PHYS 216 / SIS 216          Science and Society               Spring 2008
Instructor: Vladi Chaloupka, Professor of Physics
Adjunct Professor, Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies
Adjunct Professor, School of Music
www.phys.washington.edu/users/vladi/phys216
 
June 5: The Grand Finale Powerpoint
 
and a summary of the important issues for the remainder of the course:
 
current EXCEL with grades and points
 
Biology Problem 2 and Problem 3 solutions, and the PCR Powerpoint.
             Solutions of the Physics HW (with the zig-zag decay chain)
 
Schedule:
 
Mon. June 9: 10:30 – 12:20 Exam

Wed. June 11, 5 PM: final RP (double length  - please print of both sides if possible, and use the new template)  (cover Bach/debates/Grand Finale/course as a whole)

Fri. June 13, 5 PM: term paper due

both papers (last RP as well as the term paper):
 
1) electronically to your TA
(everything intended for Kevin or Jelte should go to Elizabeth: manrao@u.washington.edu )

2) paper copy -> VC office (B309) (slide it in if office closed)
 
Instruction for the Exam: please bring
1) examination booklet, any kind 
2) "cheat sheet":  notes handwritten by you; regular letter (A4) format, both sides OK
     (no need to put genetic code, conversion factors or table of isotopes etc. - I will supply these)
3) calculator
4) pens/pencils with 3 different colors
 
preparation:
1) review all Physics and Biology Homework solutions
2) review all concepts explicitly mentioned in Physics and Biology assignment, and make sure you understand them
3) try a practice exam
4) practice exam answers
 
requirements for the Ad Hoc Honors credit
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               Physics Is Different: writeup of E=mc2, Feynman and Heisenberg, with Figures
 
May 15: The neuro/nano/C.sci/politics Powerpoint is available.
 
May 11: Readings:
a) excerpts from Fulbright:  Arrogance of Power (34 MB)
b) excerpts from Sir Martin Rees (British Astronomer Royal): Our Final Hour (39 MB)
c) excerpts from Weinberg: Dreams of Final Theory
 
The China/Russia Panel:
 
On Thursday May 22, I  propose to discuss the question:
 
"When your generation will be dealing with the challenging problems of Science and Society, do you expect help, or hindrance (or both) from your peers abroad?"
 
As preparation, I suggest two recent reports:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/24/world/europe/24putin.html?scp=3&sq=iron+grip&st=nyt
(including the link to Russian readers' comments)
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/17/us/17student.html?scp=1&sq=Grace+Wang&st=nyt
(our expert panelists are expected to read much more, and then to lead the discussions; more about this in lecture on Tuesday)
 
May 7: Jelte's Powerpoint (26 MB) is on Origin of Life and Intelligent Design is available.
 
updates May 5, 2008:
 
Solutions of the Physics HW (with the zig-zag decay chain) , assignment of the Klebsiella and Mitochondrial Eve puzzles, and a searchable version of the splicing problem
 
readings: excerpts from Schroeder: The Hidden Face of God (40 MB Powerpoint),
the Bristol Research Proposal, Bill Joy article, research topics and bibliography
(note: the video with Bill Joy's talk seems to have disappeared from the web; I will keep looking)
 
Biology animations:
 
1) aminoacyl tRNA synthetase in the  process of charging the tRNA with the correct aminoacid (yes, please read this whole sentence aloud three times ...). This is the "physical embodiment" of the genetic code. In the first step, the aminoacid binds, the second step delivers energy to the synthetase, in the 3rd step the tRNA specific to that particular aminoacid binds, and in the last step the tRNA is joined with the aminoacid, and the resulting assembly is released, to be used by the ribozome when performing the translation.
2) Translation initiation.
3) Translation in progress ("elongation"). The information in the gene (i.e. in the RNA = a polymer of bases) is translated into the protein (i.e. a polymer of aminoacids).
4) Translation termination.
 

My own "Powerpoint animation" of the Polymerase Chain Reaction is here.


There are many other animations available on www. Some students find the duplication and transcription on

http://www.johnkyrk.com/

to be very useful; I really liked the mitosis and meiosis animations on the same site.

From Schaum's Biology, I especially recommend chapters  4(Cell) ,7(DNA), 8(reproduction), 11(embryology), 19 (immunology), 22(neurophysics) and 25 (evolution).

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course discussion board has been created

Biology Powerpoint (large file with biology Figures and more)

new template for the Response papers

EXCEL classlist with RP1 grades (to be updated with other points soon)

requirements for the Ad Hoc Honors credit

course procedures (grading, Instructor and TA office hours, ...)

course schedule

Intro lectures (large Powerpoint file)

Physics lectures (large Powerpoint file with Physics Figures and more)

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April 4: 1) The first week lecture Powerpoint is available. It is a large file (10 MB)  - so you need a fast Internet connection.  

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2) for completeness, here are past EMAILs:

Date: Tue, 1 Apr 2008 17:50:57 -0700 (PDT)
From: vladi@u.washington.edu
Subject: [Sis216a_sp08] first reading assignment
Welcome to PHIS 216 (and no, it is not a misprint!). Reading your questionnaires has been very interesting. If you missed the first
class, please pick up a copy on Thursday. In general, please try NOT to miss classes - this is the type of a course where learning occurs mostly in the
classroom! On Thursday, I will talk about Syllabus, grading, coursepak etc. For now, please start reading on "Views by two physicists":
www.phys.washington.edu/users/vladi/bp.doc
and
www.phys.washington.edu/users/vladi/phys216/Kaku001_edit_web.doc
A short Response Paper based on these readings (and on this week's lectures) will be due next Tuesday. Much more on all this when we meet again on Thursday. Cheers, V.

Date: Thu, 3 Apr 2008 18:56:31 -0700 (PDT)
From: vladi@u.washington.edu
Subject: [Phys216a_sp08] Re: [Sis216a_sp08] syllabus
Detailed course description, including EMAIL of TAs for sections, is available at www.phys.washington.edu/users/vladi/phys216
Have fun introducing yourselves to your section tomorrow! And afterwards, start writing your thoughtful response to what has happened in the course so far (including the readings) - papers due Tuesday. Please use the template on the website (just substitute your text for mine, and do your own wordcount). Cheers, V.

 3) Please note that at any time, a complete archive of last EMAILs is available at
http://mailman1.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/phys216a_sp08
and/or at
http://mailman1.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/sis216a_sp08
(depending on if you are registered under PHYS or under SIS).

4) Reminder on the Response Paper: the first one, due on Tuesday, should contain your thoughts about the first week of classes (lectures plus readings - see above). It should be 700-900 words - see template below.

April 3: The course procedures for 2008 are available. Also a template for your Response papers. Information on TA office hours, coursepak and examples of past projects coming up soon.

March 6, 2008: The enrollment pattern looks great -  the 107 students registered as of today represent a true cross section of the University, from freshmen to seniors, and from English and Jackson School majors to physicists, chemists and biologists ...

This course (also known as PHIS216) is the first course offered jointly by the Physics Department and the Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies. The enrollment is not limited to the students of the two sponsoring Departments – the goal is to achieve  a truly transdisciplinary mix of science- and non-science students with diverse backgrounds. This course can be taken  to satisfy either the NW or the I&S requirement - please note that this is true for either PHYS216 or SIS216 - the two courses are identical, and treated as such by the Registrar and by the UW a whole. There are no pre-requisites on previous math or physics knowledge.
    
    The course has been thoroughly tested in Spring 2006 and 2007; a detailed course description for the 2008 offering will be available soon (for now, see the blurb).