Physics 390, Winter 2010: Introduction to Modern Physics

Instructor: Mark Newman
Office: 322 West Hall
Office hours: Thursdays 1:30-3:30pm
Email: [email protected]

Description: This course provides an introduction to the physics of the 20th and 21st centuries. The first half of the course deals with the fundamental theory of quantum mechanics, which underlies essentially all of recent physics. The second half deals with applications of quantum mechanics, including atomic physics, nuclear physics, particle physics, and cosmology.

Textbook (required): Modern Physics, 5th edition, Paul A. Tipler and Ralph A. Llewellyn, Freeman, New York (2008), ISBN 0-7167-7550-6. Earlier editions of the book are not acceptable, because some of the material you will need is not included, but the 5th edition has been out for several years and used copies should be available for those who do not wish to buy a new copy. There is an accompanying web site that goes with the book here.

Course work and grading: There will be problem sets most weeks. They will be handed out on Fridays and due in a week later in class. Due dates are noted on the schedule below. No late homeworks will be accepted. The problem sets will also be available in electronic form for download from this web page no later than the Friday morning on which they are handed out.

Collaboration is allowed when solving the problem sets, but you are not allowed to simply copy solutions from another student. Copying from any other source, including the web, is also not allowed.

There will be reading assignments for each lecture. The assignments are listed on the schedule below. (Feel free to print out a copy of this page if you prefer to have the assignments on paper.) Students are expected to do the reading for each lecture in a timely manner.

There will be one mid-term and a final. The mid-term will take place on Wednesday, February 24 from 11am to 12pm in 1230 USB (the usual time and place). The final will take place on Wednesday, April 28 from 4pm to 6pm in 1230 USB (the usual classroom). Both exams will be open-book, meaning you may bring your copy of Tipler & Llewellyn, but you may not use written notes or solutions to coursework problems. Grade for the course will be 30% on the problem sets, 30% on the mid-term, and 40% on the final.

Problem sets

• Homework 1 – Quantization of light and charge
• Homework 2 – Rutherford scattering and the Bohr model
• Homework 3 – De Broglie waves
• Homework 4 – The Schrödinger equation
• Homework 5 – Solutions of the Schrödinger equation
• Homework 6 – The hydrogen atom
• Homework 7 – Quantum mechanics of many particles
• Homework 8 – Statistical mechanics and condensed matter
• Homework 9 – Nuclear physics. The list of stable nuclei for this homework is here.
• Homework 10 – Particle physics

Course schedule: