ELEMENTS OF MODERN PHYSICS

Maria Teresa MERCALDO ELEMENTS OF MODERN PHYSICS

0522200039
DIPARTIMENTO DI MATEMATICA
EQF7
MATHEMATICS
2021/2022

YEAR OF COURSE 2
YEAR OF DIDACTIC SYSTEM 2018
SPRING SEMESTER
CFUHOURSACTIVITY
648LESSONS
Objectives
THE AIM OF THE COURSE IS TO INTRODUCE MATH STUDENTS TO THE KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF MODERN PHYSICS, NAMELY TO SPECIAL RELATIVITY AND QUANTUM MECHANICS.
THE STUDENTS, AT THE END OF THE COURSE, SHOULD BE ABLE TO APPLY THE ACQUIRED KNOWLEDGE TO SOLVE SIMPLE PROBLEMS OF MODERN PHYSICS.
Prerequisites
KNOWLEDGE OF MECHANIC, THERMODYNAMIC AND ELECTROMAGNETISM IS REQUIRED.
Contents
PART 1: INTRODUCTION TO SPECIAL RELATIVITY (12 HOURS)
EINSTEIN’S POSTULATES. LORENTZ TRANSFORMATIONS. RELATIVISTIC DYNAMICS. THE FOUR-MOMENTUM. RELATIVISTIC ENERGY. THE MASS-ENERGY RELATION.

PART 2: WAVES (6 HOURS)
ELASTIC WAVES. STANDING WAVES. WAVES ON VIBRATING STRINGS. ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVES.
INTERFERENCE. YOUNG EXPERIMENT. DIFFRACTION.

PART 3: INTRODUCTION TO QUANTUM MECHANICS (30 HOURS)
PHOTOELECTRIC EFFECT. COMPTON EFFECT. WAVE-PARTICLE DUALITY. DE BROGLIE’S HYPOTHESIS. SCHRÖDINGER EQUATION. HEISENBERG UNCERTAINTY RELATIONSHIPS. POSTULATES OF QUANTUM MECHANICS. HYDROGEN ATOM. QUANTUM SYSTEMS WITH MANY PARTICLES. BOSONS AND FERMIONS. DEFINITION OF QUBIT AND BRIEF INTRODUCTION TO QUANTUM COMPUTING.
Teaching Methods
FRONTAL LESSONS (38 HOURS);
PROBLEMS AND EXERCISES (10 HOURS).
Verification of learning
FINAL EXAM CONSISTS OF AN ORAL INTERVIEW, WHICH
IS FINALIZED TO ASSESS THE KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE CONCEPTS STUDIED DURING THE COURSE AND THE CAPACITY TO APPLY THESE KNOWLEDGE.
Texts
C. NOCE, "MODERN PHYSICS, A CRITICAL APPROACH" (IOP PUBLISHING)
R. RESNICK, "INTRODUCTION TO SPECIAL RELATIVITY" (WILEY);
J.D. JACKSON, “CLASSICAL ELECTRODYNAMICS” (WILEY)
R. P. FEYNMAN, "THE FEYNMAN LECTURES ON PHYSICS, VOL. 3"
C. COHEN-TANNOUDJI, B. DIU, F. LALOË, “QUANTUM MECHANICS” (WILEY)
D.J. GRIFFITHS, “INTRODUCTION TO QUANTUM MECHANICS” (PEARSON)
K. S. KRANE, "MODERN PHYSICS"
P. A. TIPLER, "PHYSICS FOR SCIENTISTS AND ENGINEERS: VOL. 3 MODERN PHYSICS"
  BETA VERSION Data source ESSE3 [Ultima Sincronizzazione: 2022-11-21]