Past news of persistent value
JW got a bonus on correcting a typo in perturbation appendix. Any student who finds corrections to be made in any of the documents posted on line will get a bonus.
Important health alert! Be sure to check this page.
I strongly recommend reading this question and my answer to it and this newer one.
Lecture note 16 is quite an elaborate note on coupled oscillators. The minimum requirement at this point is that you understand the last page well. However, a lot of fine points are presented in the body of the text, and those should be quite helpful. A must-read!
- Please ask any questions in any settings provided in this course. There is no such thing as a bad question in my courses, and there should not be in any courses.
Positive acts will get noticed. Feel free to vote (positively) on the forum site -- every registered user can vote. Asking questions is one of the most positive acts (to yourself and others)!
Homework this week is somewhat heavier and more complex – start sooner! Homeworks may remain somewhat heavier (in terms of scores) and more intriguing (in terms of contents) in the following weeks. Make sure that you do them well, especially if your midterm was a disappointment. If you do homework well, you cannot do badly in the final. To do homework well, you need to challenge yourself to understand all of the homework (while you are doing your homework and then after my solutions are provided).
- We will be wrapping up the Lagrangian/Hamiltonian formalism rapidly next class (Nov. 1), and then move on to gravity (Ch. 5) and Kepler problem (Ch. 8). Chaos (Ch. 4) will be pushed back all the way to the end of the quarter. It will be the last topic to discuss, after coupled oscillators (Ch. 12) and waves (Ch. 13).
- Please start homework early, or at least read homework early and start thinking about it. And, ask and discuss!
Lecture schedule change: Hamilton/Lagrange dynamics first (starting from tomorrow), and then non-linear-dynamics/chaos, and then gravity and Kepler problem. — Sam, 9:37AM, Oct 17, 2011
- Are you able to download and read pdf files? It is of vital importance that you can do so. If you need help on this or other technical matters, ask at the forum or by email.
Account creation problem fixed (Google OpenID). Based on this posting, I think slugmail should be good for creating an account as well!
LSS tutoring service is available. (Read the Tutor’s message here.)
Office hours are set (Mo,We 11AM, and Tu 4PM). Each student that responded will be able to come to at least one office hour chosen, according to the poll result. Please check the new syllabus (see the link above in the blue header). Alice's hour will start Fr 3 PM, instead of 2:30 PM, due to a conflict in schedule, and I hope this will be as good as 2:30 PM. — Sam, 12:18PM, Sep 25, 2011
Past news of purely archival value
As I have notified in the "Don't worry but work hard" email message, On Monday, except between 1:30 and 3 PM, you can come to my office and ask any last minute questions.
Numerous small corrections/additions have been made to lecture notes and solutions. Please check red texts in Lecture+ and Homework+ first, if you find some strangeness in my writing.
The exam section is updated significantly (gravity included in the last page).
- Alice will be in her office, ISB 262, on Monday, 12/5, from 12 - 1 pm in case there are any last minute questions about the final!
- Discussion Wednesday 11/30: Alice incorrectly explained one of the normal modes for problem 5 as having just mass m2 oscillating while m1 and m3 stay still. It should be all three masses moving: m2 oscillates in one direction while m1 and m3 both move in the opposite direction (you can see this from the T-vector you find for that particular mode). Apologies, and thanks to students for pointing it out!
There are questions with bounties. Check the forum! However, your prep for the final exam should be given a higher priority, I think.
The final exam will be on Tuesday, December 6, 8am–11am.
Review for the final exam: Phys Sciences 110, 3:10-5:00pm, this Friday (Dec. 2).
No quiz tomorrow (Dec. 1) -- unless some students want to have it badly(?! -- if this is the case, let me know by 10 PM today). — Sam, 3:10PM, Nov 30, 2011
Have a happy thanksgiving! Homework 8 is due Dec. 1, by vote.
- Quiz on Thursday (11/17) -- on a Lagrangian problem with a constraint treated with a Lagrange multiplier (read homework 6 solutions and related lecture notes).
- No quiz on this Thursday (Nov. 3). Study 116 instead. Quiz on homework 5 related materials will be on next Thursday (Nov. 10).
I hope everyone did well in the midterm and feel good about it. If you did and do, congrats to you! My solutions are posted.
Some corrections (minor) and hint (minor) to homework 5, prob 3.
Marathon review sessions today: 4-4:55PM, Soc. Sci II, room 71, and 5:15-6:30PM, Nat Sci Annex 101. The latter is Alice's section, but she was involved in a car accident (shaken but OK, she says), and I will cover for her today. So, both sessions are by me. I need help from one person with a good camera phone. Spread the word! Come prepared to ask sharp questions (about the exam or the homework or any other). — Sam, 12:37PM, Oct 26, 2011
- Since the first review session form 4-4:55 is an impromtu one, based on students request I received yesterday, I like to get some help from students. I need a student help to take pictures of the blackboard and make them available on line. This will ensure fairness to those students who cannot come to the review session. I am certain some of you have a very good phone.
Practice midterm solutions and the cover page of the midterm posted. Updated -- check them out!
A student misplaced the textbook. Did you pick up any book, by any chance? Email me or post a message on the forum site.
Midterm coming Thursday (10-27), during class (10-11:45). The practice exam available. Updated. The materials for the midterm: everything that we learned up to now. — Sam, 12:05PM, Oct 20, 2011
The topic for the quiz tomorrow? You guessed it -- perturbation! — Sam, 9:15AM, Oct 12, 2011
- Supplemental office hours with the TA Alice Durand will be held on Monday, October 10th from 2 - 3 pm in her office, ISB 262. See you there!
A poll (midterm date) – please vote here. New poll closing date -- tomorrow. — Sam, 12:32PM, Oct 06, 2011 The poll is closed now. We will keep the original date.
LN 3 updated and LN 4 uploaded -- note small corrections/additions that are important clarifications.
One problem in the homework is moving over to the next set. Read about it here.
- The official office hours of mine and Alice's start next week. Today, you can come and see me any time, until 5 PM, and ask any course or physics related question.
The office hour poll is still in progress, please participate here if you haven't already. The poll will close within a day or so.
- Note that Thu 4PM in the office hour poll is now changed to Thu 3PM. While Thu 4PM got many initial votes, I realized belatedly (sorry) that it conflicts with the department colloquium. So, I had to move it to Thu 3PM (due to there not being any other good time that I can think of -- I know that Thu 3PM overlaps with 116C). In conclusion, I think Thu 3PM or 4PM is not a good choice. However, Tue 4PM seems to be emerging as a great choice.