Physics 3070: Energy and the Environment, Sp 2000

Contents:

Contact Information:

Lectures: Prof. Steven Pollock. MWF 9-9:50, Duane G2B47

Phone: 492-2495 Office: F419 in the Gamow Tower

Office Hours (tentative): MWF after class, M+Tu 3:30-4:30, other times by app't.

(Note! Some Monday office hours will be shifted, early in the semester, see announcements for details)

Email/Electronic Office Hours: Steven.Pollock@Colorado.Edu (anytime)

Course Website: www.colorado.edu/physics/phys3070

Additional information and updates will be posted there. Check it periodically!

Course intro/outline:

Physics 3070 covers many important aspects of energy - what it is, how it is produced and consumed, and ways in which it impacts society and the environment. Our principal aim is to develop a quantitative physical understanding of the many issues and problems involved with the generation, storage, transport, and usage of various forms of energy in our technological society. We will cover fossil fuels and hydropower, nuclear, solar, and wind energy, and issues related to energy conservation in everyday life. Finally, we will consider the effects of waste products associated with energy generation and usage on e.g. global warming, ozone depletion, and pollution of the atmosphere.

Texts and prerequisites:

Required Texts: "Energy and the Environment " - Ristinen and Kraushaar.

A copy of the text will be on reserve at the Math/Physics Library in Duane Physics G-140.

There are many other sources of information about energy and the environment available!

A copy of "Energy and Problems of a Technical Society" (also by Kraushaar and Ristinen) will also be on reserve in the library, it is an earlier version of our text with lots of extra details.

Prereq.’s: No background in physics is required. Basic math and logical thinking skills, enthusiasm, curiosity, and an open mind will be helpful!

Reading and homework assignments:

Reading is an essential part of 3070. Reading the text before class is very important. I will assume you have done the required readings in advance! Reading assignments will appear at each lecture for the coming class. (Extra readings, beyond the text, may be assigned from time to time.)

Homework based on the textbook will be assigned (almost) every week on Wednesday, due one week later at the start of class. (HW turned in at the end of class on Wed will be accepted, but your grade will be automatically reduced by 20% for that set, since we will sometimes discuss the homework in class.) Late HW cannot be accepted, since solutions will be posted. However, I will drop one homework this semester. Group study is fine (encouraged!) as long as you generate your final solutions by yourself.

Grading:

The total course grade weighting will be

22.5% for weekly homeworks (total. There will probably be about 11 hws; I'll drop one.)

15% for each of three midterm exams (total 45%)

22.5% for term paper/final project

10% for class participation (see below for details)

Exams: In-class exams are scheduled for Wed Sep 27, Wed Nov 1, and Wed Dec 6. . There will not be any makeup exams, you must be sure to be in class on those days! It is your responsibility to make sure you have no conflicts with these exams. Persons absent for a serious medical reason, or with prior approval from Prof. Pollock, may be excused from 1 midterm exam. Medical excuses must be submitted to Prof. Pollock no later than 1 week following the exam.

Students with disabilities, including non-visible disabilities, must let me know early in the semester (1st two weeks) so that your academic needs may be appropriately met. You will need to provide documentation of your disability to the Disability Services Office in Willard 322 (phone 303-492-8671)

Exams will be open book, and open notes. They will be based on the textbook, as well as material presented in lectures.

Term paper/project:

You will write a term paper with your own independent research on any issue you choose, directly related to energy and the environment (topic subject to my approval!) You will need to submit a written "choice of topic" by Fri, Oct 20, (which I must approve), and a brief abstract/outline (with at least 3 references) by Fri, Nov 10. The paper itself will be due Fri, Dec 1. You will also make a short (< 10 min) presentation of your research to the class. Presentations will start Dec. 8. (Important: we will use the scheduled final exam period, Mon Dec 18, 7:30-10AM to finish up presentations. Attendance will be mandatory!) More detailed instructions can be found here.

Class participation:

Class participation is another essential part of the course! Besides attending and asking questions, I will also ask you to watch for articles in the newspaper or current journals (e.g. Science, or Nature, or Scientific American, etc.) that have energy or technological or environmental themes. At least once this semester, you must clip out or copy such an article, and lead a short (5 minute) discussion of it in class. The essential idea is NOT just to repeat what the article says, but to summarize and analyze it - e.g., what are the central issues in the article, and how do they relate to this class? What are the societal/economic impacts? Did the article come to conclusions you disagree with? Why? Are there essential facts left out, is the article balanced? Can you add something constructive to the article? Do solutions exist, are there competing considerations? Why should we care?

Disclaimer: Any information in this page is as accurate as is possible at the time of writing. Announcements about changes of any kind will be made in class, and (hopefully) posted on the web, and will take precedence over this syllabus. You are responsible for what is said in class, whether or not you are in attendance.

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