PHYS1903

One of the greatest intellectual accomplishments of the twentieth century was the development of quantum mechanics, a field of physics which describes the counter-intuitive behavior of molecules, atoms, light, and subatomic particles. Can you pass through a solid wall without disturbing yourself or the wall? An electron can and does repeatedly in many common semiconductor devices. Without an understanding of quantum mechanics, neither the transistor nor the laser could have been invented. A significant fraction of the entire economy is based on technological developments that derive directly from quantum mechanics. This class will examine, with a bare minimum of mathematics, the conceptual foundations of the strange world of the quantum as well as its connection with devices and systems that we take for granted in our everyday lives.

001475