This table list passages in the textbook that are related to what we covered in class. They are not comprehensive: the lectures treat some topics that the textbook does not cover.
| Lecture | Date | Topic | Related reading in Harris "Modern Physics" |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aug 24 | History of QM | Appendix K on complex numbers. |
| 2 | Aug 26 | Nature of photons, photoelectric effect | Sect 3.4, p80; Sect 3.2, p75-78 |
| 3 | Aug 28 | Compton effect | Sect 3.4, p81-82 |
| 4 | Aug 31 | Matter waves, Bragg diffraction | Sect 3.6, p88-89; Sect 4.1, p97-102; Sect. 4.2, p102-104, 107-108 |
| 5 | Sept 4 | Operators, Schrodinger Equation | Sect 4.3, p110-111; Sect 5.1, p142; Sect 5.8, p173; |
| Sept 7 | Holiday | ||
| 6 | Sept 9 | Free particle, plane wave | Sect 4.3, p111-112 |
| 7 | Sept 11 | Expectation values, commutators | Sect 5.8, p169 |
| 8 | Sept 14 | Uncertainty principle | Sect 5.8, p170-172; Appendix J; Sect 4.4, p113-120 |
| 9 | Sept 16 | Eigenstates and eigenvalues | Sect 5.11, p180-182 |
| 10 | Sept 18 | Energy eigenstates, time dependence | Sect 5.2, p143-145; Sect 5.9, p176-177 |
| 11 | Sept 21 | Measurement. Infinite potential well | Sect 5.4 + 5.5, p147-155 |
| 12 | Sept 23 | Finite potential well | Sect 5.6, p158-161 (NB: lecture uses different conventions from book) |
| 13 | Sept 25 | Finite well, continued | Sect 5.6, p161-164 |
| 14 | Sept 28 | Harmonic oscillator | Sect 5.7, p164-167 |
| 15 | Sept 30 | Fourier Transforms | Sect 4.7, p124-127 |
| 16 | Oct 2 | Gaussian wavepacket | Sect 4.7, p127-131 |
| Oct 5 | Fall Break | ||
| Oct 7 | pre-Midterm review | ||
| Oct 9 | Midterm Exam | ||
| Oct 12 | Midterm post-mortem | ||
| 17 | Oct 14 | Time-energy uncertainty | Sect 4.4, p 120 |
| 18 | Oct 16 | Scattering by a low 1D step | Sect 6.1, p 195-198 |
| 19 | Oct 19 | Scattering by a low 1D step, cont. | Sect 6.1, p 198-200 |
| 20 | Oct 21 | Reflection off a high 1D step | Sect 6.1, p 200-202 |