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:

Moodle grades are up to date

I just updated the grades on Moodle ... they now include everything outstanding *except* homework 8. All labs, quizzes, etc. are otherwise included.

Remember that your papers counted for 2 homework sets, and please check through everything carefully to make sure the gradebook agrees with your own records (or recollections at least).

Tomorrow we'll move on to lenses, which I'll post more about later. If you were to skim through the relevant chapter in the book before tomorrow afternoon ... that would be great :-)

Also, I'll be posting your last homework set soon, which will be a small review for the final exam.

Multi-touch screen videos from today

Here is a link where you can watch the multi-touch screen demo videos from this afternoon's lecture.

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 ...

Sample formula sheet / Exam 1

Just heard on TV:

"It seems like you need to be a physics professor to buy a TV."

... this is not true. It does not really help. I was as bewildered as anyone else last time I bought one. Most of the complexity arises from marketing and intentionally vague specifications, not physics ...

Anyway: sample formula sheet. Something like this will be attached to the exam. Thus, anything you see on this example sheet you do not need to write on your own.

Recall: you are allowed to bring one sheet of 8.5x11in paper to the exam, with whatever you like on it. You will need a calculator as well; cell phones acting as calculators is strongly discouraged.

Happy Birthday to Michael Faraday

Woot.

Image charges and conducting plates

Foo. Bar. Biz. Baz.

This day in nerdery ...

1803: English chemist-physicist John Dalton starts using symbols to represent the atoms of different elements.