Physics 230: Modern Physics
Spring 2004
Prof. D. T. Petasis
Department of Physics
123 Carr Hall
This course is an introduction to the ideas and advances that shaped Physics in the twentieth century. The course will cover an introduction to elementary quantum mechanics with applications to atomic and molecular structure, and nuclear and elementary particles. A brief introduction to biophysics will also be given toward the end of the semester. Relativity and solid-state physics will not be covered in this course, since interested students will get the opportunity to take separate courses on these topics over the next couple of years.
This course follows the two introductory calculus-based physics courses P111 and P112. Good command of the content of these two courses will be expected. A good knowledge of introductory calculus is also necessary. Thorough knowledge of advanced math topics such as differential equations, complex variables, and partial derivatives is not required, but some familiarity with these concepts will be beneficial. Some of these topics are necessary for the understanding of modern physics concepts and will be briefly introduced in class at the appropriate time. An outline of the topics covered in this course is given on pages two and three of this syllabus.
Your grade will be based on two mid-semester exams (as scheduled in the course outline), a cumulative final (to be scheduled at a later time), weekly homework assignments, and lab assignments, according to the grading scheme shown at the bottom of this page.
Homework assignments will be handed out every week. You will be given a week to complete each assignment and turn it in for grading. Each assignment will consist of several problems, but I will only ask you to turn in two or three of these problems for grading. However, you should do the entire assignment since exams will be roughly based on the homework. These problems with additional review problems will be covered in review sessions prior to each exam. Solutions to the homework will be placed on reserve at the Physics office (Carr 245).
In addition to the lectures, there will be a three-hour lab every week. The lab topics will be loosely related to the material covered in class. You will get a separate handout with lab guidelines tomorrow.
Lectures: MWF 1:30-2:20 PM (Carr 113)
Lab: T 1:30-4:20 PM (Carr 111)
Text: "Concepts of Modern Physics" by Arthur Beiser
Office Hours: MWF: 10:00-11:00 AM
TTh: 3:00-4:30 PM
If you need to see me at other times please set up an appointment.
Homework: Assigned every week.
Grading: Exams I, II 15% each
Final Exam 30% (cumulative)
Homework 20%
Labs 20%
Dates Topic Chapters
Jan. 14-Jan. 23(7 lectures, including 2 Thursday one-hour lectures) Review of
Classical Physics/Particle Properties of Waves· Review of E&M waves·
X-ray Diffraction· The Photoelectric Effect· Blackbody Radiation·
The Compton Effect 2
Jan. 26-Feb. 4(5 lectures) Wave Properties of Particles· De Broglie's
Hypothesis· Uncertainty Relationships for Classical Waves· Heisenberg
Uncertainty Relationships· Wave Packets 3
Feb. 6-Feb. 16(5 lectures) Atomic Structure· Basic Properties of Atoms·
The Thomson Model· The Rutherford Nuclear Atom· Line Spectra·
The Bohr Model· The Franck-Hertz Experiment· Deficiencies of the
Bohr Model 4
Exam I
Feb. 18-Mar. 3(7 lectures) Quantum Mechanics· The Schrödinger Equation·
Applications· The Simple Harmonic Oscillator· Time Dependence·
Steps and Barriers 5
Mar. 5-Mar. 26(7 lectures) The Hydrogen Atom in Wave Mechanics· The Schrödinger
Equation in Spherical Coordinates· The Hydrogen Atom Wave Functions·
Radial Probability Densities· Angular Momentum and Probability Densities·
Intrinsic Spin· Energy Levels and Spectroscopic Notation 6
Mar. 15-Mar. 21 Spring Break
Mar. 29-Apr. 2(3 lectures) Many-Electron Atoms· The Pauli Exclusion Principle·
Electronic States in Many-Electron Atoms· The Periodic Table·
Properties of the Elements· X-rays· Optical Spectra 7
Exam II
Dates Topic Chapters
Apr. 5-Apr. 12(4 lectures-important: will expose students to biophysics for
the future) Introduction to Biophysics· Protein Structure· Biological
Membranes· Physical Techniques Applied to Biological Systems? Optical
Techniques (Circular Dichroism, Raman)? Magnetic Resonance Techniques (NMR,
EPR)? EXAFS and Mössbauer Spectroscopy Handouts
Apr. 14-Apr. 19(3 lectures-more stuff can be covered in the three lab periods)
Nuclear Structure and Radioactivity· Nuclear Components· Nuclear
Masses and Binding Energies· The Nuclear Force· Radioactive Decay·
The Mössbauer Effect 11, 12
Apr. 21- Apr. 26(3 lectures) Elementary Particles· The Four Basic Forces·
Particles and Antiparticles· Conservation Laws· Particle Interactions
and Decays· Elementary Particle Models 13
Final Exam