Physics Class Wiki
Lecture notes, re-engineered. Seven physics courses taught at Thammasat University by Pakorn Wongwaitayakornkul, rebuilt as cross-linked knowledge systems: every concept explained from intuition to derivation, every equation dissected, every page quizzed — built for studying, not just reading.
SC133 · Year 1
Physics for Engineers I
Mechanics from vectors to gravitation, fluids, oscillations, waves and thermodynamics — fully rebuilt.
SC134 · Year 1
Physics for Engineers II
Electromagnetism from charge to light: fields, circuits, induction, Maxwell's equations.
PC316 · Year 3
Fluid Mechanics
Continuum to turbulence: statics, kinematics, Navier–Stokes, dimensional analysis, shocks and instabilities.
PC368 · Year 3
Introduction to Plasma Physics
Debye shielding, single-particle drifts, MHD, waves, Landau damping and reconnection.
PHY621 · Graduate
Mathematical Methods I
Linear algebra, Fourier & Laplace transforms, ODEs, PDEs and Green's functions.
PHY622 · Graduate
Mathematical Methods II
Calculus of variations, complex analysis, and group theory — with SU(2) → SO(3).
PHY653 · Graduate
Computational EM & Plasma
From import numpy to particle-in-cell: integrators, drift orbits, field solvers,
N-body and the two-stream instability.
PHY653B · Graduate
Computational Plasma Simulation
Vlasov solvers, PIC done properly, MHD shock capturing, gyrokinetics and lattice Boltzmann — plus the verification discipline that makes a result defensible.
Every course has a Lecture Timeline page — the wiki in teaching order, lecture by lecture — first entry in its sidebar (e.g. SC133's 30 lectures, PC368's 17).
How this wiki works
- Concepts teach — intuition first, then formalism, derivation, worked example, common mistakes, and a quiz.
- Equations are reference cards — variables, assumptions, derivation, limitations.
- Concept graphs map prerequisites, per course and across the whole curriculum.
- Search (press S or /) reaches every page, term, and equation.
Cross-course threads
Some ideas refuse to stay in one course — follow them across the curriculum:
| Thread | Trail |
|---|---|
| Fluids, twice | Bernoulli for engineers → the real derivation → MHD as a conducting fluid |
| Instability, three ways | Kelvin–Helmholtz → MHD instabilities → two-stream, simulated |
| Drift motion | theory in PC368 → computed in PHY653 |
| Waves everywhere | waves on a string → surface waves → plasma waves → FDTD wave simulation |
| Conservation laws | energy & momentum → Reynolds transport theorem → shock jump conditions |
| Fields → field theory | E&M in SC134 → vector calculus made rigorous → Maxwell solved numerically |
| Complex analysis at work | contours & residues → conformal maps → airfoils & Landau damping |
| Eigenmodes everywhere | eigenvalues → normal-mode stability → plasma dispersion relations |
Maintained alongside the courses each academic year. Found an error? Tell your lecturer — it improves the wiki for everyone.