Course: History of Physics

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Course title History of Physics
Course code KEF/DF
Organizational form of instruction Lecture
Level of course Master
Year of study 2
Semester Winter
Number of ECTS credits 2
Language of instruction Czech
Status of course Compulsory-optional
Form of instruction Face-to-face
Work placements This is not an internship
Recommended optional programme components None
Lecturer(s)
  • Richterek Lukáš, Mgr. Ph.D.
Course content
An introduction. Brief description of physics as a science, its development and methods. Pre-classical physics. Physics of ancient civilizations of the Near and Far East. Science in Ancient Greece and Rome, the Pythagoreans, atomists, Aristotle, Archimedes, Ptolemy. Middle Ages and the Renaissance, the Arabic Science, scholastics, the emergence of universities, medieval mechanics. Classical physics. The scientific revolution in the 16th and 17th century, the emergence and development of classical mechanics, Galileo, Brahe, Kepler, Newton, Bernoulli, Euler, French mechanics in the 18th century. Study of electromagnetic phenomena, Coulomb, Volta, Ampere, Faraday, Maxwell, electromagnetic waves. Classical optics, Young, Fresnel, Dopler, spectral analysis. Thermal effects and radiation, energy conservation, probability and the emergence of classical statistical physics, Gibbs, Boltzmann. Physics 20th century quantum and relativistic physics, Mach, Planck, Einstein, Bohr, discoveries study of elementary particles, the standard model of elementary particles and the standard cosmological model, space and human exploration. Physics in the Czech lands in the historical context.

Learning activities and teaching methods
Lecture
  • Attendace - 13 hours per semester
Learning outcomes
A survey of a historical development of physics in a historical context.
Knowledge Define the main ideas and conceptions of the subject, describe the main approaches of the studied topics, recall the theoretical knowledge for solution of model problems.
Prerequisites
Zájem o téma a problematiku.

Assessment methods and criteria
Student performance

Knowledge within the scope of the course topics (credit) Processing and presentation of two essays/reports.
Recommended literature
  • Lindberg, D. C. (2008). The Beginnings of Western Science: The European Scientific Tradition in Philosophical, Religious, and Institutional Context, Prehistory to A.D. 1450. Chicago: University Of Chicago Press.
  • Malíšek, V. (1986). Co víte o dějinách fyziky. Horizont, Praha.
  • Simonyi, K. (2012). A Cultural history of physics. CRC Press Taylor & Francis Group.
  • Štoll, I. (2009). Dějiny fyziky. Praha: Prometheus.


Study plans that include the course
Faculty Study plan (Version) Category of Branch/Specialization Recommended year of study Recommended semester
Faculty: Faculty of Science Study plan (Version): Teaching Training in Physics for Secondary Schools (2019) Category: Pedagogy, teacher training and social care 2 Recommended year of study:2, Recommended semester: Winter