This page contains the weekly meeting minutes for Phys 4960H. The minutes can be pasted under the section headings that exist already or in some other format – it's completely up to the class.

1. Dan gave an announcement regarding the solar decathlon, which is looking for members.
2. Dan gave the names of several textbooks that might be useful for this course regarding energy issues. They are from the departments course on energy and should be available from the department if we need them.
3. David gave a presentation on how to use the course wiki on the physics intranet.
4. We discussed our answers to the questions posed last week: “If the earth's atmosphere rises in temperature by three degrees Fahrenheit, what is the associated energy as measured in Hiroshima sized atomic bombs?” and “Can we compare and area of land devoted to producing corn for ethanol production to an area of land devoted to producing power with solar panels?”

Present:

David Christle Christina Cowman Alex Cram Nic Eggert Sam Gleason Peter Karn Craig Muckenhirn Dan Cronin-Hennessy Travis Maxfield

1. Dan presents a general overview of the course and discusses quantifying energy issues.

2. Dan assigns two problems for next week.

     How many Hiroshima bombs are the equivalent of a three degree (Farenheit) rise in global temperature?
  Compare an acre of corn to an acre of solar panels.

3. Next week's assignments are distributed.

  Craig is to create the agenda.
  David is to set up a Wiki skeleton.
  Nic is to provide a survey of energy sources.
  Peter is to provide a survey of energy consumption.
  Alex is to provide a survey of energy distribution.
  Christina is to provide a survey of energy storage.
  Travis is to provide a survey of energy supply.

4. There is a discussion on the format of the Wiki. David will set up the neccessary software on the physics server.