Union University Physics Department

Announcements

Union University's Physics Department seeks to support science teaching in West Tennessee in a variety of ways. One of those ways is in maintaining an active physics program for training future science teachers and supporting current teachers through courses relevant to their discipline. For those wishing to certify in physics we have two offerings that might be of particular interest.

PHY 395 Nuclear Physics, Fall 2007.  This was Dr. Nettles's field of graduate study. He also worked for the Nuclear Navy, so he has a lot of practical experience in the field, too. The prerequisite is the completion of one year of calculus-based general physics and preferably exposure to modern physics. The course will the concepts of nuclear force interactions, radioactivity (alpha, beta and gamma decay), and nuclear reactions, including fission and fusion. If we have enough time, we'll even throw in a little nuclear astronomy.

PHY 311 Modern Physics, Spring 2007.  Come learn first-hand how the world of physics changed in the 20th century as Dr. David Ward takes you through an introduction to such baffling and interesting topics as special relativity (a very "light" topic), quantum mechanics (in bits and pieces), the dual nature of light and particles, and applies these to atomic, nuclear, and particle physics. The prerequisite is a year of calculus-based general physics and will require solving multistep word problems.

More Happenings in the Physics Department!

*Our 4th annual Adventures  in Physics Summer Camp, was a wonderful and successful 5 day experience which introduced 16 students to the major areas of physics with lectures, daily experiments, hands-on activities, and carry home experiments. Watch this space for an annoucement in the spring of the 2008 Adventures  in Physics camp.
*We also enjoy visiting science classes or having them visit us! Call us for demo shows at your school or here at Union University.
Galileo, move over! Summer researchers busy at rediscovering how the universe works, Adventures in Physics Summer Camp, June 2002.  This year's Adventures in Physics program will be held June 11 - 15, 2007.

For further information on any of the above, feel free to contact :

Dr. Bill Nettles	Dr. David Ward
Chair, Physics Department	Demonstration Coordinator
731-661-6588	731-661-5249
bnettles@uu.edu	dward@uu.edu