The Early Universe - A Means of Securing the Pipline

该项目开发了一门新的为期一学期的非微积分物理调查课程《早期宇宙》，旨在让学生，特别是考虑可能主修自然科学或数学的一年级巴纳德女性，接触20世纪物理学最令人兴奋的发展。这门课程代表了巴纳德物理系为防止有才华的女物理学家的潜在损失而做出的一项努力。基本的主题是早期宇宙的物理学，课程的大部分时间花在宇宙学和现代基本粒子理论上。课程的最后三分之一集中在爱因斯坦的狭义相对论上。既不需要微积分知识，也不需要任何以前的物理学研究，只需要愿意利用代数、几何和三角来帮助一个人对微妙的科学问题进行批判性思考。这门课程的实验室部分致力于测量自然的基本常量，包括光速、牛顿引力常数、电子的质量和电荷以及普朗克常数。美国国家科学基金会为人员支持提供资金，在1991年夏天，巴纳德大学为帮助课程开发的高级本科生提供津贴，而设备支持则以配备了数学计算机的Macintosh计算机的小型计算机物理实验室的形式，允许在早期宇宙课程中增加更多的计算组件，这体现在创新的实验室、家庭作业和学习作业中。NSF用于设备的资金与来自非联邦来源的资金相匹配。

The project develops a novel one semester non-calculus based physics survey course "The Early Universe", designed to expose students, particularly first-year Barnard women contemplating a possible major in the natural sciences or mathematics, to the most exciting developments in 20th century physics. This course represents an effort by the Barnard physics department to secure the pipeline against potential losses of talented women physicists. The essential subject matter is physics of the early universe, with the bulk of the course spent on cosmological and modern theories of elementary particles. The final third of the course concentrates on Einstein's Special Theory of Relativity. No knowledge of calculus is necessary nor any previous study in physics, only a willingness to employ algebra, geometry and trigonometry to assist one's critical thinking about subtle scientific questions. The laboratory component of the course is devoted to measuring the fundamental constants of Nature, including the speed of light, Newton's gravitational constant, the mass and charge of the electron, and Planck's constant.NSF funds for personnel support, in the form of stipends for advanced Barnard undergraduates assisting in the course development during summer 1991 and equipment support, in the form of a small-scale computer physics lab of Mathematica-equipped Macintosh computers, permit a much expanded computational component to the Early Universe course that manifests itself in innovative laboratory, homework, and learning assignments. NSF funds for equipment are matched with funds from non-federal sources.