PHY2220 Space-Time, the Universe and the Quantum World

2007-2008

Code: PHY2220
Title: Space-Time, the Universe and the Quantum World
Instructors: Prof. T. Naylor, Prof. J.C. Inkson and Prof. C.P. Winlove
CATS credits: 15/20
ECTS credits: 7.5/10
Availability: only to non-physics students
Level: 2
Pre-requisites: N/A
Co-requisites: N/A
Background Assumed: suitable for non-science students
Duration: Semesters I and II
Directed Study Time: 15 lectures and 3 seminars
Private Study Time: 52/62 hours (directed reading)
Assessment Tasks Time: 80/120 hours
Observation report: 2002/03 MRB (CPW)

Aims

The module treats the central concepts of three great pillars of twentieth-century physics: Einstein's theories of special and general relativity, cosmology, and the quantum theory. The module is designed for students outside the School of Physics, with little or no mathematical background, and proceeds mainly by analogy and contrast with the familiar. Such little mathematics as is required is explained in the course of the module.

The topics covered occupy major places in the intellectual and cultural history of the twentieth century, and have proved to be of wide interest to nonphysicists. Students taking this module will acquire a broad understanding of modern cosmology, of quantum-theoretical ideas, and of the space-time that both provides the backcloth for the physical world and is itself profoundly influenced in its structure by the distribution of matter in the physical world.

Intended Learning Outcomes

Students will be able to:

Module Specific Skills

• state the sizes of the Earth, solar system, galaxy and observable universe and describe the methods used to determine these;
• describe open, closed and flat universes and discuss which model best describes our universe;
• describe the basic principles of special relativity, and use space-time diagrams to explain the phenomena of time dilation and Lorentz contraction;
• describe how stars form, generate energy and die;
• describe the issues associated with Schrödinger's cat and with the Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen "paradox".
• describe the meaning of the uncertainty principle;
• explain the sense in which Einstein's theory of relativity overthrows the Newtonian concepts of absolute time and absolute space, and describe evidence for this;
• explain the conceptual difference between a particle and a wave;
• explain the sense in which the universe is probabilistic;
• explain the importance of "observables" in physics;
• discuss the evidence supporting the big-bang model;
• discuss the possibility of intelligent life existing elsewhere in the universe and our prospects for detecting it;

Discipline Specific Skills

• make connections with previous knowledge,
• apply new and unfamiliar concepts in a number of different situations,
• employ oral communication skills (in seminar work),
• critical, analytical and writing skills (in essay work).

Learning and Teaching Methods

For each of the three sections of the module there will be five lectures, together with arranged one-hour follow-up seminars. The lectures cover all the topics in the three sections of the syllabus, and also provide the necessary preliminary background to the reading that is recommended. The seminars provide the opportunity to discuss the lecture material and the recommended reading in more depth, and to clarify any aspects or concepts that students may still find challenging. There will be a feedback tutorial after the practice essay, and a preparation tutorial before each assessed essay.

Assignments

Reading assignments are set, and the students must write a 1200-word practice essay.

Assessment

For 20 credits (PHY2220A): Three 2000-word essays (100%).

For 15 credits (PHY2220B): Two 2000-word essays (100%).

Note: Referred assessment, in the form of essays written under examination conditions, is available for this module. See also the School of Physics Examination Conventions.

Syllabus Plan and Content

1. The Universe
   1. Observational astrophysics; the scale of our Universe.
   2. Building "model" universes; philosophical and observational constraints; the Big Bang model.
   3. Structure and evolution of our Universe; curved space; the Friedman-Lemaître equation; dark matter.
   4. The formation and evolution of stars.
   5. The search for extraterrestrial intelligence.
2. Einstein's Special Theory of Relativity
   1. "Points" in three-dimensional space and the "distances" between them.
   2. Light has the same speed relative to all observers.
   3. "Events" in four-dimensional space-time and the "intervals" between them.
   4. The overthrow of the constancy of distances and "absoluteness" of time.
   5. The "invariance" of intervals in space-time.
   6. Worldlines of particles in space-time.
   7. Absolute past, absolute future, absolute remoteness and causality.
   8. Clocks go at different rates in different frames of reference (time dilation).
   9. Differential aging of twins in relative motion (the twin "paradox").
   10. A rod has different lengths in different frames of reference (Lorentz contraction).
3. The Quantum World
   1. The quantum world and nonlocalization of matter. How big is a particle?
   2. What can be known? Heisenberg's uncertainty principle. Nondeterminism.
   3. The historical origins of quantum theory, and why it is needed.
   4. Probability. Wave-corpuscle duality and uncertainty.
   5. Inappropriate questions. The role of the observer. The two-slits experiment.
   6. Quantum peculiarities. Tunnelling. Schrödinger's cat, Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen paradox.

Core Text

Not applicable

Supplementary Text(s)

Feynman R.P. (1985), QED: The Strange Theory of Light and Matter, Penguin Books, ISBN 0-14-0125050-1 (UL: 530.141 FEY)
Hawking S. (1988), A Brief History of Time, Bantam Press, London, ISBN 0-521-29087-2 (UL: 115 HAW)
Heidmann J. (1997), Intelligences extra-terrestres English (2^nd edition), Cambridge University Press, ISBN 0-521-45340-2 (UL: 520 HEI)
Murdoch D. (1989), Niels Bohr's Philosophy of Physics, Cambridge University Press (UL: 530.092/BOH MUR)
Penrose R. (1989), The Emperor's New Mind, Oxford University Press (UL: 001.535 PEN)
Penrose R. (1994), Shadows of the Mind, Oxford University Press (UL: 001.535 PEN)
Popper K.R. (1982), Quantum Theory and the Schism in Physics, Unwin Hyman (UL: 530.12 POP)
Silk J. (1996), A Short History of the Universe, Scientific American Library (UL: 523.1 SIL)
Smolin L. (1997), Life of the Cosmos, Phoenix, London, ISBN 0-75380-123-X (UL: 523.1 SMO)
Wald R.M. (1992), Space, Time, and Gravity (2^nd edition), University of Chicago Press (UL: 523.1 WAL)
Weinberg S. , The First Three Minutes, (UL: 523.12 WEI)

Formative Mechanisms

The practice essay is marked with comprehensive comments, and important points raised are discussed in follow-up seminars.

Evaluation Mechanisms

The module will be evaluated using information gathered via the student representation mechanisms, the staff peer appraisal scheme, and measures of student attainment based on summative assessment.