Black Hole silhouetted against the Milky Way Fall 2009 ASTR 2030 Homepage

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 schedule Fall 2009 ASTR 2030 Black Holes: Timetable

Week Topic Tuesday Thursday
1 Th Prologue Aug 25
Overview 		Aug 27
A Vogage Among the Holes
2 Th 1
Special Relativity
Rules of 4D Perspective 		Sep 1
Postulates
Spacetime diagrams
Simultaneity (pdf) 		Sep 3
Time dilation, Lorentz contraction
Lorentz contraction (pdf)
Preparation for Project 1
3 Sep 8
What things actually look like at relativistic speeds
Rules of 4-dimensional perspective (pdf)
Preparation for Homework 1 		Wed Sep 9
5pm Wed Sep 9: Last moment to drop for free
 Sep 10
In class Project 1: Twin Paradox
4 Mon Sep 14
Homework 1 help session 8-9pm Duane G1B30
Sep 15
Homework 1 due in class: Draw a Relativistic Scene
Quasars, superluminal jets
Review Session
Sep 17
Midterm
5 Th 2, 3, 5, 6, 8, 9, 13, 14
General Relativity, Black Holes 		Sep 22
Postulates of GR
Principle of Equivalence
Tidal forces 		Sep 24
River Model of BHs
Falling into a Black Hole
Journey into a Schwarzschild black hole
Preparation for Project 2
6 Sep 29
Prof. Rosalba Perna: “Gamma Ray Bursts (pdf)” 		Oct 1
In class Project 2: River Model
7 Oct 6
Census of known BHs
Supermassive BHs
Preparation for Homework 2 		Oct 8
Schwarzschild geometry
Embedding diagram (pdf)
8 Mon Oct 12
Homework 2 help session 8-9pm Duane G1B30
Oct 13
Homework 2 due in class: Sagittario
Schwarzschild Wormhole, White Hole
Collapse to a Black Hole
Penrose diagrams
Journey into a charged black hole 		Oct 15
Rotating BHs
9 Oct 20
In class Project 3: Andromeda: Under the Night
Review Session
Oct 22
Midterm
10 Lew Hunter's "Screenwriting 434"
How to script a movie
Read Th Ch 4 in preparation for Project 4 		Oct 27
"Contact" 		Oct 29
"Walt Disney's The Black Hole"
11 Th 4, 5, 6
White dwarfs, Neutron stars, Supernovae
Nov 3
White dwarfs, neutron stars, and the nature of matter at very high density
Mass-radius relation for cold matter (pdf) 		Nov 5
In class Project 4: The Mystery of White Dwarfs
12 Nov 10
Supernovae
Preparation for Homework 3 		Wed Nov 11
Homework 3 help session 8-9pm Duane G1B30
Nov 12
Homework 3 due in class: Black Hole Threatens Earth
Video: "Monster of the Milky Way" (NOVA)
13 Th 8, 9
X-ray Binaries, Active Galactic Nuclei
Nov 17
Prof. Mitch Begelman: “ Disks, X-ray Binaries, and Active Galactic Nuclei (ppt)” 		Nov 19
Prof. Mitch Begelman: “Jets (ppt)”
14   Thanksgiving Break Fri Nov 27
You will receive email about FCQs
15 Th 12
Black Holes Evaporate
Dec 1
Hawking radiation
Preparation for Project 5 and Homework 4 		Dec 3
In class Project 5: Compact Binary
16 Final week Mon Dec 7
Homework 4 help session 8-9pm Duane G1B30
Dec 8
Homework 4 due in class: Hawking Effect
Last chance for extra credit, due in class
Prof. Webster Cash "MAXIM" (canceled) 		Dec 10
Review Session
Sat Dec 12
1:30-4pm Final

 Black Hole silhouetted against the Milky Way Fall 2009 ASTR 2030 Homepage

syllabus | timetable | projects | homework | clicker questions | weekly summaries | books, movies | images

Updated 2009 Dec 3