29:009 Directions in Modern Physics: Tentative Schedule

Week Topic
Jan. 18 Course content; Simple examples of rules of evolution: introduction
Jan. 25 More rules of evolution : linear maps, square root of 2
Feb. 1 translations on a circle and Two independent circular motion.
Feb. 8 The Quadratic Map. Chance
Feb. 15 Chance (continued), Deterministic Evolution with Continuous Time
Feb. 22 Ordinary Differential Equations. Newton's Laws.
March 1 Periodicity, Quasiperiodicity and Chaos. Strange Attractors. Friday 5th, special lecture in room 201 Van Allen Building 9:30-10:20 AM
March 8 Summary, Midterm 1 on Wednesday 10
March 15 Spring Break
March 22 Newtonian Gravity; Beyond Newton's mechanics: Maxwell's equations
March 29 Beyond Newton's mechanics: relativity, quantum mechanics
April 5 The expansion of the universe: Doppler effect, Hubble's law
April 12 Cosmological models;The cosmic microwave radiation background
April 19 Thermal history of the universe
April 26 Inflationary cosmology; midterm II (Friday April 30)
May 3 Reviews
May 10 Final Exam: Monday May 10, 4:30 PM ; Room 70