Physics 2D
Introduction to the Physics of the Twentieth Century
Dr. David A. Rabson
The subject of this
course is the physics of the twentieth century. One
could say that it really starts 18 days before the beginning of the
century with Max Planck's presentation to the German Physical Society (14
December 1900), but we shall not quibble. A large portion of the course
will be devoted to quantum mechanics, but a survey of applications, rather
than the formalism, will serve as our goal. Since many students taking
Physics 2D will also have interests in the fields of electrical and
nuclear engineering and in medical instrumentation, we will spend a little
more time than traditional "modern-physics" courses on semiconductor
devices and perhaps a little less on
elementary-particle theory, astrophysics, and relativity.
These are all fascinating and worthwhile topics,
but I find it difficult to treat them seriously without spending a whole
course on each; textbooks at this level are mostly reduced to unsatisfying
qualitative descriptions and pretty pictures.
- Handouts
- Syllabus (1/5) (choose format: dvi,
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- Homework 1 (1/5) (choose format: dvi,
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- Colloquia (1/6) (choose format: dvi,
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- Homework 2 (1/12) (choose format: dvi,
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- Homework 3 (1/20) (choose format: dvi,
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- Planck's blackbody spectrum (1/20) (choose format:
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- Homework 4 (1/26) (choose format: dvi,
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- Homework 5 and Fourier cheat-sheet (2/2) (choose format: dvi,
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- Comparison of quantum and classical waves (2/4) (choose format: dvi,
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- Homework 6 (2/9) (choose format: dvi,
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- Homework 7 (2/17) (choose format: dvi,
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- Homework 7 Supplement (2/18) (choose format: dvi,
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- Homework 8 (2/23) (choose format: dvi,
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- Homework 9 (3/2) (choose format: dvi,
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- Laboratory Tours and Homework 10 (3/10)
(choose format: dvi,
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- Supplemental material
- For those considering the physics major
- Listserver(subscribe: mail listserv@physics "subscribe physics2d")
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