Quantum Mechanics
The microscopic world is fundamentally different from the macroscopic one we encounter on a daily basis. The classical view of particles, mass, and even location break down at the smallest scales. The development of quantum mechanics as a field in the 1920s was a fundamental leap forward for our understanding of atomic physics. Countless current technologies and scientific disciplines rely on the principles predicted by the quantum model. Despite this, quantum mechanics is deeply weird. Particles do not exist solely as particles, but also as waves. Fundamental physical properties such as position, momentum, energy, and time are subject to uncertainties that have nothing to do with measurement precision and everything to do with fundamental universal limits. In this course, we will discuss atomic physics, the wave-particle duality, the uncertainty principle, the application of the Schrödinger equation, and quantum mechanical models of atoms.
Textbook: Quantum Physics: A Fundamental Approach to Modern Physics by Townsend
Slack: We will be using the Bennington Physics Slack Workspace to communicate this term. Please make sure you join the #spring2022-quantum channel.
The planned schedule for the course is given below. Note that the “Problem Sets” column will be updated with the most recent problem sets as the term goes on.
| Week of | Topic | Reading | Problem Sets |
| February 14 | Foundations/Waves | Townsend Ch. 1.1 | Problem Set 1 |
| February 21 | Light as Waves and Particles | Townsend Ch. 1.2-1.8, 7.6 | Problem Set 2 |
| February 28 | Matter as Waves and Particles | Townsend Ch. 2.1 – 2.2 | Problem Set 3 |
| March 7 | The Schrödinger Equation & The Uncertainty Principle | Townsend Ch. 2.3-2.4, 2.6-2.8 | |
| March 14 | Particle in a Box | Townsend Ch. 3.1 – 3.2 | Problem Set 4 |
| March 21 | Eigenvalues & Eigenstates | Townsend Ch. 3.3 – 3.4 | |
| March 28 | Review (Tuesday) / Midterm (Friday) | ||
| April 4 | One Dimensional Potentials (No Tuesday Class) | Townsend Ch. 4 | Problem Set 5 |
| April 11 | One Dimensional Potentials (cont.) | Townsend Ch. 4 | |
| April 18 | One Dimensional Potentials (cont.) | Townsend Ch. 4 | Problem Set 6 |
| April 25 | Principles of Quantum Mechanics | Townsend Ch. 5 | Problem Set 7 |
| May 2 | Principles of Quantum Mechanics (No Tuesday Class) | Townsend Ch. 5 | |
| May 9 | Quantum Mechanics in 3D | Townsend Ch. 6 | Problem Set 8 |
| May 16 | Quantum Mechanics in 3D | Townsend Ch. 6 | |
| May 23 | Final Exam (Tuesday, May 24) |
