General InformationThis course will be taught by in-class lecture as well as via a computer connection from your dorm or your home to the World Wide Web.
You will need to download a FREE copy of TCI Scientific Notebook to be able to
read and print the .tex files that contain the homework. It is much better and
faster than the Adobe Acrobat reader (which is also free). You will need to
download a FREE copy of the Adobe Acrobat reader to be able to read (and print)
.pdf files. Try out the formats by clicking on
Cartan's Repere Mobile
tex file 16k
You can get the FREE readers and other software by clicking on the icons below
The University of Houton offers a free INTERNET dial up account to all
students and faculty. Contact University Services at 743-1411 and get on line
now with a PPP account. Make sure to get the Netscape browser software. If you
have a home computer you will need MS windows for the PC, and Netscape for
either the MAC or the PC.
R. M. Kiehn, Rm 605C - Office Hours 1:00-4:30 TTh
PrerequisitesPhysics 3315 requires the four freshman and sophomore course in physics (statics,dynamics, electromagnetism, thermodynamics, fluid mechanics) and second year calculus. You will need to know how to solve algebraic equations, plot graphs and understand geometrical concepts. Vectors in 3 dimensional Cartesian space will be used throughout the course to represent forces and electromagnetic fields. It would help if you have some knowledge of partial differentiation, div, grad, curl, linear algebra and matrices. However, these concepts will be explained as need during the lectures. You should have a working knowledge of how to access the internet and communicate through email.
Course ContentThe purpose of the course is to introduce the student to the development of physic concepts that took place over the last 100 years. During the first few years of the 20th century two major ideas were conceived that ultimately "revolutionized" the classical physical concepts of Newtonian mechanics and physics of the 19th . The first idea was the notion of relativity where translational motion was no longer considered to be "absolute". The second idea was that the 19th century continuum theory of matter was to be replaced by a discrete theory of matter.The basic conjecture was that "It" (a macroscopic object) is composed of "Bits". As the theory developed it seemed that the "bits" had a hierachal structure, in that larger "bits" were composed of smaller "bits", etc.. This led to the theoretical formulation of atomic and nuclear structure in terms of what has became known as "Quantum Mechanics". The rules of "Quantum Mechanics (20th century)" are different from those of "Classical Mechanics (19th century)", and lead to a set of new ideas about matter and the behavior of nature.
The many successes and practical applications of the "Quantum Mechanics" has
swung the pendulum of popularity far to the side of discrete theory, leaving
behind the development of the continuum theory. However, only recently has it
been recognized that General Relativity (a continuum theory) does not seem to
admit in a cohesive way the concepts of Quantum Mechanics ( a discrete theory).
An alternate conjecture might be: "Bits" come from approximations to "It",
rather than "It" is composed of "Bits". In the future, the pendulum of
popularity may swing back more towards the "Continuum" rather than the "Quantum"
picture of nature.
In this course, the objective is to examine the consequences and techniques of
the "It" from "Bit" point of view.
The online lecture notes will have philosophical introductions to the various
topics (on the net) and will be linked to more extensive and technical pdf
files. Links to useful Maple worksheets will be distributed with the notes. A
list of the Maple worksheets will be maintained, and hopefully the list will
have contributions from users of this course.
Text Book and ReferencesThe required text book for is "Modern Physics" second edition, by Kenneth Krane. (Wiley 1996).There are many other texts at the same level of presentation in the U of H Library. In this spring term, the course will cover chapters 1 through 10, and then one or more of the remaining 6 chapters, subject to student requests. The pace will be about 1 chapter per week.
Meeting Time and LocationThe class will meet from 11:30 to 13:00 PM Tu,Thur in 127-SR
EXAM 1 Chapters 1-5 Tuesday February 21
Exams and GradesYour grade will be based on 3 exams given during the term and after each 4 chapters. A final exam will be given at the end of the term.
Each exam will count for 30% of your grade.
Of the 4 exams, the lowest score will be eliminated in deciding your letter
grade. If you miss an exam, that is the score that will be eliminated. In other
words, only the best 3 exam scores will be used to determine your letter grade.
If you are sick, then that is the exam that will be eliminated during the final
grade computation.
The Exam questions will be paraphrased from the example problems in the text and
the assigned homework problems.
In addition, a number of Internet Multiple Choice Quizzes will be given ( about
once a week) to make sure that you are doing your homework. The Quizzes will
count for 10% of your letter grade.
Note that if you get 100 on the first three exams, and do well on the internet
quizzes, your letter grade will be determined without the necessity of taking
the final. This is a carrot offered to make you keep up with reading and
assignments, and to do well on your exams.
Homework AssignmentsChapter 2Problems 5, 16, 24, 32, 35 Click for solutions Chap2.pdf
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Exam 1 Tuesday February 22
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Exam 2 Thursday April 6
April 18-20
April 25 Chapter 11 Especially 11.4 (which requires exposure to 10.7) 11.5 and 11.8
You are responsible for giving a qualitative description of how lasers work
and what is meant by n type and p type semiconductors, in terms of the band
theory.
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