English for Physicists II LS 2020/21
Osnova týdnů
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Welcome to English for Physicists II.
The lessons will be via Zoom:
https://cuni-cz.zoom.us/j/94382084797?pwd=eWdzMDNOOHRCajhWZENCaWhHN3QvQT09
Meeting ID: 943 8208 4797
Passcode: 242853
To get credit for the course it is necessary to do all the work and to take active part in class activities. Since our focus will be on speaking and listening, it is vital that you attend lessons, and therefore a further requirement for the course is a maximum of 3 absences.
(I understand that PhD students sometimes have unpredictable schedules, so please notify me as soon as possible if you foresee a conflict.)
Class activities will include texts, video clips and a series of brief student presentations, all with the aim of generating discussion.
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We introduced ourselves and gave an account of our physics careers thus far.
We brainstormed names of branches/fields of physics and came up with the partial list below.
HOMEWORK: come up with the name of one more field.
We then chose one branch (Mechanics) and brainstormed important terms from that field and came up with the other partial list below.
HOMEWORK: come up with one more Mechanics term.
We talked about presentations. Every week one or two (or even three) students will give a presentation on a predetermined topic. It should about 5-minutes long, it should be concise and should generate discussion. I recommend using props and asking the audience questions to test their comprehension in a stress-free forum.
HOMEWORK: Presentation on the topic of "Physics Is Beautiful" (see below)
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We added more terms to the list of Fields of Physics.
We added to the list of Mechanics Terms.
We had 3 student presentations on the topic of "Physics Is Beautiful":
- Jozef - Neutron Stars
- Petr - How scientists change their opinions
- Šimon - Principle of Least Action
We ended the class by watching a 1-minute video of a physics demo. Students had to write a short paragraph on what they saw and why it happened and they had to email it to me immediately.
(JUMPING RING)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LWiM2HbF3wY
Homework: bring in a list of 3 - 5 terms related to Electricity & Magnetism with their definitions.
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We went over the mistakes and curiosities in the students’ texts on the “Jumping Ring” video. We watched the video again with sound.
We had a kind of quiz show, where we guessed the E & M term based on its definition.
We had one presentation:
- Lukáš – Thermohaline Circulation
Next week we’ll have presentations by Martin, Barbora, Sarbajit, and Martina.
Homework: bring in 3 – 5 terms from Thermodynamics with their definitions.
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Martin gave a presentation on the field of Geophysics.
Martina gave a presentation on the history of Flat Earth experiments.
We quizzed each other on thermodynamics terms.
We touched on the element of grammar known as inversion.
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- We had a short grammar test on Indirect Speech & More (see below).
- Sarbajit gave a presentation on Entropy: Boltzmann vs. Shannon.
- Barbora gave a presentation on NanoCar Racing with Molecules.
- We studied Inversion in more detail (see below).
Homework: Write 3 sentences having to do with physics that show inversion. Use different adverbial phrases.
Next presentation: The first round of presentations is now complete. Everyone has presented. Now we can begin our second round! Please choose one of the following topics:
- Present a journal article from your field. It should be something we all will be able to understand (or if not, you will make it understandable for us); or
- Another (different) presentation on the topic of "Physics Is Beautiful"
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- We went over the homework, reading our "inversion" sentences.
- Petr presented a journal article on spintronics.
- We watched three 1-minute videos. Then in pairs, each student had to explain one of them the other student.
Leidenfrost Effect:
Video 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZRm1by_fqU&list=PLABgmTCXUWRxQN_x_Bzmf60a1HsQfrd7o
Stick & Slip:
Video 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mOojAIIPvjU&list=PLABgmTCXUWRxQN_x_Bzmf60a1HsQfrd7o&index=4
Eggs and Angular Momentum:
Video 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iw-QdsVnxLQ&list=PLABgmTCXUWRxQN_x_Bzmf60a1HsQfrd7o&index=5
- Interesting vocabulary of the day: Moore's Law, skyrmion, porous, hard-boiled egg, slosh, wobble, rim, glue, oscillate, molten lead, vaporize
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Presentations:
- Martina: Calculating Polar Decomposition
- Jozef: Predicting Supernova Explosions
Grammar: We reviewed conditionals.
Homework: come up with 3 sentences from your week.
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We talked more about conditionals:
- It’s high time we started another round of presentations
- I’d rather not take the elevator. I'd rather take the stairs. I'd rather you didn't smoke here.
- Suppose/supposing you won the lottery. Would you still study physics? Suppose the internet had never been invented. What would we be doing right now?
We had two presentations:
- Lukáš (horse latitudes and doldrums)
- Šímon (warp drive)
We watched three short videos and explained them to each other (The Brazil Nut Effect, Pencil Punctured Bag, Theremin's Spooky Music.)
We watched a short video on Bernoulli's Principle. Students had to write a paragraph describing what they saw and why it happened and they emailed it to me.
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We went over the homework and pointed out some grammar and vocabulary issues. E.g.:
- dropped vs. released (let go, let loose),
- when and when not to use the past perfect and the present perfect tenses,
- when not to use commas (E.g.: "He said that he would."; "I don't know how he did it."; "The person who performed the experiment explained Bernoulli's principle."),
- fly/flew/flown vs. flow/flowed/flowed,
- "with an increase" vs. "by increasing", and
- how to use 'despite'.
Homework (bring to class next week): Give an example of how to use "the pressure", "pressure" and "a pressure" in a sentence (i.e. 3 separate sentences.)
Homework (email me before the next class):
- Email me a summary of 1 or 2 sentences of Barbora's presentation and of Sarbajit's presentation.
- Email me at least one question (either sophisticated or primitive) about Sarbajit's presentation.
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Study these tips on improving research papers.
Homework: Bring in some real-life examples of sentences from journal articles, noting the tenses used, and whether or not they agree with the given tips.
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- We examined the language used, mainly verb tenses, in research papers.
- Barbora gave an improved version of her presentation on alloys.
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Various language games:
- "Grammar Blitzkrieg" ("sentence transformation")
- Name That Atomic Particle
We also read the article "My Favoroute Particle: The Electron"
https://lifeandphysics.com/2011/03/17/my-favourite-particle-the-electron/
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We talked about Tesla and Edison and read two articles about 'The War of the Currents' between them.
- https://www.history.com/news/what-was-the-war-of-the-currents
- https://www.energy.gov/articles/war-currents-ac-vs-dc-power
Homework:
Next week is our last lesson.
Look at this page of 'The 10 Greatest Predictions In Physics'.
Choose one of them (or come up with your own) and present it briefly to the class. Present it in your words, i.e. without reading from the article, and be able to answer questions from the audience.