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| SPAT0019-1 | Special Relativity
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| Duration : | 15h Th |
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| Number of credits : |
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| Lecturer : | Jean Surdej |
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Language(s) of instruction :
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| French language |
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Organisation and examination :
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| Teaching in the first semester, examination in June with partial in January |
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Course contents :
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| The course of special relativity starts with a brief description of the difficulties encountered while attempting to interpret various physical experiments at the end of the XIXth century. We then introduce the Lorentz transformations and the space-time of Minkowski. Time dilation and length contraction are being discussed and analyzed in depth. The dynamical equations of a particle are then derived in the framework of special relativity. |
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Learning outcomes of the course :
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| At the end of this course, the students will be able to cast doubts on their classical notions of space and time, as well as on themselves. |
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Prerequisites and co-requisites/ Recommended optional programme components :
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| It is being assumed that the course of Analytical Mechanics I is familiar to the students. |
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Planned learning activities and teaching methods :
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| This course consists of an introduction to the theory of special relativity. |
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Mode of delivery (face-to-face ; distance-learning) :
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| In principle, the course takes place in November and December. The lectures last 2h and take place once a week. The precise dates and location will become known to the students in early September. |
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Recommended or required readings :
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| One set of lecture notes (pdf file) will be distributed to the students after the first course.
Reference books related to the course of Special Relativity are (in French) :
- R. SIMON, Mécanique analytique, Volume 2 (1988), Editions Derouaux, Liège.
- J.W. Leech, Elements de Mécanique Analytique, 1961, Monographies Dunod, Paris.
The lecture notes are essentially based on those of the course of Analytical Mechanics of Jacques Demaret and on the book of René Simon (see above). |
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Assessment methods and criteria :
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| An oral exam (1 question, approximately 1h) is proposed. Evaluation of the students will essentially be based upon his(her) understanding of the theory as opposed to his(her) memory skills. |
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Work placement(s) :
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| None. |
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Organizational remarks :
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| None. |
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Contacts :
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| J. Surdej (Full Professor and F.R.S.-FNRS honorary research director).
Institute of Astrophysics and Geophysics, ULg, Allée du 6 Août 17, Bât. B5c, B-4000 Sart Tilman (Liège), Tel.: 04/366 97 83, Fax: 04-366 97 46, E-mail : surdej@astro.ulg.ac.be, WWW: http://www.aeos.ulg.ac.be/
Mme Sylvia Grandjean (Secretary): Sylvia.Grandjean@ulg.ac.be(Sylvia.Grandjean@astro.ulg.ac.be) |
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| Items online : |
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| Online notes (special relativity) |
| Videos of the lectures are accessible via Orbi. Lecture notes as well as the "power-point" presentations projected during each lecture are accessible in the form of PDF and/or PPS files via the link (see Special Relativity: SPAT0019-1): |
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