The Making of the Atomic Bomb PHYS-T121-F01 First-Year Seminar, Fall 2019 TR 2:00-3:15 Prof. Martin McHugh Department of Physics Office: 266 Monroe Hall tel: 865-2451 [email protected]
What is the Common Curriculum? In addition to the major you will pursue at Loyola, you will take a broad range of courses in the liberal arts and sciences known as the Common Curriculum. This Common Curriculum offers you an educational experience you will not find at state institutions and other private schools. It is a large part of the “Loyola Difference”—that is, it defines what makes our university and the education you receive here distinctive.
The Common Curriculum… • Includes courses taught in English and history, philosophy and religious studies, the sciences and the arts • Teaches important foundational subject matter for your major study • Gives you a broad education outside your major, preparing you for the demands of a complex world • Is grounded in the core values of our Jesuit mission and identity • Develops your understanding of human values and social justice • Develops your critical thinking, writing, and speaking skills
What is a First-Year Seminar? First-Year Seminars introduce you to academic inquiry and teach you to think and learn as a college student. The seminars are interdisciplinary, focusing on a single topic from several academic perspectives. While each seminar is on a different topic, they all explore the larger theme of “thinking critically, acting justly” as an introduction to study at Loyola. The seminars are required and carry three credits, just like other courses in the Common Curriculum and majors. They are a valuable first step on your path to a Loyola education.
Course Description: The dropping of the atomic bomb in 1945 was a pivotal event in history marking the end of World War II and the beginning of the Cold War. In this seminar we will look at the science leading up to, and making possible the harnessing of nuclear power. The readings will also give us other perspectives on this event and
technology and we will explore some of the ramifications of the event up to the present time. Some goals for the course are • to gain a better understanding of how science works (how the scientific process works) • learn about the influence of science on technology, society, politics etc. • gain basic understanding of physics of the atom and of nuclear power • learn some of the history of nuclear weapons – use in WWII, role in Cold War • to be able to make more informed opinions about nuclear issues in current events
Learning Outcomes for First-Year Seminars: • Critical Thinking Students will be able to formulate questions about the subject matter and take a position that is supported with evidence. Students will show proficiency in the critical reading of texts, including discerning major arguments, salient points, and underlying assumptions and biases. • Effective Communication Students will be able to reflect on issues, formulate and defend a position both in writing and orally. • Quantitative Reasoning Students will be able to perform basic computational operations, interpret summaries of data and demonstrate problem solving ability • Information Literacy Students will demonstrate the ability to evaluate information and appropriately incorporate information into an assignment. • Ethical Reasoning Students will demonstrate the ability to recognize issues of justice and injustice inherent in a topic, and they will be able to recognize multiple sides to an issue.
Office hours: MW 11 - 12, You can also set up an appointment for another time (email is the best way to reach me outside of class) or just drop by my office.
Texts: The Making of the Atomic Bomb by Richard Rhodes (ISBN: 9781451677614) plus online reserves.
Writing Assignments: Writing will be a key element to this course and will help you engage with the science. You will turn in weekly reading logs. These will be short (~1 page) reflections on key ideas and questions raised in the readings. Since these writings will form the basis of class discussions, late submission is strongly discouraged and will result in a deduction of your grade. There will also be one long essay with revision.
Writing support: Writing is a process. Don’t wait to begin writing your paper until the night before it is due. The Student Success Center on the second floor of Monroe Library provides writing assistance. Follow this link http://success.loyno.edu/writing-learning-services to schedule an appointment.
Grading: Essay with revision 20% Weekly reading logs/writing assignments 40% Short quizzes 5% Midterm exam 15% Final exam 20%
Grades will be determined by the following scale: A ≥92% A- ≥90% but < 92% B+ ≥87% but < 90% B ≥83% but < 87% € B- ≥80% but < 83% € C+ ≥77% but < 80% € C ≥73% but < 77% € C- ≥70% but < 73% € D+ ≥65% but < 70% € D ≥60% but < 65% € F < 60% € € Class attendance: Students are expected to come to class! Two un-penalized absences € are allowed, but each additional unexcused absence will result in a 2% penalty on your final grade.
Late work: assignments that are turned in late will have a 20% penalty for the first day, and 10% for each subsequent day that they are late.
Course outline: The following is a tentative outline that may be modified as the semester progresses.
