8.20
Introduction to Special Relativity
Bruce Knuteson
Mon-Fri, Jan 3-7, 10-14, 17-18, 20-21, 24-28, 10:30-12:00am, 4-270
Pre-register on WebSIS and attend first class.
Listeners allowed, space permitting
Prereq: 8.01, 18.01
Level: U 9 units Standard A - F Grading
Introduces the basic ideas and equations of Einstein's Special Theory of Relativity. Topics include: Lorentz transformations, length contraction and time dilation, four vectors, Lorentz invariants, relativistic energy and momentum, relativistic kinematics, Doppler shift, space-time diagrams, relativity paradoxes, and some concepts of General Relativity. Subject intended for freshman and sophomore levels. Not usable as a restricted elective by Physics majors. Credit cannot be received for 8.20 if credit for 8.033 is or has been received in the same or prior terms.
Optional recitation sections will be scheduled.
Web: http://mit.edu/8.20/
Contact: Bruce Knuteson, 24-514, 452-2705, knuteson@mit.edu
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8.334
Statistical Mechanics II
Professor Nihat Berker
Mon, Wed-Fri, Jan 3, 5-7, 10, 12-14, 19-21, 24, 26-28, 09:30-11:30am, 12-132, Thursday recitations
Pre-register on WebSIS and attend first class.
No listeners
Prereq: 8.333
Level: H 12 units Standard A - F Grading
A two-semester course on statistical mechanics. Basic principles are examined in 8.333: the laws of thermodynamics and the concepts of temperature, work, heat, and entropy. Postulates of classical statistical mechanics, microcanonical, canonical, and grand canonical distributions; applications to lattice vibrations, ideal gas, photon gas. Quantum statistical mechanics; Fermi and Bose systems. Interacting systems: cluster expansions, van der Waal's gas, and mean-field theory. Topics from modern statistical mechanics are explored in 8.334: the hydrodynamic limit and classical field theories. Phase transitions and broken symmetries: universality, correlation functions, and scaling theory. The renormalization approach to collective phenomena. Dynamic critical behavior. Random systems.
Contact: Professor Nihat Berker, 12-135, 253-2176, anberker@mit.edu
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