Physics 101A

Modern Physics

Winter 1999

 

Tuesday, Thursday, 2:00—3:45 pm, Nat. Sci. Annex 102.

 

Instructor: Robert Johnson

Office: Nat. Sci. II, Room 323; Phone 459-2125; FAX 459-5777

E-mail: johnson@scipp.ucsc.edu

Office hours: Tuesday 10:00—11:00 and 4:00—5:00, Thursday 10:00—11:00, or by appointment.

 

TA: to be announced

Office: to be announced

Discussion Section: Wednesday, 7:00—8:30 pm, Kerr 289

Office hours: to be announced

 

Textbooks:

 

 

Syllabus

 

Week

Dates

Topics

Chapter

Homework

due

1

Jan. 5

 

Jan. 7

The speed of light and the "ether".

The principle of relativity.

Lorentz transformations, time dilation, simultaneity, length contraction.

 

Appendix A

 

2

Jan. 12

Jan. 14

Examples, addition of velocities, doppler effect.

Relativistic energy and momentum.

Appendix A

 

#1

3

Jan. 19

 

Jan. 21

Relativistic kinematics. Compton scattering.

 

General Relativity

Appendix A and 2-4

 

 

#2

4

Jan. 26

Jan. 28

Blackbody radiation and Planck's law.

Photoelectric and Compton effects. Specific heat of solids.

1

2

 

#3

5

Feb. 2

Feb. 4

Atomic spectra. Atomic and nuclear sizes.

Bohr's theory of the atom.

4

4

 

#4

6

Feb. 9

Feb. 11

Midterm Exam (Covers through HW #3)

Franck-Hertz Experiment and Moseley's law.

 

4

 

#5

7

Feb. 18

de Broglie waves. Particle-wave duality.

3

 

8

Feb. 23

Feb. 25

Uncertainty principle.

Wave functions and wave packets.

3

3

 

#6

9

March 2

 

March 4

Schroedinger Equation. Interpretation of wave functions. Expectation values.

Energy quantization.

5

 

5

 

 

#7

10

March 9

March 11

Infinite square well. Step potential.

Barrier penetration. Finite square well, Harmonic oscillator.

6

6

 

#8