Course Description
An overview of "modern" physics developed in the last century. Topics include special relativity, particle-wave duality, matter waves, photon theory, the Schroedinger Equation and basic applications, and statistical mechanics. This course is preparatory for the upper-division physics curriculum, so it should be the first physics course taken by prospective majors after the Introductory Physics sequence.
Athena Title
MODERN PHYSICS
Prerequisite
(PHYS 1212-1212L or PHYS 1312-1312L)
Pre or Corequisite
MATH 2270 or MATH 2500 or MATH 3500 or MATH 3500H
Semester Course Offered
Offered spring
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Course Objectives
A student will be expected to have developed a working knowledge (which includes both fluency in the fundamental concepts and problem-solving ability) in the topics listed in the topical outline (item 5).
Topical Outline
a) relativity: invariance of c, lorentz transforms, velocity transforms, four vectors, relativistic energy and momentum; b) photons: photoelectric effect, x rays, compton effect, pair production; c) matter waves: de broglie, review of diffraction and double slit, qualitative treatment of fourier transform, heisenberg uncertainty principle; d) Schroedinger Equation: basics, separation of variables (x,t), bound problems (infinite well, finite well, simple harmonic oscillator), tunneling, transmission and reflection coefficients; e) Basics of Spin f) Classical and Quantum Statistical Mechanics: large N limits, combinatorics, boltzmann, fermi, dirac, specific heat theories classical vs quantum, basics of laser operations.
Syllabus