PHYS 142(S) Physics Today
The twentieth century has been an extremely productive and exciting time
for physics. Special relativity has extended physics into the realm of high
speeds and high energies. Quantum mechanics has successfully described phenomena
at small energies and small distance scales. Our understanding of atoms,
molecules, and solids has developed from a few revolutionary ideas into a
sophisticated framework which today supports technologies that were unimagined
in 1900. This course will introduce many important developments in physics,
including special relativity, the Bohr model of the atom, Schrodinger's wave
mechanics in one dimension, the chemical bond, energy bands in solids, and
nuclear physics.
Lectures, three hours a week; laboratories, three hours every other week.
Evaluation will be based on problem sets, laboratory participation, two hour
tests, and a final exam. Prerequisites: Physics 141 and Mathematics 103,
or equivalent. Physics 131 may substitute for Physics 141 with the permission
of the instructor.
Hour: WOOTTERS and MAJUMDER