12/10 - The CAPE response rate was 95.6%! As another reward I will remind you that, on at least one of your 8.5" x 11" cheat sheets you should include all the radial wave functions for the hydrogen atom up to the highest L spherical harmonic given in the PPB book. Pay particular attention to the ground state and first excited state and make sure you understand them very well. It was great having all of you in class. Good luck on the Final Exam and have a nice winter break!
12/07 - HW#6 solutions and HW#7 solutions, I will hopefully finish grading these by Monday. The CAPE response amount is currently below 90%. If you haven't filled out your CAPE form please do so as soon as possible -- CAPE responses will be accepted only until 8am on Monday 12/10/2012.
11/30 - If 90% of you respond to the CAPE survey for Physics 130b I will give 5% extra credit to all students in the class! For the benefit of next year's students, It would be helpful to provide some insight into what aspects of the course you liked the most and which you liked the least. According to the CAPE folks, you must complete your CAPE evaluations BEFORE Monday 8AM December 10, 2012 to be eligible.
11/29 - HW#7 has been posted.
11/27 - The Final exam will be located in the usual classroom (PCYNH 121). Don't forget to do your Course And Professor Evaluations (CAPE).
11/27 - HW#5 solutions, with average 77.4. Please, pick them up during Discussion section or my office hours.
11/14 - HW#6 has been posted.
11/13 - HW#3 solutions, with average 96.3 and HW#4 solutions, with average 94.9. Please, pick them up during Discussion section or my office hours.
11/09 - HW#5 has been posted.
11/08 - To visuallize many of the interesting QM, there is this neat website. Also, a bit of history on the Stern-Gerlach experiment. Don't expect to be able to smoke cigars in any lab today.
11/07 - The early history of quantum tunneling [UCSD on-campus access only].
11/06 - The Midterm has been graded. I will return them at the end of Discussion Section or during office hours. The solutions for your reference. You can compare your grade to the class distribution.
11/05 - A link to the textbook; "Experiments in Modern Physics"
10/31 - For your viewing pleasure, a talk; "Do the fundamental constants vary throughout the Universe?"
10/29 - The one and only midterm in 130b will be on Friday, November 2, 2012. You are allowed to bring 1 (one) 8.5" x 11'' sheet of notes, front and back, which must be handwritten. Please bring 2 (two) blue books to the exam. Please arrive a few minutes early. Be sure to write neatly to receive maximum partial credit.
10/29 - Homework #2 has been graded. I will return them at the end of Discussion Section or during office hours. The solutions for your reference. You can compare your grade to the class distribution. Remember, to only make one submission (i.e all together on paper or all together in pdf!).
10/29 - There is no class on November 12 and November 23 due to UCSD Holiday.
10/29 - Obtain the 2012 Particle Physics Data Booklet for free.
10/26 - Homework #4 has been posted. Also for reading, the article; What is Spin?" [UCSD on-campus access only].
10/19 - Homework #1 is finally graded. I will return them at the end of Discussion Section or during office hours. The ploting part to the solutions (50MB!!!) could have been done in several ways, where there was no requirement to use Mathematica. You can compare your grade to the class distribution.
10/18 - Homework #3 has been posted. Also for reading, the article; About the Hydrogen Atom.
10/17 - You can now listen to the Podcast.
10/10 - HW#2 has been posted.
10/09 - A word on homework submission. First, you are welcome to turn things in early. However, I will only accept the first submission and no corrections. So, before you turn it in, make sure it's what you want to turn in. Secondly, you may submit your homework electronically as long as it is in .pdf format. This is for your benefit, as other formats will likely have conversion problems from computer to computer.
10/05 - Colloquium speaker Rudolf P. Huebener will give a lecture entitled, "The Birth of Quantum Physics - Planck, Einstein, Nernst, von Laue, and Others," next Thursday (10/11 4pm Garren Auditorium). It will cover the history of how Quantum Physics lead to the discovery of Superconductivity.
10/04 - Sebastian will hold office hours at 11am-12pm on Thursday 10/18 instead of the usual time.
10/02 - The HW has been slightly modified to help explain what is wanted. See the original link below. A hint on number 1; A general plane wave is not purely real, thus you should extend the formulism to include complex eigenstates. Also, don't worry about matching the given eigenvalues (energies) to their respective eigenstates.
10/01 - HW#1 has been posted. Corrections to the book have been posted, next to the required text under general information.
