Module Identifier | PH21010 | ||
Module Title | RELATIVITY & MECHANICS | ||
Academic Year | 2002/2003 | ||
Co-ordinator | Dr Eleri Pryse | ||
Semester | Semester 1 | ||
Other staff | Dr Keith Birkinshaw | ||
Pre-Requisite | Core Physics Modules at Level 1 | ||
Course delivery | Lecture | 20 lectures | |
Seminars / Tutorials | 2 seminars/workshops/exercise classes; 2 tutorials | ||
Assessment | Semester Exam | 2 Hours End of Semester Examinations | 70% |
Semester Assessment | Course Work: Example Sheets Example Sheets 1,2,3,5,6, and 7 Deadlines are detailed in the Year 2 Example Sheet Schedule distributed by the Department | 30% |
Special theory
Lorentz transformation; relativistic interval; Minkowski diagram; causality.
Transformation of velocities.
Relativistic optics: aberration of light; Doppler effect.
Relativistic dynamics: E=mc2; energy-momentum transformations and four-vector.
Compton scattering.
General theory
Inertial and gravitational mass; Principle of Equivalence.
Gravitational redshift; Clocks in a gravitational field.
Einstein's theory of gravity; geodesics; non-Euclidean space-time.
The Schwarzschild solution; black holes.
MECHANICS
Harmonic motion: revision of simple harmonic motion, damped and forced harmonic motion.
Coupled osciallators.
Rotational motion: angular momentum and torque, moment of inertia; conservation of angular momentum, gyroscopic motion.
Introduction to Lagrangian mechanics.