Week 1 Aug. 20 - Introduction Aug. 22 - Lecture, What is everything made of? Reading: Richard Rhodes, Chap. 1 pp. 13 – 28 The Making of the Atomic Bomb plus excerpt from H. G. Wells The World Set Free pp. 4 – 18
Week 2 Aug. 27 -Lecture Copernican revolution Aug. 29 – Copernican revolution continued Reading:- Richard Rhodes, Chap. 2 pp. 29 – 52 in The Making of the Atomic Bomb * view the online video “Plagiarism: How to avoid it” http://researchguides.loyno.edu/avoidingplagiarism
Week 3 Sept. 3 -- Galileo and Newtonian physics Sept. 5 – Galileo and Newtonian physics continued
Reading log Diana Preston, Chap 1 of Before the Fallout pp. 8-21 Week 4 Sept. 10 - Lecture Thermodynamics, Thomson and the electron, Roentgen and the X-ray Sept. 12 – Title IX, Consent 101 presentation Reading log Richard Muller Section III ‘Nukes’ (Chapter 8) in Physics for Future Presidents pp. 93 – 110, Richard Rhodes, Chap. 3 pp 53 – 77 in The Making of the Atomic Bomb
Week 5 Sept. 17 - Lecture Bequerel, Curie and radioactivity blackbody radiation and the quanta Sept. 19 - Einstein and relativity E=mc2 Reading log, Chap. 5 pp. 118-128 in The Making of the Atomic Bomb Richard Muller Section III ‘Nukes’ (Chapters 9) in Physics for Future Presidents pp. 111 – 122
Week 6 Sept. 24 - Lecture Quantum physics, the neutron Sept. 26 - Lecture Discovery of fission Reading log Richard Rhodes, Chap. 6 pp 134 – 167, Chap. 7 pp 168 - 174 in The Making of the Atomic Bomb
Week 7 Oct. 1 – Discussion Oct. 3 - Listen and discuss Richard Feynman’s ‘Los Alamos From Below’ audio Reading log Richard Rhodes, Chap. 9 pp 233-275 in The Making of the Atomic Bomb
Week 8 Oct. 8 - Lecture The Manhattan project discussion, review Oct. 10 – midterm exam
Week 9 Oct. 15 Fall Break, no class Oct. 17 - Lecture Trinity, Hiroshima, Nagasaki Reading log Richard Rhodes, Chap. 12 pp. 383 – 386 in The Making of the Atomic Bomb
Week 10 Oct. 22 – Discussion, Film ‘Copenhagen’ Oct. 24 - finish film ‘Copenhagen’, Discussion Reading log Richard Rhodes, Chap. 14 pp. 443 – 485 in The Making of the Atomic Bomb
Week 11 Oct. 29 – Library instruction with Lucy Rosenbloom. Meet in Monroe Library ML 146 Oct. 31 - Oppenheimer Lecture The ‘Super’ – nuclear fusion and the H-Bomb Reading log Richard Muller ‘Nuclear Weapons’ in Physics for Future Presidents pp. 123-145, Victor Weisskopf Chapter 8 in The Joy of Insight pp. 122 – 155
Week 12 Nov. 5 – Discussion, Essay first draft due Nov. 7 - Discussion Reading log Michael D. Gordin, Chapter 2 in Five Days in August pp. 16 – 38, Campbell Craig and Sergey Radchenko, Chapter 3 in The Atomic Bomb, pp. 62 – 89
Week 13 Nov. 12 - Discussion Nov. 14 - Film ‘Dr. Strangelove’ Reading log Richard Muller Section III ‘Nukes’ in Physics for Future Presidents pp. 146 – 189
Week 14 Nov. 19 – finish film ‘Dr. Strangelove’, Discussion Nov. 21 – discussion Reading log Richard Feynman ‘The Value of Science’ pp. 483- 489
Week 15 Nov. 26 – Film ‘Nuclear Tipping Point’ Nov. 27 - no class, Thanksgiving break
Week 16 Dec. 3 – review Dec. 5 - essay Final Draft due
Thursday, Dec 12 11:30 – 1:30 final exam
Classroom policies: Please turn off your cell phones before class and refrain from disrupting the class by arriving late. Refer to the Undergraduate Bulletin for a description of classroom discipline.