PHY100S - The Magic of Physics - Class 9 - Monday February 6, 2006

Announcements

Homework #5

Hobson Conceptual Exercises Chapter 10 - 14, 20, 21, 28, 32. This assignment is due by 5 PM Monday February 13 in the Drop Box for your tutor.

Pre-Class Quiz #3

Pre-Class Quiz #3 was done last week, Monday January 30. This Friday, February 10, is the last day to see April Seeley in MP129 about any problems with your mark on this quiz. After that, your mark as recorded on STORM is final.

About the Test

We will have a test during class time on Wednesday February 15. Sections of the textbook listed in the syllabus are examinable; text sections that are not listed in the syllabus are not examinable.

Format

• Closed book.
• 50 minutes duration: start at 5:10 PM, end at 6:00 PM
• 6 multiple-choice questions, worth 10 marks each
• 1 long-answer question, marked out of 40
  • You will choose one of two supplied topics to write about.
  • The length of your answer must be no longer than one page

Locations

The test will be held in three different locations. Where you write the test is determined by your tutor and the day of your tutorial. In the table below, tutorial groups that begin with M meet on Monday, tutorial groups that begin with W meet on Wednesday.

Pre-Class Quiz #4

Here is today's Pre-Class Quiz and the answers.

Today's Class

We used a Flash animation that illustrates Galileo's original argument for the Principle of Relativity.

We did a rather detailed description of the Michelson-Morley Experiment of 1887. The discussion builds on the ideas of interference from the double-slit experiment for light in §8.3. We will build further on this in §13.4.

We used an Acoustic Michelson Interferometer in class. The apparatus is out of the 1st Year Laboratory. You can see the Guide Sheet for the experiment via the button to the right.

We made an analogy between the acoustic interferometer when there is a wind blowing and two swimmers. The Flash animation is available via this link.

Here are two figures we used in class.

Googling "Michelson-Morley Experiment" will return many hits. One of my favorites is from Wikipedia.

Wan-Ching Hui has done a nice Flash animation of the Michelson-Morley experiment and the "ether wind." You may access a copy of it by clicking on the blue button; it will appear in a separate window.

Site of the original version: http://galileoandeinstein.physics.virginia.edu/more_stuff/flashlets/home.htm.

Here is today's Journal