Proseminar on Theoretical Physics
summer term 2020
Dr. Alena Astakhova
Institut für Theoretische Physik
Technische Universität Dresden
Raum A409, Zellerscher Weg 17
Phone: 0351 463 36150
E-mail: alena.astakhova@tu-dresden.de
Location: online
Time: 11:10 (3.DS) Wednesday
First Seminar: 06.05.2020
Last Seminar: 15.07.2020
Lecture language: English
Previous knowledge: Theoretical Mechanics
Enrolment: by email
Summary of Lecture: The seminar will require students to read an academic paper selected from the list below and to present a 30 minutes seminar on the subject. The aim of the seminar will be to familiarize students with scientific research literature, and to develop their comprehension and communication skills. All articles are taken from the American Journal of Physics, and are available on-line through the subscription of the SLUB.
The following talks are from the field of classical mechanics:
1. "Mechanics of two pendulums coupled by a stressed spring", M. Maianti, S. Pagliara, G. Galimberti, and F. Parmigiani, American Journal of Physics 77, 834 (2009).
2. "From conservation of energy to the principle of least action: A story line", J. Hanc, and E.F. Taylor, American Journal of Physics 72, 514 (2004).
3. "Hurricane Balls: A rigid-body-motion project for undergraduates", D. P. Jackson, D. Mertens, and B. J. Pearson, American Journal of Physics 83, 959 (2015).
4. "Unraveling a classical mechanics brain twister", N. Paris, and M.L. Broide, American Journal of Physics 79, 1250 (2011).
5. "Fun with stacking blocks", J.F. Hall, American Journal of Physics 73, 1107 (2005).
6. "A study of kinetic friction: The Timoshenko oscillator", R. Henaff, G. Le Doudic, B. Pilette, C. Even, J.-M. Fischbach, F. Bouquet, J. Bobroff, M. Monteverde, and C. A. Marrache-Kikuchi, American Journal of Physics 86, 174 (2018).
7. "The motion of two identical masses connected by an ideal string symmetrically placed over a corner", C. Rasinariu, and A. Gangopadhyaya, American Journal of Physics 84, 836 (2016).
8. "The coefficient of restitution for collisions of happy balls, unhappy balls, and tennis balls", R. Cross, American Journal of Physics 68, 1025 (2000).
9. "Water bottle flipping physics", P. J. Dekker, L. A. G. Eek, M. M. Flapper, H. J. C. Horstink, A. R. Meulenkamp, J. van der Meulen, E. S. Kooij, J.H. Snoeijer, and A. MarinCitation, American Journal of Physics 86, 733 (2018).
10. "Motion of a hexagonal pencil on an inclined plane", A. Rezaeezadeh, American Journal of Physics 77, 401 (2009).
11. "The physical origin of torque and of the rotational second law", D. J. Cross, American Journal of Physics 83, 121 (2015).
12. "Hodograph: A useful geometrical tool for solving some difficult problems in dynamics", T.A. Apostolatos, American Journal of Physics 71, 261 (2003).
13. "A block slipping on a sphere with friction: Exact and perturbative solutions", Tom Prior, and E. J. Mele, American Journal of Physics 75, 423 (2007).
14. "The physics of juggling a spinning ping-pong ball", R. Widenhorn, American Journal of Physics 84, 936 (2016).
15. "Making sense of the Legendre transform", R.K.P. Zia, E.F. Redish, and S.R. McKay, American Journal of Physics 77, 614 (2009).
16. "Falling chains", C.W. Wong, and K. Yasui, American Journal of Physics 74, 490 (2006).
17. "Dimensional analysis, falling bodies, and the fine art of not solving differential equations", C.F. Bohren, American Journal of Physics 72, 534 (2004).
18. "The mysterious spinning cylinder – Rigid-body motion that is full of surprises", D. P. Jackson, J. Huddy, A. Baldoni, and W. Boyes, American Journal of Physics 87, 85 (2019).
19. "Why trains stay on tracks", B. Shayak, American Journal of Physics 85, 178 (2017).
20. "The relativistic gamma factor from Newtonian mechanics and Einstein's equivalence of mass and energy“, D. J. Cross, American Journal of Physics 84, 384 (2016).
Please, send a ranked list of 3 topics from the list by email until April 5th. The first seminar takes place on May 6th, 11:10 where I will give an introductory discussion. In the following weeks each student will give a seminar. One week before the seminar I will meet the respective student right at the end of the preceeding seminar (or other time/date on mutual agreement). The aim of this meeting is to discuss questions on the paper, and also to listen to a first draft of the talk so that feedback can be given to the student to help improve the presentation. The seminar is not to be a passive experience for the audience. I expect that all students will read the paper for each talk, so that they can ask questions to the speaker at the end for a period of no more than 20 minutes.
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