John F. Lindner
Texts Written
These texts are archived here mainly as PDF documents. The longer ones are designed to be color printed double-sided and bound to open flat.
- Introduction to Mechanics, Including Gravity & Kinetic Theory (2014)
Last updated 2015 January 4
(18.6 MB, 112 pages)
This is a one-semester introduction to mechanics. Galileo’s law of fall and principle of relativity imply energy and momentum conservation. Wave particle duality and Feynman’s sum-over-paths quantum mechanics imply the principle of stationary action. Elementary calculus implies the Euler-Lagrange equations, which are a generalized version of Newton’s second law. Newton’s laws imply Kepler’s laws of planetary motion and elucidate the motion of the trillion trillion particles of kinetic theory, including the ideal gas law and the speed of sound.
- Electricity & Magnetism with Optics & Electronics (2011)
Last updated 2011 May 26
(6.2 MB, 169 pages)
This is a one-semester introduction to electromagnetism. Part one develops Maxwell’s equations in the integral form involving flux and circulation of electric and magnetic fields. Part two applies Maxwell’s equations to optics and electronics, beginning with light as an electromagnetic wave. Babinet’s principle elucidates diffraction and interference. Electric potential introduces electronics. Analogy with damped mechanical oscillators clarifies RCL circuits.
- A Bridge to Modern Physics (2006)
Last updated 2021 January 9
(5.8 MB, 127 pages)
This is a one semester introduction to relativity and quantum mechanics, the twin pillars of twentieth century physics. Loedel spacetime diagrams and 4-vectors introduce relativity. Single photons in a Mach-Zehnder interferometer introduce quantum mechanics. Feynman’s rotating vector model and his sum-over-paths formulation imply Schrödinger’s equation, which implies the spectrum of the quantum harmonic oscillator.
- g = 2: A Gentle Introduction to Relativistic Quantum Mechanics (2020)
Last updated 2025 August 27
(14 MB, 63 pages)
This introduction to relativistic quantum mechanics assumes one year of calculus physics. It introduces just enough electromagnetism, relativity, and quantum mechanics to formulate the Dirac equation in a magnetic field and derive the anomalous electron magnetic moment. It ends with a teaser for quantum electrodynamics.
- Physics Math (2017) [Low Resolution]
Last updated 2021 May 8
(60.4 MB, 143 pages)
This is a one semester introduction to sophomore-level mathematical physics covers complex numbers, quaternions, matrices, normal modes, eigenfunctions, Fourier series and integrals, the wave equation, state space differential flows. The text and course extensively use Mathematica.
- Electromagnetism with Spacetime Algebra (2010)
Last updated 2024 February 27
(6.8 MB, 145 pages)
This is a one-semester overview of electromagnetism for advanced undergraduates. It begins with a self-contained introduction to geometric and spacetime algebra. This enables the introduction of a single Maxwell equation as a postulate, from which the traditional equations follow. The latter are then used to investigate electrostatics, magnetostatics, electrodynamics, and radiation. The text employs natural units where both the permittivity and permeablity of free space are 1.
- Nonlinear Dynamics (1997)
Last updated 2024 July 13
(46.9 MB, 124 pages)
This is a one-semester introduction to nonlinear dynamics for undergraduates. Chapters include 1D and 2D maps, 1D, 2D, and 3D flows, fractals, nonlinear pendulum, N-body problem.
- Introduction to Quantum Mechanics: From Geometry to Spectra (2014)
Last updated 2015 January 4
(3.9 MB, 118 pages)
This is a one-semester introduction to quantum mechanics for advanced undergraduates. A chapter on phenomenology, including single photons in interferometers, motivates the introduction of a complex Hilbert space to generalize the three-dimensional Euclidean space of everyday experience. The (non)commutativity of the Galilei group of spacetime transformations implies commutation relations for the Hermitian generators of the corresponding unitary operators in the Hilbert space. The resulting commutator algebra determines the energy spectra of the harmonic oscillator and hydrogen atom. The text is designed to be viewed two pages at a time.
- Quantum Field Theory (2003)
Last updated 2022 October 11
(1.6 MB, 305 slides)
Quantizing a single scalar field with detailed animated mathematics from a one-semester introduction to quantum field theory. Intended for full-screen single-slide manual advance download and not for printing. (Under macOS 12, SlidePilot transitions are cleaner than Preview’s, but any modern PDF reader should work.) Also available in dark mode (with white text on black background).
- Modern Physics Lab Manual (2006)
Last updated 2017 December 3
(21 MB, 83 pages)
I completely rewrote the Wooster Physics lab manual, producing the first unified and digital version.
- Jr IS Lab Manual (2012)
Last updated 2012 May 6
(46 MB, 136 pages)
I completely rewrote the Wooster Physics Jr IS lab manual, producing the first unified and digital version.
- Belief in God in an Age of Science (2007)
Last updated 2007 December 18
(536 kB, 39 pages)
This is the static text of the blog for my 2007 First-Year Seminar on science, religion, and the nature reality. It includes detailed summaries of all of our discussions. It explores a relationship between science and religion that goes beyond conflict to dialogue, interaction, and consonance, in the work of John Haught, Ian Barbour, John Polkinghorne, Bob Russell, and others. Ancillary materials, including the original online blog, are at the seminar’s web site.
- To Dream, Eyes Wide Open (2003)
Last updated 2003 November 4
(43 KB, 2 pages, 608 words)
This essay about the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey was published in the Wooster Voice in November 2003.
- Earth, Moon, Mars (2009)
Last updated 2009 July 28
(56 KB, 2 pages, 748 words)
A version of this essay was published by the Orlando Sentinel on 2009 July 20 for the 40th anniversary of the first human landing on Moon.
