Last updated 2008-Jul-20.

Physics 217: Introduction to Quantum Physics, Fall 2008

Teaching

The course meets on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 11am in Crow 204.

Instructor:	Prof. Mark Alford Office: Compton 358; Phone: 5-5034; Email: p217@wuphys.wustl.edu Office hour: Wednesday, 11am-noon, i.e. after the lecture. Students are also welcome to make appointments to see Prof. Alford at other times.
TA:	Name to be supplied Office: to be supplied; Phone: 5-XXXX; Email: `name(at)physics.wustl.edu` Office hour: ????.
Sections:	To be determined

Books and software resources

Course Textbook:	Modern Physics by Randy Harris, ISBN 978-0-805300308-7. You must own a copy of this book: the course will follow it closely, and many of the homework problems will come from it.
Other useful books:	Modern Physics for scientists and engineers by Taylor and Zafiratos (and Dubson, 2nd edition). Introductory quantum mechanics by Liboff. (both are available on reserve in the physics library)

Course outline

This course is an introduction to Quantum Mechanics, the keystone of modern physics. We will cover chapters 3 to 7 of the textbook, Modern Physics by Randy Harris.

Chapter 3:	Light as particles (photons) [Skip section (3.3) and (3.5)]
Chapter 4:	Matter as waves; wave functions and the Schrödinger equation [Skip section (4.6)?] Free particles, wavepackets and the Fourier Transform.
Chapter 5:	Simple bound states in quantum mechanics
Chapter 6:	Unbound states in quantum mechanics; tunnelling and barriers
Chapter 7:	Schrödinger equation; central forces and the Hydrogen atom.

Grading

The final grade will be a weighted average of homework (30%), the midterm (30%) and the final exam (40%).

Homework:	Problem sets will be handed out every week. Students are expected to hand in the solutions on the due date, typically a Friday. Late homework will only be accepted by prior arrangement with Prof. Alford. In no case can homework be given a grade after the solutions have been distributed. Students are encouraged to form study groups and discuss the homework with each other, but each student must formulate his or her own solutions. When answering a question, you will usually only get partial credit if you just write down an answer, with no justification. To get full credit you need to give reasons why your answer is correct.
Midterm:	The midterm has not yet been scheduled.
Final:	The final exam has not yet been scheduled.
Exam rules:	These rules apply to both the midterm and the final. Each student may compile a single letter-size hand-written "crib sheet" of formulae. Both sides of the sheet may be used, but the sheet must be an original hand-written document, not a copy. Each student is expected to bring a working calculator to the exam. The exam will include one question (perhaps slightly edited) that has previously appeared in the homework. When answering a question, you will usually only get partial credit if you just write down an answer, with no justification. To get full credit you need to give reasons why your answer is correct.

Course materials

Homework assigned so far:	PostScript version	PDF version
Suggested reading:	follow this link
Information about complex numbers:	An online introduction to complex numbers	The Mathematica guide to complex numbers	Appendix K of the textbook.
Prof. Alford's notes on Quantum Mechanics:	PostScript version	PDF version
Human interest:	Short Biography of Schrödinger

Course Evaluation

During the evaluation period you can supply your evaluation of the course at the course evaluation website.