Class information
Your grade for the lecture portion of the course will consist of:
The lecture portion is 75% of your whole grade and the lab is 25%.
Office hours will be on Wednesdays from 2 to 5pm on the 9th floor of Stevenson. I can be found in either SC6906 (my office) or (usually) SC6924 (the Johns/Sheldon/Webster Lab area).
I am trying to reserve SC6105 on Tuesdays and Thursdays and will try to stay in the room after class to help with any questions on the course material. Right now the official class room is SC1117 in the math building. (SC1117 is undergoing renovation but they promised me it would be ready for classes...)
We will be using the Thornton Modern Physics book, and we will be reviewing thermodynamics etc. to start with. Page numbers refer to locations in Thornton. You can use either the 3rd edition or the 4th edition of Thornton.. The 3rd edition may be cheaper on-line for you! ("Modern Physics for Scientists and Engineers" Steven T. Thornton and Andrew Rex. 3rd or 4th editions)
Lecture 1: Aug 23
Ch 1: Introduction to the class. Origins of "Modern Physics". Experimental Basis for Quantum Theory. Reading for this Lecture: Ch 1.1-1.3,1.5,1.6 Ch 3.1-3.2
Lecture 2: Aug 28
Ch 3: Experimental Basis of Quantum Theory. Reading for this Lecture:Ch 3.3-3.9
Lecture 3: Aug 30
Ch 4: Structure of the Atom. Reading for this Lecture:Ch 4.1-4.2
Lecture 4: Sept 4
Ch 4: Structure of the Atom. Reading for this Lecture:Ch 4.3-4.4
Lecture 5: Sept 6
Ch 4: Structure of the Atom. Reading for this Lecture:Ch 4.5-4.7
Lecture 6: Sept 11
Ch 5: Wave Properties and QM I. Reading for this Lecture:Ch 5.1-5.3
Nice explanation of colors(PDF)
Lecture 7: Sept 13
Ch 5: Wave Properties and QM I. Reading for this Lecture:Ch 5.4-5.5 (Cutoff for material in Test 1)
Homework 4 FAQ (Some questions and my responses)
Lecture 8: Sept 18
Ch 5: Wave Properties and QM I. Reading for this Lecture:Ch 5.6
Lecture 9: Sept 20
Ch 5: Wave Properties and QM I. Reading for this Lecture:Ch 5.7-5.8
Test 1: Sept 25
Old test questions that I have asked before on this material.
Lecture 10: Sept 27
Ch 6: QM II. Reading for this Lecture:Ch 6.1
Lecture 11: Oct 2
Go over Test 1. Catch-up if we've fallen a little behind schedule. Or I may cover a subject of my choice.
Fall Break: Oct 4
Lecture 12: Oct 9
Ch 6: QM II. Reading for this Lecture:Ch 6.2-6.3
Measuring the flat distribution and the end result
Lecture 13: Oct 11
Ch 6: QM II. Reading for this Lecture:Ch 6.4-6.5
paste this into the google search window for the example from class
plot y=-sqrt(26.25*x)/tan(0.5*sqrt(26.25*x)) from 1 to 20 and y=sqrt(26.251*(13.6-x)) from 0 to 20
Lecture 14: Oct 16
Ch 6: QM II. Reading for this Lecture:Ch 6.6-6.7
for further info on the operator solution of the harmonic oscillator, try googling:
algebraic solution of the quantum harmonic oscillator
Here is one web site that looked a lot like what I did in class. (Note that my notes (or other peoples) are not guarantteed to be error free!)
Lecture 15: Oct 18
Ch 6: QM II. Reading for this Lecture:Ch 6.7
Lecture 16: Oct 23
Ch 6: QM II. Reading for this Lecture:Ch 6.7
Alpha decay notes Please see the examples at the end that we ran out of time for in class. Also note the punchline of the 1/sqrt(E) behavior.Lecture 17: Oct 25
Ch 7: Hydrogen. Reading for this Lecture:Ch 7.1-7.2
Lecture 18: Oct 30
Ch 7: Hydrogen. Reading for this Lecture:Ch 7.3-7.5
Lecture 19: Nov 1. (Cutoff for material in Test 2) Ch 7: Hydrogen. Reading for this Lecture:Ch 7.4-7.6
Hydrogen in class sample question solution
Lecture 20: Nov 6
Ch 8: Atomic Physics. Reading for this Lecture:Ch 8.1
Test 2: Nov 8
A few more sample questions and some info
Lecture 21: Nov 13
Ch 8: Atomic Physics. Reading for this Lecture:Ch 8.2-8.3
Lecture 22: Nov 15
Go over Test 2. Catch-up if we've fallen a little behind schedule. Or I may cover a subject of my choice.
Thanksgiving: Nov 20
Thanksgiving: Nov 22
Lecture 23: Nov 27
Ch 9: Classicl and Quantum Statistics. Reading for this Lecture:Ch 9.1-9.4
Lecture 24: Nov 29
Ch 9: Classicl and Quantum Statistics. Reading for this Lecture:Ch 9.5-9.7
Lecture 25: Dec 4
Ch 10: Structural Properties of Solids. Reading for this Lecture:Ch 10.1-10.2
Lecture 26: Dec 6
Teacher's choice, maybe we finish ch 10...
Final: Dec 10 (Semi-inclusive)
Semi-inclusive means I can ask anything from the semester, but the more complex problems are likely to be on material since test 2.
We'll be doing most homeworks on the computer this semester. The computer package we'll be using is called WebAssign. You can get to their info page by clicking on the link below.
Additionally I will hand out a problem or 2 each week for you to turn in. I expect to see all steps completely worked out in these problems and I will grade these myself to get an idea of how you are doing.
The manager of this html can be reached via e-mail at <wjohns@fnal.gov>.