PHYS 109(F) Sound, Light, and Perception (Q)
Light and sound allow us to perceive the world around us, from appreciating
music and art to learning the details of atomic structure. Because of their importance in human experience, light and sound have long been the subject of scientific inquiry. How are sound and light related? How do physiology and neural
processing allow us to hear and see the world around us? What are the origins of
color and musical pitch? This course introduces the science and technology of
light and sound to students not majoring in physics. We will start with the origins
of sound and light as wave phenomena, and go on to topics including color, the
optics of vision, the meaning of musical pitch and tone, and the physical basis of
hearing. We will also discuss some recent technological applications of light,
such as lasers and optical communications. The class will meet for two 75-minute periods each week for a variable mixture of lecture, discussion, and hands-
on, interactive experiments.
Format: lecture/lab/discussion. Each student will attend the Thursday lecture
plus one conference section weekly. Evaluation will be based on class participation, problem sets, in-class exams, oral presentations, and a final exam, all with a
quantitative component.
No prerequisites. Enrollment limit: 40 (expected: 40).