Tide-related physics problem

No, I'm not kidding.

In the spirit of randomness, here is a random picture:


It is taken at a temple in Kyoto, Japan. While you're cramming for the exam, ponder this: why do the beams seem to bend? I recall them being perfectly straight in person, if a bit narrower at the top ...

Also, my dog Dingus is really pulling for you all to do well:

Cheeeet Sheeeet

Here is an example of what I'll be giving you tomorrow.

Caveat: it has not been proofread, it is subject to change, may cause temporary blindness, etc.

(Probably, it will not change much by tomorrow, though, save proofreading.)

Recitation today

I just wanted to post a quick note to say I'm sorry I unexpectedly wasn't at recitation today, since I had mentioned earlier in the week we'd cover a bit more on EM waves. Somehow, it slipped my mind that I had agreed to go to a local elementary school and work with some 5th graders ... but I knew you'd be in good hands with Neha.

For the record, it was fun, and they were a pretty sharp bunch. And, if it makes you feel any better, I was still teaching physics today, just in a different location.

Anyway: as penance, we will spend a good deal of time on Monday working out homework problems. So enjoy the game and the usual craziness associated with it, but don't forget to read Ch. 35 before Monday ...

Lab / due dates / grades

Right! My being out of town for nearly a week means I am behind on this thing, and a few updates are in order. They get less urgent as you go down the list, precipitously.

Item the First: we have a shiny new lab for Wednesday, which is all about induction. Basically, we are making a transformer, though the lab doesn't just come right out and say that.[1]

Item the Second: your next exam is not, in fact, this Friday (Halloween). It has been moved one week forward, to Friday, 7 November 2008, during the recitation period. It will be entirely problem-based, and not cruel. It will go something like this: I give you 6 problems, and you pick any 3 of them to solve. The values of "3" and "6" are subject to change as the exam approaches.

Item the Third: your current homework set is due on Wednesday (formerly, this past Friday). Don't get so excited about the extension that you forget to do it ;-) Of course, since we did the remaining problems in class today, this is not so much a problem I suppose.

Item the Fourth: by Wednesday's class period (probably by Tuesday evening) your up-to-date grades will be posted on Moodle. Just in time for Drop Date, on Wednesday. If you think you are in some danger, come see me and we can discuss things.

Item the Fifth: before your exam comes, I will have the missing homework solutions online. I have actually solved all the problems, it is the typesetting that I am a bit behind on ...

Finally: for some reason, I am listening to The Cure as I type this. Did it just become 1992 again? Is this savage time warp localized to my particular living room, or is it widespread? Check your wardrobes carefully before going out ... this could get serious. [2]
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[1] Parenthetically, we are usually doing something much more clever than it looks like at first sight ... this is one case where I think utility of what we are doing will be more apparent however. This is more due to the writeups not being all that clever sometimes, less than it is because you are missing something. Given more time, we should really go back after each lab and make sure why we were doing it was clear.
[2] This is mainly here just to see if you read the whole thing.

And now, for something completely different:

You will not have a new homework set until this Friday. Why, you ask, is there such a large gap between the homework set you have due today, and the subsequent one?

That is because you are going to write me a paper over the next two weeks. Seriously, a physics paper. It will be fun, I swear.

Instead of just calculating things all day long, you will write me a little paper which puts what you have learned in a broader context, and relates physics to everyday life and your career path. You will have two weeks to research and write these papers, in small groups, and I will devote most of one class period next week to this task.

More details will follow in class. Successful completion of the paper will count as much as two homework sets.

This is a group activity, and only five double-spaced pages ... if you work efficiently in teams, this will not be a lot of work, but has the potential for an easy 'A.' There will be bonus points for the top paper (as judged by me), in an amount to be determined.