.pdfs of the lecture slides, in-class activities and handouts will be posted here AFTER the class meets. Note that many of these slide decks are quite sparse, since we do a number of derivations on the board. If you have any questions about how to effectively take notes in the class, please come see me at office hours or make an appointment.
Unit 1 – Radiation
Week 1
Wednesday September 4 – Review of Important Introductory Physics Principles
Handouts: Syllabus
Week 2
Monday September 9 – Astrometry, Parallax, and the Magnitude System
Wednesday September 11 – The Nature of Light
Week 3
Monday, September 16 – Thermal-Radiation: The Stefan-Boltzmann and Wien Laws
Wednesday, September 18 – Line Spectra
Week 4
Monday, September 23 – Atomic Structure and Radiation
Wednesday, September 25 – Maxwell-Boltzmann Distributions
Week 5
Monday, September 30 – Boltzmann and Saha Equations
Wednesday, October 2 – Boltzmann and Saha Cont.d
Unit 2 – Stars
Week 6
Monday, October 7 – Spectral Types and The H-R Diagram
Wednesday, October 9 – Hydrostatic Equilibrium and The Virial Theorem
Handouts: Virial Theorem Notes
Week 7
Monday, October 14 – NO CLASS – FALL BREAK
Wednesday, October 16 – Radiative Transport
Week 8
Monday, October 21 – Stellar Structure
Wednesday, October 23 – Equations of State
Week 9
Monday, October 28 – Opacity
Wednesday, October 30 – Scaling Laws
Unit 3 – Stellar Evolution
Week 10
Monday, November 4 – Energy Density in Stars
Wednesday, November 6 – Nuclear Reaction Rates
Week 11
Monday, November 11 – Stellar Evolution
Wednesday, November 13 – Stellar Evolution Cont.d
Week 12
Monday, November 18 – White Dwarfs
Wednesday, November 20 – Neutron Stars
NO CLASS November 25 or 27 (Thanksgiving Break)
Week 13
Monday, December 2 – Pulsars
Wednesday, December 4 – Pulsars, Black Holes and Binaries
Week 14
Monday, December 9 – Star Formation
Wednesday, December 11 – Wrapup and Final Thoughts