Ge 131 -- Fall 2008/2009
Planetary Structure and Evolution

Instructor: Dave Stevenson
x6534
djs@gps.caltech.edu

TA: Aaron Wolf
x6960
awolf@gps.caltech.edu

Office Hours: Wed 3 pm 162SM


Handouts

Nov. 26: Chapter 20 Core Formation and Evolution
Nov. 26: Chapter 19 Processes of Differentiation for Terrestrial Planets
Nov. 26: Chapter 18 Thermal Histories of Giant Planets
Nov. 26: Chapter 17 Tidal Dissipation and Evolution
Nov. 21: Chapter 16 Thermal Histories of Icy Bodies
Nov. 21: Chapter 15 Scaling Laws and Thermal Histories (Terrestrial Planets)
Nov. 16: Chapter 14 Convection Theory; Adiabats and Boundary Layers
Nov. 10: Chapter 13 Heat Flow, Conductive States, Adiabats, and Convective Instability
Nov. 6: Chapter 12 Gravity and Topography
Nov. 1: Chapter 11 The Gravity Field and Gravitational Response to Rotation
Nov. 1: Chapter 10 Observational Constraints on Planetary Interiors
Oct. 26: Chapter 9 Generic Planetary Models
Oct. 20: Chapter 8 Transport Properties
Oct. 16: Chapter 7 Thermal Properties of Materials
Oct. 14: Chapter 6 Phase Transitions and Phase Equilibria
Oct. 14: Chapter 5 Rocks and Ices: Beyond the Nearly Uniform Electron Gas
Oct. 9: Chapter 4 A Case Study: Hydrogen
Oct. 6: Chapter 3 Fundamentals of Planetary Materials
Oct. 1: Chapter 2 Provenance and Cosmochemistry
Sep. 30: Chapter 1 Why Study the Insides of Planets?
Sep. 29: About this Book
Sep. 29: Class info

Class Term Projects


Homework

Nov. 21: Homework 8
Nov. 16: Homework 7
Nov. 8: Homework 6
Nov. 1: Homework 5
Oct. 26: Homework 4
Oct. 18: Homework 3
Oct. 10: Homework 2
Oct. 3: Homework 1


Useful links

Planetary Fact Sheets - Physical properties/orbital parameters for planets and satellites.
Solar System Dynamics - Physical properties and orbital parameters for planets and satellites.
New Theory of the Earth - Don Anderson's *new* book online.