Physics 9HC: Introduction to Waves, Physical Optics, and Quantum Theory

by Tom Weideman

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Physics 9HC is the third in the "honors" introductory physics series. It starts by covering the general topic of waves, and applies the principles learned to the study of light (physical optics). The lines are then blurred between light and particles in the realm of the very small, resulting in an introduction to the quantum theory.

Description from LibreTexts.

Publisher
University of California, Davis
Subjects
Physics
Licence
CC BY-SA 4.0, as LibreTexts states it
Who can read
Tweens profiles and older, judged from its title and subjects

Contents

LibreTexts writes equations in TeX, and here they show as TeX; the PDF has them typeset.

  1. Front Matter
  2. TitlePage
  3. InfoPage
  4. Table of Contents
  5. Licensing
  6. 1: Waves
  7. 1.1: Wave Mathematics
  8. 1.2: Wave Properties
  9. 1.3: Energy Transmission
  10. 1.4: Superposition and Interference
  11. 1.5: Standing Waves
  12. 1.6: Some Important Math Tricks
  13. 1.7: Fourier Analysis
  14. 2: Physical Optics
  15. 2.1: Light as a Wave
  16. 2.2: Double-Slit Interference
  17. 2.3: Diffraction Gratings
  18. 2.4: Single-Slit Diffraction
  19. 2.5: Reflection and Refraction
  20. 2.6: Polarization
  21. 3: "Wait, what?" Experiments Reveal Cracks in Our Understanding
  22. 3.1: Blackbody Radiation
  23. 3.2: The Photoelectric Effect
  24. 3.3: Compton Scattering
  25. 3.4: Matter Has Wave Properties, Too!
  26. 3.5: Summarizing this Wave/Particle Mess
  27. 4: The Universe is Inherently Probabilistic
  28. 4.1: Basics of Probability Theory
  29. 4.2: Continuous Probability Distributions and Probability Density
  30. 4.3: The Uncertainty of Random Outcomes
  31. 4.4: Physical Measurements with Random Outcomes
  32. 4.5: Incompatible Measurements
  33. 5: Matter Waves
  34. 5.1: The Schrödinger Wave Equation
  35. 5.2: States of Definite Energy
  36. 5.3: Operators and Observables
  37. 5.4: Eigenstates and Eigenvalues
  38. 6: One-Dimensional Models
  39. 6.1: Particle-in-a-Box, Part 1
  40. 6.2: Particle-in-a-Box, Part 2
  41. 6.3: The Finite Square Well
  42. 6.4: Tunneling
  43. 6.5: The Quantum Harmonic Oscillator
  44. 6.6: The Bohr Model of the Hydrogen Atom
  45. 7: Quantum Theory in Three Dimensions
  46. 7.1: Schrödinger's Equation in 3-Dimensions
  47. 7.2: 3-Dimensional Models
  48. 7.3: Central Forces
  49. 7.4: Angular Momentum
  50. 8: Intrinsic Angular Momentum – "Spin"
  51. 8.1: Measuring Angular Momentum
  52. 8.2: It's Not Rotating!
  53. 8.3: Fermions and Bosons
  54. 8.4: Statistics of Identical Particles
  55. Back Matter
  56. Index
  57. Glossary
  58. Detailed Licensing