PHYS0160
Introduction to Relativity and Quantum Physics [ Course Website ] [ Lab Website ]
This is an intensive course, covering vibrations and waves, special relativity and quantum physics. Prerequisites are PHYS 0050 or 0070 (or equivalent) plus a semester of calculus. A co-requisite is a second semester of calculus. These will be three lectures a week, a conference section and a laboratory.
Textbooks:
- Vibrations and Waves, A.P. French
- Special Relavity, A.P. French
- An Introduction to Quantum Physics, A.P. French and E.F. Taylor
Course Outline:
Vibrations and Waves
Coupled oscillators, solution methods, continuum limit.Vibrating string, 1-D wave equation and general solution, Fourier analysis, eigenvalues, plane waves, wave packets, group and phase velocities. Superposition, interference, and reflection and transmission of waves.
Special Relativity
Postulates, Galilean transformation, Michelson-Morley experiment, Lorentz transformation. Clock synchronization, Twin paradox. Rest mass, mass-energy conversion. Relativistic collisions.
Quantum Physics
Background: Planck hypothesis, photoelectric effect. Compton effect, quantum amplitudes, spectra, discrete energy levels, Bohr picture of hydrogen. Quantum mechanics: wave functions, probability, average values, uncertainty. Schrodinger equations: eigenvalues, one-dimensional impenetrable box and comparison with the vibrating string, bound and scattering states in a finite potential, reflection and transmission and tunneling.
