The presentations displayed in class may viewed directly with your web browser. These presentations usually involve less explanation and more worked examples than the typeset version of the notes. Because they are designed for presentation, they are somewhat difficult to print out. I suggest that you read them along with the typeset notes.

Portable Document Format^TM typeset versions of the notes, homework, and exams may be viewed directly with your browser so long as you have installed the Adobe Reader^TM. These typeset notes provide a convenient way to browse through the material and are easily printed. However, you cannot easily manipulate the material in this format.

If you want to read and print the LaTeX version of the notes, homework exercises, and exams but do not wish to create solutions, you can use the Scientific Viewer program, which may be downloaded for free by going to the

MacKichan Software Download Page

and filling out a form. The file size is 13MB.

Normally the result will look just the same as the PDF typeset version of the notes.

In order to work the homework and exam problems, you will need the Scientific Notebook program. This program actually generates files in the LaTeX type-setting language but does not include a full type-setting program. It does, however, include the symbolic algebra and graphic display program, MuPad and can work with Mathematica as well. Just as for the Viewer, this program can be downloaded from the

MacKichan Software Download Page

You can use the downloaded version free for 30 days, after which time it dies. If you are on-campus, ask to check out a copy of the program from the Physics Department.

When the program runs under VISTA it may give a bogus error message when it first starts. Just click "OK" and ignore it.

The Scientific Workplace Program adds a full-functioned version of the typesetting language, TeX, to the package along with a large set of style files so that you can generate publishable compuscripts suitable for direct transmission to any one of a large variety of journals and e-print archives. An evaluation copy of it, too may be downloaded from

MacKichan Software Download Page

You can use the downloaded version free for 30 days, after which time it dies.

A known difficulty with this program is that it loads a LOT of specialized fonts onto your computer and can conflict with desktop publishing and graphics programs that also seek to load a lot of fonts. For example, if you install the graphics program Canvas after installing Scientific Workplace, you may find that Scientific Workplace no longer works until you reinstall its fonts.

When the program runs under VISTA it may give a bogus error message when it first starts. Just click "OK" and ignore it.