Document Type
Course
Journal/Book Title/Conference
Physics 3710 – Introductory Modern Physics
Publication Date
8-28-2017
First Page
1
Last Page
4
Recommended Citation
Peak, David, "Physics 2710: Introductory Modern Physics" (2017). Syllabus. Paper 1.
https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/intro_modernphysics_syllabus/1
Comments
What Introductory Modern Physics is About
The so-called “modern world” began to emerge around the turn of the 20th century, propelled, in large part, by revolutionary developments in physics. In culture and society, “modern” includes such things as the introduction of nonrepresentational abstraction in art and music, the reevaluation of the role of the observer in esthetic activity and in social science, and a careful reappraisal of what we know and what we can know. In physics, the word “modern” continues (despite its roughly 100-year old roots) to distinguish between the macroscopic, everyday, commonsense universe, and the almost nonsensical realm of molecules, atoms, and subatomic particles.