Download Physics 13: Introduction to Modern Physics Tufts University, Fall 2008

Physics 13: Introduction to Modern Physics
Tufts University, Fall 2008
When: Tuesdays and Thursdays 4:30-5:45 (L+ block)
Where: Nelson Auditorium
Recitations:
RA: Tuesday 1:30-2:20, Robinson 153
RB: Thursday 1:30-2:20, Robinson 153
Instructor:
Prof. Hugh Gallagher
107 Science and Technology Center, 4 Colby St.
Office Hours: Tuesdays 9-11 or by appointment
Phone: 617-627-5876
e-mail: [email protected] - usually the best way to contact me
Texts:
“Modern Physics”, Paul Tipler and Ralph Llewellyn, Freeman and Company (5th ed.).
Course materials, reading assignments, homework solutions, etc. will be available on
Blackboard.
Grading:
• Two in-class exams
• Exam 1 is Oct. 7
• Exam 2 is Nov. 13
• Cumulative final with more emphasis on material at the end of the course.
• All exams will be a mix of qualitative and quantitative problems.
Exam 1:
Exam 2:
Homework:
Final:
Participation:
20%
20%
25%
25%
10%
The participation component of the grade is primarily based on the discussion and small
group activities in the recitations. Attendance at the recitations will be recorded, missing
more than two will adversely affect this part of the grade. Strong participation in the
lectures will also be noted.
Homework:
There will be 10 homework assignments over the course of the semester. Each
assignment will have problems of varying difficulty. The homework grade for the course
will be based on the highest 8 scores.
Assignments are to be handed in by 5:00 Friday to the TA mailbox (Robinson 051).
Homework will be accepted no later than noon on the Monday following the due date.
Late homework will be penalized 20%.
Extra Credit:
Students can do an extra credit project with the instructor’s permission. Students who
successfully complete an extra credit project will receive an additional 3% towards their
final grade total. Example projects would be:
1.
Studying an additional topic and writing a short paper / solving additional homework problems.
2.
Attending a Departmental colloquium or seminar and writing a short paper.
Required background:
Physics: This course assumes that you are familiar with “classical physics” – primarily
Newton’s laws and Maxwell’s equations, at the level of Physics 1/2 or 11/12.
Mathematics: A completely rigorous treatment of most of the topics listed above
requires advanced mathematics that is beyond the scope of this course. It is assumed
that you know calculus, it will be used throughout the course. Other mathematics will be
introduced as needed.
Course Description
By “modern physics” we often mean the new understanding of the world that developed
over the last century and has at its foundation relativity and quantum physics. This
course will cover a variety of topics spanning Einstein’s annus mirabilis of 1905 to more
contemporary topics such as observational cosmology and particle physics.
The course will be divided roughly into two halves, the first covering in some detail
relativity and quantum theory and the second covering the ways in which these ideas (and
increasingly precise experiments) have led to our current understanding of a variety of
topics. These include atoms, lasers, nuclear and particle physics, astrophysics and
cosmology.
Course Outline:
1. Relativity (6 lectures)
o The limits of classical physics
o Einstein’s postulates
o Consequences: time dilation, length contraction
o Paradoxes
o Relativistic kinematics
o Relativity in action: nuclear binding
o General relativity
2. Quantum Physics (8 lectures)
o Clouds on the horizon: the photo-electric effect and blackbody radiation
o Waves as particles, Compton scattering
o Rutherford scattering – the discovery of the nucleus
o Line spectra
o The Bohr model of the atom
o Particles as waves: De Broglie hypothesis
o The Heisenberg uncertainty principle
o Wave mechanics and the Schrodinger equation
o Basic solutions of the Schrodinger equation
o “God does not play dice” – interpretations of Quantum Mechanics
3. Atoms (3 lectures)
o Quantum mechanical solutions of the hydrogen atom
o Spin
o The Pauli exclusion principle and the periodic table
o X-Rays
o Lasers
4. Relativity and Quantum Physics in Action (6 lectures)
o Nuclear Physics
o Particle Physics – the Standard Model
o Astronomy and Astrophysics
o Cosmology