Date

Assignment

Wed, Jan 11

Read §1-1 through §1-6 “The Birth of Modern Physics”

Thu, Jan 12

Read §2-1 “The Need for Ether”, §2-2 “The Michelson-Morley Experiment”, §2-4 “The Lorentz Transformation”, §2-5 “Time Dilation and Length Contraction”

Fri, Jan 13

Read §2-3 “Einstein's Postulates”

Assignment 1 due (solutions)

Wed, Jan 18

Read §2-6 “Addition of Velocities”, §2-7 “Experimental Verification”

Thu, Jan 19

Read §2-8 “Twin Paradox”, §2-9 “Spacetime”

Fri, Jan 20

Read §2-10 “Doppler Effect”, §2-11 “Relativistic Momentum”, §2-12 “Relativistic Energy”

Mon, Jan 23

Read §2-13 “Computations in Modern Physics”

Assignment 2 due (solutions)

Wed, Jan 25

Read §2-14 “Electromagnetism and Relativity”, §3-1 “Discovery of the X-Ray and the Electron”

Thu, Jan 26

Read §3-2 “Determination of the Electric Charge”, §3-3 “Line Spectra”

Fri, Jan 27

Read §3-4 “Quantization”, §3-5 “Blackbody Radiation”

Assignment 3 due (solutions)

Mon, Jan 30

Read §3-6 “Photoelectric Effect”, §3-7 “X-ray production”

Wed, Feb 1

Read §3-8 “Compton Effect”, §3-9 “Pair Production and Annihilation”

Thu, Feb 2

Read §4-1 “The Atomic Models of Thomson and Rutherford”

Fri, Feb 3

Read §4-3 “The Classical Atomic Model”, §4-4 “Bohr Model of the Hydrogen Atom”

Mon, Feb 6

Read §4-5 “Successes and Failures of the Bohr Model”, §4-6 “Characteristic X-Ray Spectra and Atomic Number”

Assignment 4 due (solutions)

For the computer problem, my source code (root based), text output, and plot. The middle line on the plot is the one the problem asked for.

Wed, Feb 8

Read §4-7 “Atomic Excitation by Electrons”

Thu, Feb 9

Midterm test handed out... (solutions)

The scores from the test. A snapshot of the current overall scores.

Fri, Feb 10

Midterm test due in my mailbox by c.o.b.

No class today since you're midterming it.

Mon, Feb 13

Read §5-1 “X-Ray Scattering”, §5-2 “De Broglie Waves”, §5-3 “Electron Scattering”, §5-4 “Wave Motion”

Wed, Feb 15

Read §5-5 “Waves or Particles”

Thu, Feb 16

Read §5-6 “Uncertainty Principle”

Fri, Feb 17

Read §5-7 “Probability, Wave Functions, and the Copenhagen Interpretation”, §5-7 “Particle in a Box”

Mon, Feb 20

Read §6-1 “The Schrodinger Wave Equation”, §6-2 “Expectation Values”

Assignment 5 due (solutions)

Wed, Feb 22

Read §6-3 “Infinite Square-Well Potential”, §6-4 “Finite Square-Well Potential”

Fri, Feb 24

Read §6-5 “Three-Dimensional Infinite-Potential Well”, §6-6 “Simple Harmonic Oscillator”

Mon, Feb 27

Read §6-7 “Barriers and Tunneling”

Wed, Mar 1

Read §7-1 “Application of the Schrodinger Equation to the Hydrogen Atom”, §7-2 “Solution of the Schrodinger Equation for Hydrogen”

Thu, Mar 2

Read §7-3 “Quantum Numbers”, §7-4 “Magnetic Effects on Atomic Spectra- The Normal Zeeman Effect”

Fri, Mar 3

Read §7-5 “Intrinsic Spin”, §7-6 “Energy Levels and Electron Probabilities”

Assignment 6 due (solutions)

Mon, Mar 6

SPRING BREAK, no class

Wed, Mar 8

SPRING BREAK, no class

Thu, Mar 9

SPRING BREAK, no class

Fri, Mar 10

SPRING BREAK, no class

Mon, Mar 13

Read §8-1 “Atomic Structure and the Periodic Tables”, §8-2 “Total Angular Momentum”

Wed, Mar 15

Read §8-3 “Anomalous Zeeman Effect”

Assignment 7 due (solutions)

Thu, Mar 16

Read §9-1 “Historical Overview”, §9-2 “Maxwell Velocity Distribution”

Fri, Mar 17

Read §9-3 “Equipartition Theorem”, §9-4 “Maxwell Speed Distribution”

Mon, Mar 20

Read §9-5 “Classical and Quantum Statistics”, “Fermi-Dirac Statistics”, §9-7 “Bose-Einstein Statistics”

Assignment 8 due (solutions)

Wed, Mar 22

Thu, Mar 23

Read §10-1 “Molecular Bonding and Spectra”

Fri, Mar 24

Read §10-2 “Stimulated Emission and Lasers”

Mon, Mar 27

Read §10-3 “Structural Properties of Solids”, §10-4 “Thermal and Magnetic Properties of Solids”

Wed, Mar 29

Read §10-5 “Superconductivity”, §10-6 "Applications of Superconductivity"

Assignment 9 due (solutions)

Thu, Mar 30

Catching up...

Fri, Mar 31

Test #2 – Ch.5-10 handed out. (solutions)

The scores from the test. A snapshot of the current overall scores.

No class otherwise

Mon, Apr 3

Test #2 due (at start of class)

Read §12-1 “Discovery of the Neutron”, §12-2 “Nuclear Properties”

Wed, Apr 5

Read §12-3 “The Deuteron”, §12-4 “Nuclear Forces”

Thu, Apr 6

Read §12-5 “Nuclear Stability”

Fri, Apr 7

Read §12-6 “Radioactive Decay”, §12-7 “Alpha, Beta, Gamma Decay”

Mon, Apr 10

Read §12-8 “Radioactive Nuclides”

Assignment 10 due (solutions)

Wed, Apr 12

Read §13-1 “Nuclear Reactions”, §13-2 “Reaction Kinematics”

Thu, Apr 13

Read §13-3 “Reaction Mechanisms”, §13-4 “Fission”

Fri, Apr 14

Read §13-5 “Fission Reactors”, §13-6 “Fusion”

Mon, Apr 17

Assignment 11 due (solutions)

Read §13-7 “Special Applications”, §14-1 “Early Discoveries”

Tue, Apr 18

NOTE – Tuesday Class instead of Thursday!

Read §14-2 “The Fundamental Interactions”, §14-3 “Classification of Elementary Particles

Wed, Apr 19

Read §14-4 “Conservation Laws and Symmetries”, §14-5 “Quarks”

Fri, Apr 21

Read §14-6 “The Families of Matter”, §14-7 “Beyond the Standard Model”

Mon, Apr 24

Read §14-8 “Accelerators”

Tue, Apr 25

NOTE – Tuesday Class instead of Thursday!

Read §15-1 “Tenets of General Relativity”, §15-2 “Tests of General Relativity”

Wed, Apr 26

Read §15-1 “Tenets of General Relativity”, §15-2 “Tests of General Relativity”

Assignment 12 due (solutions)

Fri, Apr 28

Read §15-5 “Frame Dragging”

Final handed out

Wed, May 3

8:00-9:55 Final Exam