Some notes on general
physics that I wrote for my introductory physics students. These
require: (1) either a prior knowledge of calculus, or (2) a willingness
to learn and not gloss over the derivations shown.
A return to first principles – rigorous, intuitive definitions of basic quantities, detailed derivations of the kinematic equations from Newton's Laws of Mechanics. Derivation of the kinetic energy expression (not explicitly shown in most physics texts) and finally, a highly detailed exposition on projectile motion in the most general way possible (with examples).
Continuing our foray into the
basic framework of physics, we encounter all things rotational in this
volume. The usual expression for centripetal acceleration is rigorously
(and yet intuitively) derived. The reason for the acceleration
mystified me back in the days of yore so I have been dogged in this
task of disambiguation. Alas, explanations of pseudo forces will have
to wait for the next volume.
Physics notes from an
introductory course in Electricity and Magnetism (which of course
includes optics).
We start herein with a first principles introduction to Complex Algebra (yes, the one with imaginary numbers). Why? You may ask... In my opinion, Complex Numbers are the key to a calculationally simple physics. You could do physics without complex numbers (except for Quantum Mechanics) but why would you want to???? Anyway, armed with this fabulous (and may I say, rather exotic) tool, we will pwn the troublesome aspects of capacitors, inductors and resistors (connected in hellish ways).
Why do we see a rainbow of colors when the sun shines on a puddle in the street? (Hint: the oily residues from passing cars collects as a thin film). Using tools from wave interference, we find out the mathematical conditions for interference. Note: this write-up is not particularly intuitive. It was written as a problem-solving guide for my students. A layperson may not get much from it.
Here I clarify some important issues that pertain to daily life – in particular, optical issues relating to the human eye and optical instruments such as eyeglasses. This document was written in Mathematica 4.1 (for calculations and graphs) and converted to PDF.
A few graphs encapsulate all the
information for single-mirror systems. Notes on reading these graphs
and some examples provided.
Some physics papers (unpublished) written for various reasons
An introductory exposition on
Group Theoretical Techniques in physics and the basics of
representation theory. Summary of a two-month long undergraduate
fellowship in Summer 2003 at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, supervised by
Prof. M.W. Guidry.
Powerpoint
presentation (condensed version of the same topic):
Download Powerpoint file