Understanding the Quantum World

Description

Quantum mechanics has a reputation for being so complex that the word “quantum” has become a popular label for anything mystical or unfathomable. In fact, quantum mechanics is one of the most successful theories of reality yet discovered, explaining everything from the stability of atoms to the glow of neon lights, from the flow of electricity in metals to the workings of the human eye. Professor Biography......Page 3 Table of Contents......Page 5 Course Scope......Page 7 Lecture 1—Particle-Wave Duality......Page 9 Are Particles Waves?......Page 10 What Does Quantum Mean?......Page 12 Slinky Analogy......Page 13 Lecture 2—Particles, Waves, and Interference Patterns......Page 16 Solid Objects......Page 17 Waves......Page 19 Electrons......Page 21 The Quantum Living Room......Page 23 Pure States versus Mixed States......Page 28 Lecture 4—Bell’s Theorem and Schrödinger’s Cat......Page 31 Philosophy of Probabilities......Page 32 Bell’s Theorem......Page 34 Schrödinger’s Cat......Page 36 Lecture 5—Quantum Paradoxes and Interpretations......Page 38 The Copenhagen Interpretation......Page 39 A Realist View......Page 41 The Many-Worlds Interpretation......Page 42 Bayesian Probability......Page 43 Environmental Dephasing......Page 44 Types of Waves......Page 46 Implications of Heisenberg’s Uncertainty Principle for Atoms......Page 50 Lecture 7—Wave Quantization......Page 54 Wave Modes in 3 Dimensions......Page 58 Planar and Conical Nodes......Page 61 Quantum Chemistry and Atomic Orbitals......Page 63 Energy Levels......Page 66 The Periodic Table of the Elements......Page 68 Helium......Page 69 Beryllium......Page 72 The P Block......Page 73 Phase and Energy......Page 76 Superposition......Page 78 Adding Waves of Different Frequencies......Page 80 Nonstationary States......Page 82 Molecular Bonding......Page 86 Addition and Subtraction of Orbitals......Page 88 Standing Wave Shapes in Diamond......Page 89 Standing Wave Shapes in Graphite/Graphene......Page 93 Lecture 11—Harmonic Oscillators......Page 97 Quantum Harmonic Oscillators......Page 98 Zero-Point Energy......Page 101 Planck Blackbody Radiation......Page 103 Lecture 12—The Energy-Time Uncertainty Relation......Page 106 The Superposition of 1s and 2p......Page 107 Virtual Particles and Energy Conservation......Page 110 The Lamb Shift and the Casimir Effect......Page 112 Lecture 13—Quantum Angular Momentum and Electron Spin......Page 114 The Behavior of Electrons......Page 117 The Stern-Gerlach Experiment......Page 118 Wave Shapes and Nodes......Page 121 Superposition......Page 123 Spinning Doughnut Waves......Page 126 Quantized Orbital Motion......Page 128 The Quantum Nature of Light......Page 130 The Photoelectric Effect......Page 133 Photons and Angular Momentum......Page 137 How Photons Interact with Atoms......Page 139 Emission and Absorption Spectra......Page 143 Lecture 17—Atomic Clocks and GPS......Page 147 How Atomic Clocks Work......Page 148 Why GPS Needs Accurate Time......Page 150 How Our Eyes Perceive Color......Page 154 Covalent, Sigma, and Pi Bonds......Page 160 How We Perceive Our World......Page 162 Neon Signs......Page 165 Fluorescent Bulbs......Page 170 Transition Metals, Gems, and Pigments......Page 172 The Classical Roller Coaster......Page 174 The Quantum Roller Coaster......Page 177 The Wave Roller Coaster......Page 178 Back to the Classical Coaster......Page 181 The Quantum Coaster at the Classical Turning Point......Page 183 Fermions......Page 186 Rotating an Electron’s Wave Function......Page 190 Bosons......Page 191 Lecture 22—Spin Singlets and the EPR Paradox......Page 193 Wave Function Collapse......Page 194 Singlet States......Page 196 Bell’s Theorem......Page 199 Superluminal Influences......Page 200 Lecture 23—Quantum Mechanics and Metals......Page 204 Metals in a Lattice......Page 205 Can We Make Better Metals?......Page 207 Organizing the States in Energy......Page 210 Metals versus Superconductors......Page 212 How Superconductivity Works......Page 215 Quiz......Page 220 Bibliography......Page 227