Robert Mills
Dept. of Physics
Ohio State University
Columbus, Ohio
mills@mps.ohio-state.edu
The idea under discussion is to offer prospective science majors,
especially physics majors, an introductory calculus-based physics
course that deals primarily with topics in ``modern physics'', taken
to mean, for example, relativity, quantum physics, and elementary
particles and fields. A fair amount of classical physics must be
introduced as well, but only as motivated by, and needed for, the
development of the subject. There are several reasons for starting
off in this way: first, it's more fun for the students, and more
likely to motivate them to go on in physics; and second, it's
important that prospective physics students become acquainted with the
ideas and concepts that are, after all, the daily diet of present-day
physicists. I'll describe my experiences teaching such a course, and
writing a text [1] based on the idea.
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