problems. The
course will emphasize physics not encountered in standard courses, as
well as techniques for estimation and problem solving. The class is
aimed at graduate students in physical sciences and engineering, and
at ambitious undergraduates.
Topics covered in Part I include:
- Estimation Techniques
- Applications of physics to everyday life, including physiology and energy
- Drag
- Heat Transfer
- Strength and Properties of Materials
- Weather and Climate
- Optical Phenomena
Students will be assessed via weekly problem sets and class
participation.
Professor Contact Info
Tom Murphy
SERF Buliding, Room 336, 534-1844
tmurphy@physics.ucsd.edu
Office hours by appointment (e-mail, phone, personal, drop by)
Recommended Books
Highly Recommended
- L. Weinstein and J. A. Adam, Guesstination, Princeton, (a
light-hearted and sometimes frivolous exposure to quantitative estimation)
- S. Mahajan, P. Goldreich, S. Phinney, Order of Magnitude
Physics, available here
(text for Caltech version of course (that TM took); also check out
Eugene Chiang's
website on a similar course at Bekeley).
- D. J. C. MacKay, Sustainable Energywithout the hot air,
available for free at http://www.withouthotair.com/ as a
PDF, (brilliantly quantifies energy use and alternativesa fun
read)
- Frank Shu's article on the global energy
crisis, (has a nice appendix estimating the scales of renewable energy
options)
Recommended
- D. Tabor, Gases, liquids and solids, Penguin (properties
of atoms, molecules, and their collective properties)
- J. Walker, The Flying Circus of Physics, (website), (loads of
everyday life physics "problems" usually stimulating more
questions than answers)
- A Tutorial on the Basic Physics of
Climate Change, by Hafemeister and Schwartz, (nice seat-of-the-pants
derivation of radiative properties of atmosphere)