PHYS-2018
Great Ideas in Science I
Course Web Page

This web page has been set up for the honor students at ETSU taking PHYS-2018 during the Fall 2007 semester and PHYS-2028 during the Spring 2008 semester with Dr. Luttermoser. Many of the lectures that will be presented to the class in this course sequence will also be available on this web site (see below). These lectures may be presented in a variety of different formats such as PowerPoint and PDF. Note that in order to view PDF (Portable Document Format) files, one needs Acrobat Reader in order to view the document. If your computer does not have this software already installed, you can install it from the link in the last sentence.

Course Overview

Great Ideas in Science is a two-semester sequence that provides an honor student a front row seat on how the various disciplines in science interact with one another. PHYS-2018-001 is the Fall semester course in this sequence and PHYS-2028-001 is the Spring semester course. Through the years, different themes will be covered in Great Ideas in Science. Though Dr. L. will be coordinating the course and providing many of the lectures, we will have other faculty from different departments also providing lectures on different topics.

Academic Year Course Theme
2007/2008 Origins

Course Syllabus

Course Syllabus for PHYS-2018-001, Great Ideas in Science. You can also download a PDF version of this syllabus by clicking on the appropriate link.

Course Lectures:

Note that as lectures are written and the lecturer wishes to place these lectures online, they will be made available to you below as links to the topics.

Lecturer Topic
Dr. David Harker The Real Scientific Method
Science, Pseudoscience, & ID
Dr. Bob Gardner The Meaning of Math
NonEuclidean Geometry
The Shape of Space
The Shape of Space Supplement
Special Relativity
General Relativity
Dr. Don Luttermoser
(Physics Module)		 Quantum Mechanics
Particle Physics
Nuclear Physics
Dr. Don Luttermoser
(Astronomy Module)		 The Big Bang: The Origin of Matter and Structure of the Universe
Stellar Evolution: The Origin of Elements

Student Projects

Project 1: Science, Pseudoscience, and the Republican War on Science.
Based on materials and readings from Dr. David Harker's lectures. Here the students will break into groups to give oral presentations on September 11 and 13, 2007 and submit a 5 page written report (one report per group) on September 18, 2007 covering their presentation topic.

Project 2: Topics in Math and Relativity.
Click this link to view the write-up of this Student Project. Here the students will break into groups to give oral presentations on October 9 and 11, 2007 and submit a 1000 word written report (one report per group) on October 9, 2007 covering their presentation topic.

Project 3: Topics in Atomic, Nuclear, and Particle Physics.
Click this link to view the write-up of this Student Project. Here the students will break into groups to give oral presentations on October 30 and November 1, 2007 and submit a 6 page (minimum) written report (one report per group) on November 6, 2007 covering their presentation topic.

Project 4: Topics in Astronomy.
Click this link to view the write-up of this Student Project. Here the students will break into groups to give oral presentations on December 4 and December 6, 2007 and submit a 6 page (minimum) written report (one report per group) on December 4, 2007 covering their presentation topic.

Student Readings

Dr. David Harker's Module: The Republican War on Science by Chris Mooney.

Dr. Bob Gardner's Module: No book readings are currently assigned.

Dr. Don Luttermoser's Physics Module: No book readings are currently assigned.

Dr. Don Luttermoser's Astronomy Module: Origins: Fourteen Billion Years of Cosmic Evolution by Neil DeGrasse Tyson and Donald Goldsmith; and The First Three Minutes: A Modern View of the Origin of the Universe by Stephen Weinberg.

Last modified: December 1, 2007 by D.G. Luttermoser