PHYS217: Energy Future – The Science, Economic Opportunity, and Climatic Impact of Sustainable Energy
5 credits, IS or NW credit
Autumn 2012 (SLN 22027)
MW 2:30-4:20PM, and Th 2:30-3:20 in Physics-Astronomy Auditorium PAA118
Instructor: Prof. G. Seidler (seidler@uw.edu)
Course Content
In PHYS217 we will survey many different aspects of sustainable and renewable energy
production from both technical and social perspectives. The only prerequisites for the class are
a good grasp of basic mathematics (algebra, only — no calculus) and an enthusiasm to learn
about a core issue for the future of almost every aspect of our day-to-day lives.
The main text for the course, “Sustainable Energy: Without the Hot Air”, by David MacKay, is
available as a free PDF (see www.withouthotair.com). We will address parts I and II. This
will be supplemented with similarly highly-reliable and highly-readable sources on topics
including: the social impact of energy policy, global climate change, economic opportunity in a
sustainable energy society, energy efficiency, and present modes of energy production and
consumption. Some lectures will include presentations from UW faculty performing research
on sustainable energy. All class meetings will be video-recorded and made available via the
UW’s screen-casting service.
Assignments and Grading
There will be assigned reading for each lecture and a weekly online quiz based on the reading
and lecture material. There will be no midterm exams. The final exam will be a take-home
exam, distributed near the end of the term.
Questions? Contact: seidler@uw.edu
Last year’s webpage: tinyurl.com/EFuture2012