Physics 7307, 7308, and 8307

This page is my first attempt at creating a Web Site to support a graduate course. It is very definitely under construction! I would very much welcome the active involvement of interested students in the course in developing a much more useful offering.

Physics 7307 and 7308 comprise a graduate level introductory survey of space physics. Topics covered include solar and heliospheric physics, magnetospheric physics, ionospheric physics and space plasma physics.

Physics 8307 is an advanced graduate lecture course covering advanced topics in Space Physics. In the Fall of 1996, the topics to be covered are MHD waves and plasma waves in space and astrophysical plasmas.

Textbooks

Instabilities in Space and Laboratory Plasmas, by D. B. Melrose

Introduction to Space Physics by M. G. Kivelson and C. T. Russell

The Solar-Terrestrial Environment, by J. K. Hargreaves

Course Outline

The first two semesters follow the second of the three textbooks listed above for the most part. The exceptions occur in Ch. 1, History, where considerable use is made of material from Majestic Lights by R. Eather; Ch 7, Ionosphere, where we bring a lot of material from Hargreaves, and in Ch 14, Aurora, which is considered before plasma waves, owing to the fact that plasma waves are covered in considerable detail in PHYS 8307.

In PHYS 8307, we will begin by covering Chapters 11 and 12 of Kivelson and Russell. Lectures will then take up the Melrose book and cover it thoroughly. Additional supplementary reading can be found in Ch. 10 of Jackson and the entirety of the 1992 edition of Stix classic treatise on plasma waves, which is available by direct order from AIP.

Fall 1996 8307 Situation

The course will be given as scheduled. Do not dispair or drop the course. As soon as he is recovered from his injuries, Dr. Bering will resume lectures. Missing lectures will be made up by extending the class to 90 minutes until we are caught up. Your assignment is to read Ch. 11 of Kivelson and Russell. Attempting the exercises would be of some value, if you are so inclined. Questions may be addressed to Dr. Bering by e-mail. If you are desperate for personal interaction and persistent enough, the other faculty listed on the Space Physics home page can be pestered. (Actually, in view of their unwillingness to pick up the lectures, they probably deserve it!)

Questions

You can ask me a question here.

Web Resources

Educational Materials

ISPEC - International Space Physics Educational Consortium
Space Physics WWW Reference
UCLA Space Physics Group Tutorials
UCLA Space Physics Group Educational Software
Rice University Public Connection Project: Rice University Space Weather Home Page and Model
Athena, K-12 Curriculum Development: Earth and Sun; The Aurora
Aurora Borealis - the northern lights

Other Universities and Professors

Space Scientists' Personal Home Pages
UCLA/IGPP Home Page
IGPP/UCLA SSC Home Page
University of Washington Geophysics Program

Some Guys Named Bob

Well, that's about it for now, folks. At this point, you could pack it in for the day, return to the top of this page, go to the UH Space Physics Group's entire list of Other Useful Links, go back to Dr. Bering's home page, or go to the UH Space Physics Group Web Site.

Send your cards and letters to me, Prof. E. A. Bering, at <eabering@uh.edu>.

Prof. Edgar A. Bering, III, Physics Department, University of Houston, eabering@uh.edu