Physics 101B meets on Tuesday and Thursday at 4:00 PM.
Instructor: Zack Schlesinger, ISB 243, zacksc@gmail.com
Office hours: TBA
TA: Tia Plautz, tiaplautz@gmail.com
Website: http://physics101b.blogspot.com/
Section: Our class section will meet on Wednesday from 12:20 to 1:50 in room ISB 165 or Thiman 1. At the section you can get help with HW problems and concepts.
Homework is due every Friday by 2 PM in the physics mailroom (ISB232). There will be a box in the mailroom for you to put it in (or you can put in in my mailbox). I would suggest budgeting about 15 hours per week for homework for this class. Ideally that might be over several days, giving you time to mull over concepts, and to let things percolate and "sink in".
Exams: Our final is on Friday, March 21st from 12-3:00 PM. Our midterm will be in February, probably sometime between the 4th and 13th.
Grading: Grading uses a weighting of: 20% HW, 35% midterm and 45% Final.
Website: Our class website will be used extensively and is a critical part of this class. A HW assignment (due Friday, Jan 10) and some review materials are posted below this post. Your participation via comments and questions on the website will be noted and appreciated!
url: http://physics101b.blogspot.com/
Content:
We will start with bound states of one-dimensional (1D) systems (square well, harmonic oscillator) with emphasis on wave-functions (of energy eigenstates) and expectation value calculations. This provides essential background for our next topic: the hydrogen atom where our emphasis will again be on wave-functions and expectation value calculations. Our 3rd topic will be spin and quantum statistics. These 3 topics provide the foundation for understanding our next topics: quantum origins of the periodic table, molecular binding and electrons in crystals. Following this will be the study of semiconductor physics, lasers, quantum spectra and other topics in modern physics.
Summary: (not set in stone)
1D quantum systems (week 1)
H atom (week 2 and 3)
Spin (week 3)
Periodic Table (week 4)
Molecules (week 5)
Solids (week 6)
Semiconductors
& Lasers (week 7)
Quantum spectra (week 8)
Notes: The topics of this class are deeply interconnected. To understand the hydrogen atom one needs a basic understanding of 1D quantum bound states and expectation values. To understand the periodic table it is essential to understand the hydrogen atom states and degeneracies, as well as electron spin. Quantum kinetic energy is critical to understanding molecules and solids. Etc. These connections make the beginning of this class particularly important, as it provides the foundation for what follows. Working homework problems will be a critical part of this class. I would recommend looking at each HW assignment soon after it is first posted (Sunday/Monday) and allowing yourself a few days and maybe 10-15 hours to complete each assignment. Homework is the backbone of the class and provides the means for you to develop understanding and to prepare for the exam problems, which will be similar to the HW problems.
This class provides a great opportunity for us to begin to examine and explore the world of quantum physics, particularly physics at the nanometer scale. Quantum physics is probably one of the most important and unusual breakthroughs in the history of science. Before the wave nature of the electron was revealed, that is, that electron behavior follows a wave equation known as the Schrodinger equation, there was no real model or understanding of the nature of an atom, the organizing principles of the periodic table, why atoms stick together to form molecules and solids, superconductivity, lasers, how photosynthesis begins, etc. Quantum physics remains an active area of research, particularly in novel materials where competing interactions between electrons confound theoretical efforts and sometimes lead to amazing and unexpected new phenomena. In this class we will begin the journey to understand this interesting world.
No comments:
Post a Comment