Physics 200 Content

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Physics 200: Relativity and Quanta
Lectures and Topics

Here is a list of topics that we'll cover in the course. As the term progresses, these will be correlated with lecture dates, notes, and suggested reading. For a preview of how these fit together into a coherent story, see the Outline. To help you figure out what I'm expecting you will learn, have a look at the explicit set of Learning Goals.

Date	Topic	Notes, etc...	Reading
	PART I : SPECIAL RELATIVITY
Sept 7	Introduction and Motivation
Sept 9	Newton’s Laws and Relativity frames of reference and inertial frame the principle of relativity demonstration of relativity in Newton’s laws	notes clicker questions	text 37.1,37.2
Sept 12	Puzzles from Electromagnetism Einstein’s postulates of relativity light as an electromagnetic wave apparent conflicts between E&M and relativity	notes clicker questions	text 37.3
Sept 14	Einstein’s Resolution Michelson-Morley experiment setting up a coordinate system for time and distance measurements comparing distances transverse to the motion	notes clicker questions	text 37.4
Sept 16	time dilation	notes clicker questions	text 37.6
Sept 19	length contraction relativity of simultaneity	notes clicker questions	text 37.5,37.7
Sept 21	summary of consequences of relativity for times and distances Lorentz transformations	notes clicker questions Special relativity simulation	text 37.8
Sept 23	more on Lorentz transformations velocity transformation	notes clicker questions	Tips on when and how to use time dilation, length contraction, and Lorentz transformations
Sept 26	Relativistic Invariants similarities between Lorentz transformations and rotations The invariant interval	notes clicker questions
Sept 28	spacetime diagrams	notes clicker questions	notes on spacetime diagrams
Sept 30	spacelike and timelike separations proper distance proper time	notes clicker questions spacetime diagram pictures more pictures even more pictures
Oct 3	Relativistic Energy and Momentum relativistic momentum	notes clicker questions	text 37.9
Oct 5	properties of relativistic momentum relation between symmetries and conservation laws	notes clicker questions
Oct 7	relativistic energy conversion between mass and kinetic energy analyzing relativistic dynamics: particle decay and scattering	notes clicker questions	text 37.10
Oct 12	FIRST MIDTERM
Oct 14	what is mass? the massless limit similarities between massless particles and light relativistic Doppler shift (tutorials)	notes clicker questions	energy and momentum conservation example Lorentz transforms of E and P
Oct 17	SPECIAL LECTURE: General Relativity	notes
Oct 19	PART II: QUANTUM MECHANICS Failures of Classical Physics Review of the classical description of EM radiation	notes clicker questions
Oct 21	Classical instability of atoms atomic spectra blackbody radiation	notes clicker questions helium spectrum	text 38
Oct 24	Light as a Particle the photon picture of light photoelectric effect (qualitative)	notes clicker questions	text 39.1,39.2
Oct 26	photoelectric effect (quantitative predictions of photon picture)	notes clicker questions photoelectric effect simulation
Oct 28	Millikan's experiment Compton effect (see tutorial 8) summary of evidence for the photon picture	notes clicker questions	text 39.3
	Properties of Quanta
Oct 31	photon interpretation of polarizer experiments: probabilities and quantum indeterminacy	notes clicker questions polarization diagram	Notes on polarization of light
Nov 2	quantitative model for calculating photon transmission general states as superpositions of eigenstates calculating probabilities from superpositions basic framework of quantum mechanics from polarizer model	notes clicker questions	Notes on photons and polarizers Notes on probability
Nov 4	Double slit experiment for photons explanation via quantum superposition	notes clicker questions double slit simulation	text 40.1,40.2
Nov 7	Wave Properties of Electrons Double-slit/Electron diffraction experiments de Broglie wavelength	notes clicker questions	text 39.4
Nov 9	wavefunction as coefficients for superposition of position eigenstates wavefunctions and probability density normalization of the wavefunction measurement, repeated experiments, and wavefunction collapse comparison between classical and quantum descriptions of an electron the need for an equation of motion for the wavefunction	notes clicker questions	Notes on wavefunctions NEW! text 40.3, 40.4
Nov 14	fixed momentum wavefunctions as waves wavepackets and their decompostion in terms of pure waves spread in position vs spread in momentum Heisenberg uncertainty (crude)	notes clicker questions	Notes on momentum wavefunctions and the uncertainty principle NEW! text 40.5 Notes on complex numbers and waves
Nov 16	SECOND MIDTERM
Nov 18	momentum space wavefunction and probabilistic interpretation precise relation between position and momentum space wavefunctions Heisenberg uncertainty principle (precise version) inability to know position and momentum at the same time	notes clicker questions position vs momentum superpositions wave superposition simulation	text 40.6 notes on expectation values and uncertainty
Nov 21	time dependence of electron wavepackets group velocity versus phase velocity relationship between energy and frequency	notes clicker questions	supplement: group velocity vs phase velocity
Nov 23	The Schrödinger Equation time evolution of a general wavefunction via decomposition to pure waves time evolution of a general wavefunction via the Schrödinger equation spreading of wavepackets (dispersion)	notes clicker questions wavepacket propagation simulation note: choose "constant" in drop-down menu under "potential" for free propagation	Notes on time dependence of wavefunctions and the Schrodinger equation NEW!
Nov 25	Bound States and Atomic Spectra Schrödinger equation in the presence of a potential Properties of energy eigenstates energy eigenstates as stationary states Time-independent Schrodinger equation properties quantum bound states discreteness of bound state energies	notes clicker questions	Notes on the Schrodinger equation with a potential and energy eigenstates NEW! text 41.1
Nov 28	general recipe for using quantum mechanics explanation of discreteness in emission spectra and stability of atoms general time evolution of wavefunctions scattering problems	notes clicker questions bound state simulation	text 41.2, 41.3, 41.4
Nov 30	1D example: finite square well zero point energy finite probability for finding electron in classically forbidden region Tunneling simulation and qualitative discussion of double well	notes clicker questions	text 41.6
Dec 2	tunneling and radioactive decay, STMs more complicated quantum systems and general features of quantum mechanics	notes clicker questions	text 41.10