PHYSICS III: Modern Essentials
Carnegie Mellon University
33.211, 33.213
Department of Physics
Fall, 2003
Version 1.2
Instructor:
Professor Reinhard Schumacher, Wean Hall 8406
412-268-5177 office
243-2279 home
email: schumacher@cmu.edu
Lectures:
Recitation:
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, 9:30 am - 10:20 am,
Friday
9:30 am - 10:20 am,
Doherty Hall A310
Doherty Hall A310
Required Texts:
Spacetime Physics, 2nd Ed., E. F. Taylor and J. A. Wheeler, Freeman (1992);
(used for both 33.211 and 33.213)
Modern Physics, 4th Ed., P. A. Tipler & R. A. Llewellyn, Freeman (2003);
(used for 33.211 only)
Goals of the Course:
This course is required for third-semester students of physics, but is open to anyone who
wants to become familiar with some of the key concepts underlying modern physics. We will
study Special Relativity and Quantum Physics, which were developed starting 50 to 100 years
ago, and upon which much of present-day physics are built. The first seven weeks of the course
(mini-course 33.213) will cover Special Relativity. We will cover relativistic kinematics and
dynamics, but not electricity and magnetism. The mathematics involved is simple but the
concepts challenge our every-day intuition. The second part of the course will take a broad look
at quantum phenomena. Again, while the concepts are challenging the mathematical formalism
will be minimal. Nevertheless, the course will be quantitative, involving the algebraic and
numerical solution of many problems. The class should therefore improve your skills in thinking
through and solving interesting physics problems. It is definitely possible to develop reliable
intuition for relativistic and quantum physics, and this course should get you off to a good start.
The course will prepare you for later classes you may take in electricity and magnetism and in
quantum theory. It leads into the Quantum Physics course (33.234), which will begin with a
more formal treatment of quantum mechanics.
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Web-sites:
Going to http://info.phys.cmu.edu/resources/course_pages.asp and clicking on 33-211 will get
you to the web-site for this course. It lists office hours, the schedule of classes and exams, the
weekly homework assignments, previous exams (some with solutions), interesting physics links,
and news concerning the course. Please bookmark this site and check it often. The Tipler
textbook has its own accompanying web-site at www.whfreeman.com/tiplermodernphysics4e/.
Please try it out and let me know of any problems you encounter.
Quizzes, Exams, & Grades:
There will be unannounced short quizzes, usually based on the current assignment or on
examples from the previous lectures. The quizzes may be given at the beginning of the lectures
so be on time and be prepared.
There will be three one-hour exams during the semester, worth 100 points each, and a
three-hour final exam worth 400 points. The exams will be given during regular class times in
the usual classroom. They will be closed-book exams with no notes permitted. No make-up
exams will given. If you cannot take an exam for any reason, tell the instructor beforehand, but
very few excuses will be accepted for missing an exam. The weighting factors which will be
used in determining the course grades are:
Three hour exams 3x10%
= 30%
Final exam
= 40%
Quizzes
= 15%
Homework
= 15%
Letter grades will be computed from your overall numerical score at mid-term and at the end of
the semester. The final letter grades for the course will be determined by the following
approximate scale: A > 87%; B 75-87%; C 60-75%; D 50-60%; R <50%. In borderline cases,
based on the instructor's perception of your work, we will consider diligent lecture attendance,
class participation, and consistency of performance throughout the semester.
Assignments:
There will be weekly homework assignments, consisting of assigned readings and
problems to be solved. Doing the written assignments, i.e. problem solving, is the single most
important tool for learning the course material. You should feel free to discuss the homework
problems with your associates; in fact, it often helps to work in small groups. You should write
out the solutions on your own, because you need to fully understand the material yourself. Since
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this is a ten-unit course and we meet in class for four hours per week, plan to spend about six
hour per week outside of class. If your background is weak in algebra or in classical physics,
you will need to spend more time. If you can't solve a problem within a reasonable time, say 30
minutes, ask the instructor or a fellow student for help. Also, start immediately on new
assignments, so that you have time to ask questions and to revisit things you don't grasp at first.
Generally, homework dealing with the previous week's concepts will be collected on
Tuesdays at the beginning of the lecture. Written solutions will be provided on the course website. A randomly selected subset of the problems will be graded, and all problems will be
checked to see if you made a serious effort to solve them. Since you won't know in advance
which ones these are, do all problems fully. The problems indicate the minimum level of
achievement expected of all students. Please always go over your returned work and the
solutions, simply because they will not be graded in detail, and because the tests will be similar
to the previous homework problems. Turn in all the assignments on time! 20% per day will be
deducted for late work, and zero credit will be given after solutions are posted.
Again, if you get stuck on problems, feel free to come to my office for help. I am usually
available for short discussions, either after class or in my office. You can call (8-5177) to be
certain I am available before stopping by, but you are free to drop in. For longer talks we can set
a time to meet, as needed. In the evenings you may call my home number before 10pm.
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Course Schedule:
Approximate
Weeks
The tentative schedule for the semester:
Topics
Approximate
Dates
Special Relativity
1
2
3
4
5
6
Taylor & Wheeler
Introduction
8 - 25
Invariant Spacetime Intervals
26
Chapter 1
Frames of Reference
27
Chapter 2
Observers & Test Particles
9-2
Invariants, Simultaneity
3
Length Contraction/ Time Dilation
8
Velocity Addition
9
Lorentz Transformation
10, 15
Chapter ST
Coordinatizing Spacetime
16, 17
Chapter 5
The Twin "Paradox"
22
Chapter 4
Space-like and Time-like Intervals
23
Chapter 6
Invariants; 4-vectors
24, 29
Chapter 7
EXAM I
6
7
Assigned
Reading
Chapter 3
Friday, September 26
Conservation Laws
30, 10 - 1
Using the Conservation Laws
6
Creation/Annihilation of Particles
7
Gravity: Curved Spacetime
8
4
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Quantum Phenomena
8
9
Tipler & Llewellyn
Particles and Fields
13
Quantization of Charge and Energy
14
Blackbody Radiation
15, 21
Light Quantization: Photoelectric Effect
22
EXAM II
10
11
12
13
15
3-3
Friday, October 24
X-rays
27
Compton Effect
28
Atomic Spectra
29
The Atomic Nucleus
3
The Bohr Model of Hydrogen
4, 5
4-3
X Ray Spectra
10
4-4, 4-5
The Franck-Hertz Experiment
11
4-6
The Wave Nature of Particles
12, 17, 18
5-1, 5-2, 5-3
Wave Packets
19
EXAM III
14
3-1, 3-2
3-4
4-1, 4-2
Friday, November 21
Wave Particle Duality
24
Probability
25
Uncertainty
12 - 1, 2
The Schrödinger Equation
3, 5
FINAL EXAM, time and place T.B.A. (3 hours)
Next Step: The Quantum Physics course (33.234)!
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5-4 thru 5-7
Chap. 6...