Proseminar on Theoretical Physics (WS2019/20)
Time/Location:
Wednesday, 14:50, BZW/A120
(first seminar: Oct 16th, 2019)
General information:
The seminar will require students to read an academic paper selected from the literature list and to present a 30-min 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 online through the subscription of the SLUB.
Please send a ranked list of 3 topics from the literature list by email until Oct 15th. The first seminar takes place on Oct 16th, 14:50 where I will give an introductory talk.
Schedule:
| Date | Speaker | Topic |
|---|---|---|
| 16.10.2019 | Hong-Hao Tu | Introductory discussion |
| 23.10.2019 | Hong-Hao Tu | Demo talk |
| 30.10.2019 | Jakob Wetzel | The domino effect |
| 06.11.2019 | Tilmann Bartsch | Fun with stacking blocks |
| 13.11.2019 | Tim Pokart | Anti-Newtonian dynamics |
| 27.11.2019 | Georg Weitz | Deriving Lagrange’s equations using elementary calculus |
| 11.12.2019 | Joris Josiek | Precession of the perihelion of Mercury’s orbit |
| 18.12.2019 | Wilhelm Holfeld | |
| 15.01.2020 | Konstantin Urban | Falling chains |
Course structure and aim:
In each week one 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 their presentation.
The students should not simply recite the paper in their talks. Rather, comprehension of the work must be shown by discussion of the aims, methods, and results of the paper, and critically evaluating the appropriateness of the author's treatment of the problem. The students may also need to consult further literature to understand the context and significance of the work. Students must be prepared to answer questions from the audience on the paper.
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. If questions remain, I will lead a discussion of the paper in the remaining time.