Course Schedule

Here is an outline of the expected structure of the course. This is the first time that I have taught the course with this textbook, so this is going to be only a rough guide. It is likely to be fairly accurate at first and to get steadily less and less tied to reality the further out into the future you go. I hope to revise this from time to time as reality becomes clearer.

Note the abbreviation used in the readings:

Week: Topics Readings Laboratory
0: 8/26 Complex Number Review    

1:
8/29-9/2

Light from wave to particle

T 1.1-1.4

Diffraction &
Interference

2:
9/5-9

Theory of diffraction and interference

T 1.5-1.8

Interferometer &
Single-Photon
3:
9/12-16

Atom interference and Schrödinger's Equations

T 2.1-2.5

Photoelectric
4:
9/19-23

Wave Packets and Heisenberg

T 2.6-2.9

Electron Diffraction
5:
9/26-9/30

Solving Schrödinger's equation, the infinite square well, eigenvalues and eigenfunctions

 T 3 Mid-term Exam I
6:
10/3-7

Schrödinger for bound systems

 T 4.1-4.5 Numeric Schrödinger
7:
10/10-12

Schrödinger for unbound systems

 T 4.6-4.7 Bragg Scattering
(μWave)
Fall Break 10/13-16
8:
10/17-21		 Operators and Uncertainties
The tools of quantum mechanics		 T 5.1-4 X-Rays
9:
10/24-28		 3D Schrödinger, 3D box and rigid rotor T 5.5-5.6
T 6.1-6.2		 Hydrogen Spectrum
10:
10/31-11/4		 The hydrogen atom T6.3-6.5 Compton & Nuclear
11:
11/7-11

Identical particles, multi-electron atoms

 T 7.1-7.3 Mid-Term Exam II
12:
11/14-18

Quantum statics, solids, Planck, Lasers

 T7 Blackbody 1
Thanksgiving 11/19-27
13:
11/28-12/2		   TBA Blackbody 2
14:
12/5-9		   TBA  
12/13
Final Exam Tuesday 7:00-10:00 pm

 

Physics 290