Physics for Poets
BASIC DATA
course listing
A - main register
course code
NSO0160
course title in Estonian
Füüsika mittefüüsikutele
course title in English
Physics for Poets
course volume CP
-
ECTS credits
3.00
to be declared
yes
assessment form
Graded assessment
teaching semester
autumn
language of instruction
Estonian
English
Study programmes that contain the course
code of the study programme version
course compulsory
IAAB17/25
yes
IABB17/25
no
IADB17/25
yes
IAIB25/25
yes
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Structural units teaching the course
LM - Department of Marine Systems
Course description link
Timetable link
View the timetable
Version:
VERSION SPECIFIC DATA
course aims in Estonian
Esitada füüsika põhimõisted ja -seadused ajaloolises ja kultuurilises kontekstis. Käsitletavad teemad on liikumine, energia, entroopia, elektromagnetism, relatiivsusteooria, kvantnähtused ja elementaarosakesed.
course aims in English
To present fundamental notions and laws of physics in the historical and cultural context. The topics are motion, energy, entropy, electromagnetism, relativity, quantum phenomena and fundamental particles.
learning outcomes in the course in Est.
Üliõpilane teab füüsika põhimõisteteid ja on omandanud oskused ülesandeid loogiliselt analüüsida ja lahendada.
Üliõpilane oskab leida seoseid eri valdkondadesse ja ajastutesse kuuluvate nähtuste vahel.
Üliõpilasel on ettekujutus teaduslikust, filosoofilisest ja esteetilisest maailmapildist.
learning outcomes in the course in Eng.
The student has acquired basics of physics and is able to logically analyse and solve problems.
The student is able to find relations between phenomena of different spheres of human activities and different ages.
The student gets notion of scientific, philosophic and poetic world-views.
brief description of the course in Estonian
Taevakehade liikumine, kalender ja astroloogia. Teadus ja ebateadus. Antiikaeg. Eratosthenese meetod Maa ümbermõõdu määramiseks. Renessanss. Galilei. Liikumise kiirus ja kiirendus. Liikumishulk. Jõud. Newtoni seadused. Gravitatsiooniseadus ja planeetide orbiidid. Energia, töö ja võimsus. Reduktsionistlik ja holistlik maailmakäsitlus. Elekter ja magnetism. Faraday, Oersted, Maxwell. XIX sajandi tehnoloogia. Lained. Interferents. Youngi katse ja Newtoni prisma – kaks kümnest kauneimast füüsikaeksperimendist. Termodünaamika seadused. Aja suund. Entroopia mõiste ja seos informaatikaga. Maxwelli deemon. Michelsoni katse ja kiiruste klassikaline liitmine. Einstein, erirelatiivsusteooria sünd. Tuumaenergia. Termotuumasüntees ja ITER. Üldrelatiivsuse elemendid. Aegruumi kõverus. Paisuv universum. Mustad augud, suur pauk ja aja algus. Varjatud aine. Plancki kvanthüpotees. Einstein ja fotoefekt. Rutherford. Aatom, elektron, tuum. Füüsika kuldajastu. Bohri aatomimudel. De Broglie hüpotees. Schrödingeri võrrand. Heisenbergi määramatuse printsiip. Lainefunktsiooni statistiline tõlgendus. Superpositsiooniprintsiip kui kvantarvutamise alus. Schrödingeri kass. XX sajandi sünergia: mikro- ja megamaailm ning heitlevad kunstivoolud. Elementaarosakesed ja standardmudel. LHC – suur hadronite põrguti. Kvantmehaanika paradoksid. Klassikalise ja kvantmaailma vahekord. Stephen Hawkingi positivistlik filosoofia. Universaalkonstandid ja antroopsusprintsiip. Milline oleks meie maailm, kui universaalkonstandid oleksid teistsugused?
brief description of the course in English
Motion of celestial bodies, calendar and astrology. Science and pseudoscience. Antiquity. The method of Eratosthenes to estimate the circumference of the Earth. Renaissance. Galilei. Velocity and acceleration. Momentum. Force. Newton’s laws. The law of gravitation and orbits of the planets. Energy, work and power. Reductionism and holism. Electricity and magnetism. Faraday, Oersted, Maxwell. The technology of the XIX century. Waves. Interference. The Young’s experiment and Newton’s prism – two of the ten most beautiful experiments of physics. The laws of thermodynamics. Direction of time. Entropy in physics and informatics. Maxwell’s demon. Michelson’s experiment and classical addition of speeds. Einstein, the birth of special relativity. Nuclear energy. Nuclear fusion and ITER. Elements of general relativity. Curvature of the space. Expanding universe. Black holes, big bang and the beginning of time. Dark matter. Planck’s quantum hypothesis. Einstein and photoelectric effect. Rutherford. Atom, electron, nucleus. The golden age of physics. Bohr’s atom. The hypothesis of de Broglie. Schrödinger’s equation. Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle. Statistical interpretation of the wave function. Superposition principle as the basis of quantum computing. Schrödinger’s cat. The synergy of the XX century: micro- and mega-world and confusion in art. Fundamental particles and standard model. LHC – Large Hadron Collider. The paradoxes of quantum mechanics. Classical and quantum world. The positivist philosophy of Stephen Hawking. Universal constants and anthropic principle. How would our world look like if the universal constants were different?
type of assessment in Estonian
Kaks semestrisisest testi
type of assessment in English
Two classroom tests
independent study in Estonian
Loengumaterjalid tuleb läbi töötada järgnevaks harjutustunniks, et võimaldada ülesannete lahendamist.
independent study in English
The material presented at the lectures should be acquired to be prepared for solving problems
study literature
Robert H. March. Füüsika võlu.Tartu, Ilmamaa, 2000
Robert H. March. Physics for Poets. 5th edition. McGraw-Hill, 2003
Stephen Hawking. Universum pähklikoores. Tallinn, Eesti Entsüklopeediakirjastus, 2002
Stephen Hawking. Minu lühiajalugu Tallinn, Tänapäev, 2014
study forms and load
daytime study: weekly hours
2.0
session-based study work load (in a semester):
lectures
1.0
lectures
9.0
practices
0.0
practices
0.0
exercises
1.0
exercises
9.0
lecturer in charge
-
LECTURER SYLLABUS INFO
semester of studies
teaching lecturer / unit
language of instruction
Extended syllabus
2025/2026 autumn
Sirje Keevallik, LM - Department of Marine Systems
Estonian
    Evaluation criteria.pdf 
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    2024/2025 autumn
    Sirje Keevallik, LM - Department of Marine Systems
    Estonian
      Evaluation criteria.pdf 
      2023/2024 autumn
      Sirje Keevallik, LM - Department of Marine Systems
      Estonian
        2022/2023 autumn
        Sirje Keevallik, LM - Department of Marine Systems
        Estonian
          2021/2022 autumn
          Sirje Keevallik, LM - Department of Marine Systems
          Estonian
            Evaluation criteria.pdf 
            2020/2021 autumn
            Sirje Keevallik, LM - Department of Marine Systems
            Estonian
              Evaluation criteria.pdf 
              2019/2020 autumn
              Sirje Keevallik, LM - Department of Marine Systems
              Estonian
                Evaluation criteria.pdf 
                2018/2019 autumn
                Sirje Keevallik, LM - Department of Marine Systems
                Estonian
                  Evaluation criteria.pdf 
                  2017/2018 autumn
                  Sirje Keevallik, LM - Department of Marine Systems
                  Estonian
                    Evaluation criteria.pdf 
                    Course description in Estonian
                    Course description in English