PHYSICS  449  HOME  PAGE
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 Instructor: 
Lynn Knutson
Office:  5203 Chamberlin OR 1135 Chamberlin
Phone:  262-3096
email:  knutson@physics.wisc.edu
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Final Exam Solutions

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Exam 2 Information:
The second hour exam is scheduled for Friday April 24 and will take place during the normal class period. The exam will cover material on molecules, time-dependent perturbation theory and radiation, quantum statistics and band structure -- basically homework sets 6-10. You are permitted to bring a 5.5"x8.5" note card (one side) with equations and other information plus your note card from exam 1.  Here is a link to a PRACTICE EXAM.

Exam 2 Solutions

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Exam 1 Information:
The first hour exam is scheduled for Friday March 6 and will take place during the normal class period. The exam will cover all material discussed in class through Monday Feb 23 -- basically the first 5 homework sets. You are permitted to bring a single 5"x8" note card (one side) with equations and other information.  Here is a link to a PRACTICE EXAM
Exam 1 Solutions

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Relativity Notes

Relativity Practice Problems

Quantum Statistics

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Table of Integrals
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Course Information:
  • GENERAL INFO:  Physics 449 is the second semester of a two-semester sequence that covers a variety of topics in quantum and atomic physics.  In Physics 449 we will focus mainly on applications of quantum mechanics in atoms and other more complex systems.  Here is a more detailed list of topics.
    • Introduction to Relativity in four-vector notation
    Hydrogen Atom Review
    Relativistic Effects in Hydrogen
    Perturbation Theory
    Identical Particles
    Helium Atom
    Variational Calculations
    Atoms -- Effective Potentials
    Diatomic Molecules (Bonds, rotations and vibrations)
    Time Dependent Perturbation Theory
    Radiation -- selection rules -- stimulated emission
    Quantum Statistics
    Free Electron Theory of Conduction
    Conduction Bands
    Scattering Theory
    Nuclei and Particles
  • HOMEWORK:  Homework assignments will normally be handed out each Wednesday, and homework papers will be collected the following Wednesday.  Students are permitted and encouraged to work together on homework assignments with the goal of learning from each other.  However, the homework paper you hand in must represent your own work.  Late homework will be accepted until noon Thursday with no penalty.  Homework solutions will be posted on the web.
  • EXAMS:  We will have two regular hour exams during the semester.  The exams will be held during the normal class period, with dates to be announced later.  The final exam will be held on Thursday May 14 at 12:25 pm.
  • GRADING:  The final course grade will be based on the total number of points accumulated during the semester with 100 points for each of the two midterm exams, 150 points for the final, and 100 points for homework.
  • TEXT:  "Quantum Physics",  by Stephen Gasiorowicz.
    • Some useful References:
    J.D. McGervey -- Introduction to Modern Physics
    E.E. Anderson -- Modern Physics and Quantum Mechanics
    R. Resnick -- Introduction the Special Relativity
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    L Knutson Home Page
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    Here is a quote from Einstein in 1952:
    "The influence of the crucial Michelson-Morley experiment upon my own efforts has been rather indirect.  I learned of it through H.A. Lortentz's decisive investigation of the electrodynamics of moving bodies (1895) with which I was acquainted before developing the special theory of relativity. . . .  What led me more or less directly to the special theory of relativity was the conviction that the electromotive force acting on a body in motion in a magnetic field was nothing else but an electric field."
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