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Professional and Personal Interests
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Cosmology, observational astronomy, meaning of time, interpretation of quantum mechanics, tennis
| Courses
Taught |
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- Analytical Methods
- Classical Physics
- Electronics
- Freshmen Experience
- Mathematical Physics
- Modern Physics
- Modern Science Skills Lab
- Quantum Mechanics
- Planetary Astronomy
- Senior Seminar in Physics
- Stellar Astronomy
- Thermodynamics
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Membership in Professional Societies |
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- American Physical Society
- American Association of Physics Teachers
- American Association for the Advancement of Science
- Amercian Scientific Association
- Union of Concerned Scientists
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Research |
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A current
area of study is Cosmology. I integrate this with Christian
theology in courses I teach, Stellar Astronomy (Astr 302) and
Origins (IDS 322). I give invited lectures on Cosmology in
churches in the Chicago area. Another area of study is the
meaning and nature of time, and specifically the "arrow" or direction of time. This study has led me to reinterpret Quantum Mechanics and also apply these concepts to issues in Christian theology; I was a participant in the 1998 Faculty Summer Seminar in Christian Scholarship on "Theology and the New Physics" at
Calvin College, General Education Subcommittee, 2000.
| Papers
Published and/or Presented |
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Wharton,
William R., Articles in Magill's Science Annual,
2000 & 2001:
"The Accelerating Universe"
"Demographics of Black Holes"
"Evolution of Distant Galaxies"
"The Supernova Connection to Gamma Ray Bursts"
"Orbiting X-ray Telescopes Map the Non-visible Universe"
"Resources for Teachers and Students", "Astrobiology
and Panspermia"
"Brown Dwarfs and Orphan Planets"
"Dark Matter and Dark Energy"
"Stellar Nurseries"
Forty-three publications in refereed physics journals. The most recent are:
Wharton, William R.,1989. "Resolution of Apparent Mass-Energy and Momentum
Nonconservation in Special Relativity," Physics
Essays, Vol, II, 310.
Chrien, R.E., et. al. (including W. Wharton), 1990. "Search for Radiative Transitions
in the Hypernucleus 10B," Physical
Review C41, 1062.
Wharton, William, "On Kantor's Reconsideration of Lorentz Transformation," Physics
Essays, Vol. III, 94 (1990)
"Geiger Counter," 1997 the Macmillan Encyclopedia of Physics.
"Causation with Quantum Mechanics," submitted to American Journal of Physics;.
(downloadable in PDF format )
Other recent papers:
"The Importance of Causality in Quantum Mechanics", 2004 (downloadable
in PDF format ) Published in Perspectives
in Science and Christian Faith, December 2005.
"Understanding Time and Causality is the Key to Understanding Quantum Mechanics",
2004 (downloadable in
PDF format )
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