9/28 - There will be no office hours on Tuesday 10/2
There are many hot topics involving Quantum Mechanics these days, such as Quantum Computing, Spintronics, Graphene, Superconductivity, etc. However, even things that are now considered every day items including Lasers, Transistors and Magnets are the result of Quantum Mechanics. For some inspiration, I suggest reading Kleppner, D., and Jackiw, R., "One Hundred Years of Quantum Physics," Science 280 893 (2000).
The official Syllabus
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Instructor |
Professor Brian Keating |
Office hours: |
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Teaching Assistant |
Sebastian Dietze |
Office hours: |
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Text |
Introduction to Quantum Mechanics (2nd editon) by David Griffiths, Pearson Prentice Hall (2005). |
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|
Course coordinator |
Patti Hey |
MYR-A 2571 |
|
Lecture times |
MWF 11:00am - 11:50am PCYNH 121 |
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Discussion |
Wednesday 4:00-4:50pm |
Attendance optional, but could help your participation grade. |
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Midterms |
Friday Nov. 2, 2012 |
PCYNH 121 |
|
Final Exam |
Tuesday Dec. 11, 2012 |
PCYNH 121 |
|
Sunday-Thursday |
MYR-A 2702 |
Physics 130B is the second of three courses dedicated to an advanced undergraduate lecture series on Quantum Mechanics. The course is aimed at students majoring in science and engineering, especially physics. It is a continuation of Physics 130A. We will follow the book as much as we can, but likely in a different order, and with some additions. Topics include perturbation theory, angular momentum/spin, quantum applications and experiments.
We want you to succeed. As part of that, we expect you to read ahead of the class, and start the homework even as it is being discussed in class. I don't cover every topic in class; some I leave to the book. I encourage questions in class, but if you want more individual questions answered, I also recommend going to the office hours, discussion/problem sessions, and the Physics Tutorial Center.
Physics 130A, partial differential equations. Integral and differential calculus of multivariate functions is required. A basic knowledge of partial differential equations is essential. You must understand complex functions, exponentials, derivatives, and integrals. In particular, you must understand the polar forms of complex multiplication and division. Phasors are crucial. It is very helpful to understand basic statistics, and linear algebra (matrices).
There is a weekly discussion session, hosted by the TA. The topics are driven by student questions during the session. This is a chance for you to get answers to your questions. After working on the homework, please come with good questions. You should ask, “I tried doing the problem this way, and ran into a roadblock. Can you help me through it?” Or, “What concept do I use to get started on this problem?” (You should not ask, “How do I do this problem?”)
Discussion is over when the questions end, and the TA is satisfied.
The purpose of homework is to help
learning.
To understand the material, you must practice solving problems.
Problems will be assigned roughly weekly. Homework is part of your grade.
Just like in the real world, clarity and ease of reading count. Please staple pages together, and put your full name and Student ID on every page. No ragged spiral edges, please.
The first step in solving a problem is often the most difficult, so it is very important for you to start work on your own. After you’ve made an effort on each problem, I encourage you to work in groups, but in the end, the homework you turn in must be your own work, and you will be expected to be able to answer questions and reproduce any part of it. Finding solutions on the world wide web or other places is not considered your own work.
Learning physics is about understanding why a solution works,
rather than just getting the correct results.
Blindly plugging into formulas is useless.
Late homework should be dropped at the TA’s office (slip under door if needed), as soon as you can. Late homework may be marked down.
Your student I.D. is required to take the final exam.
The final will be like a big midterm. You may wish to bring some blank scratch paper.
HW, midterm, final, class participation all count. Homework 30% , Midterm Exam 20%, Class Participation 10%, Final Exam 40%.
Plusses and minuses at instructor discretion. Actual grades may be higher if warranted by overall class performance, but don’t count on it.
Every honest student benefits from maintaining high academic integrity. Please read “UCSD Policy on Integrity of Scholarship” in the UCSD General Catalog, http://www.ucsd.edu/catalog/front/AcadRegu.html. These rules will be rigorously enforced. Any confirmed case of cheating will result in an “F” grade in this course, and referral to the dean for disciplinary action. Cheating includes submitting another person’s work as your own; copying from another student on homework, or exams; knowingly allowing another student to copy from you; use of unauthorized materials during a quiz or exam; or any attempt to obtain a higher grade by means other than honest effort. Cheating also includes attempts to manipulate grades unfairly; and intentionally misusing code numbers.
Last Update: 12/07/2012 10:43 PST