INTRODUCTION:

        I am quite excited to teach this course because it tries to connect  the important concepts of modern physics and quantum mechanics to real-world applications such as the scanning tunneling microscopy, atomic force microscopy, superconducting quantum devices, etc.  I hope you are too. To understand these powerful applications in a meaningful yet practical way, a conceptual and quantitative understanding of  modern physics and quantum mechanics is essential. Having taken classical physics (mechanics and electromagnetism) and applied it to the macroscopic world, you will now enter the exciting realm of the microscopic, where the physics  is both exciting and non-intuitive. But there is nothing mysterious about it. Classical physics turns out to be an approximation of these new rules. The first half of this course will help you build a solid conceptual foundation of modern physics concepts and elementary applications. Building upon this, the second half will focus on more advanced applications.

        On occasion, I will provide you with lecture slides when available. However, these only provide a guide and outline and may not reflect all the actual material covered. Often, I go back-and-forth between using Powerpoint slides that show pretty pictures of applications and diagrams and manually doing calculations on the board (The latter is often more  instructive since you get more mentally involved that way). As a result, some of the slides you will have here will not show the whole story and there will be days when  no lecture slides will be available so you should always take notes. During class, you should take notes to reinforce your thoughts and emphasize key ideas. You will also be responsible for reading up on the appropriate material from the prescribed textbook and references.

                       SYLLABUS: http://www.pages.drexel.edu/~rcr32/qsm2007/Phys451_syllabus2007.pdf

Oct 1, 2007

The Course Lectures and Assigned Homework will be posted here:

Lecture 1a. Motivation for Learning Quantum Mechanics, The Wave Properties of Light

Lecture 1b. Other Wave Properties of Light

Lecture 2b:  Classical Theory of Blackbody Radiation

Homework 1 Due Oct 9, 2007. Submit to Dr. Ramos's office at Disque 624 by 12 noon.

Lecture 3a:  Bohr's Atomic Model and the Matter Wavefunction

Lecture 4a:  Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle and Schroedinger's Wave Function

***Read for missed Homework Points: Pick one, read and submit a 1-page summary that demonstrates your understanding of the article. A good summary can merit 7 points. Take advantage of this if you need more points or simply want more challenge in the class. Articles come from Physics Today (See Lecture 3a slides to get a free 1-yr subscription): A Phase Odyssey  50 yrs of observing Atoms  Einstein on Chaos . Offer expires Oct 29.

Homework 2 Due Oct 23, 2007, Tuesday. NOTE: If you received a deduction of 1 point on Problem #5, please ignore this deduction made by the grader (i.e. your answer is correct) and add 1 point to your overall score.

Homework 3 Due Nov 1, 2007, Thursday. Submit in class.

HW2 Solutions  HW3 Solutions

Take-home Midterm Download here.  Due in class no later than Nov. 6, Tuesday.

Download Lab Exercise Writeup on STM

Checkout this youtube video on the Superfluid Helium Fountain Effect and Creeping Film Effect/Superleak Effect . Questions may be asked in the finals about these.

Homework 4:  In consideration for a homework-free Thanksgiving Break, this homework is due in class no later than Nov. 29, Thursday.

Check out this youtube video (BBC News) on The Bose-Einstein Condensate  (Think about what does a single macroscopic wave function means.)and this one on Quantum Mechanics for Dummies Questions may be asked in the finals about these.

Homework 5 Due Dec 6, 2007, Thursday. Submit in class.

Lecture on Josephson Junction applications 

***Read for missed Homework Points: Pick one, read and submit a 1-page summary that demonstrates your understanding of the article. A good summary can merit 7 points. Take advantage of this if you need more points or simply want more challenge in the class. Articles come from Physics Today (See Lecture 3a slides to get a free 1-yr subscription): Superconducting Quantum Computing   High Tc Superconductivity Superconducting Magnets above 20T  Cryochip   Submit your summary no later than 3 pm Wednesday Dec 12.

Take-home Final Exam  Due Dec 10, 2007, 5 pm Monday. Submit to Disque 624 or by email to rcr32@drexel.edu 

Please don't forget to do the online evaluations.

A Special Invitation to my Physics 451 Class of 2007:

7 February 2008, Main Auditorium 3 pm
13th Kaczmarczik Lecture by Nobel Laureate William D. Phillips
Title: "Time and Einstein in the 21st Century:  The coolest stuff in the universe"
This will be a lively, multimedia presentation, including experimental demonstrations and down-to-earth explanations about some of today's most
exciting science.

Abstract: At the beginning of the 20th century Einstein published three revolutionary ideas that changed forever how we view Nature.  At the
beginning of the 21st century Einstein's thinking is shaping one of the key scientific and technological wonders of contemporary life:  atomic
clocks, the best timekeepers ever made.  Such super-accurate clocks are essential to industry, commerce, and science; they are the heart of the
Global Positioning System (GPS), which guides cars, airplanes, and hikers to their destinations.  Today, atomic clocks are still being improved, using Einstein's ideas to cool the atoms to incredibly low temperatures.  Atomic gases reach temperatures less than a billionth of a degree above Absolute Zero, without solidifying.  Such atoms enable clocks accurate to better than a second in 60 million years as well as both using and testing some of Einstein's strangest predictions.

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