Week 28 Reading:

• EM: Griffiths 12.1; 12.2 (Reminder: video lectures here)
• QM: Townsend 10.5; 11.1-11.4
  

• Please email me to ask questions, request particular coverage of topics, etc.

Week 28 Schedule:

• Mon. May 22 (CAL)
  • 9 – 10: Qu¡xam 4E! (covers Ch. 10.2-10.3, Ch. 11); EM PSN check (and catch-up on QM PSN)
    
  • 10 – 11: Qu¡xam 4E! Workshop
  • 11 – 12:30 Break
    • 11:15 – 12:15 Optional Reading Group meeting
      
  • 12:30 – 1:30: EM Lecture 1
  • 1:45 – 2:45: QM Lecture 1
• Tue. May 23
  • 9 – 10: EM Problem Session 1 (CAL)
    
  • 10 – 11: EM Lecture 2 (CAL)
  • 11 – 12:30 Break
    
  • 12:30 – 1:30: QM Problem Session 1 (Cave)
  • 1:30 – 2:30: QM Lecture 2 (Cave)
• Wed. May 24 (Cave)
  
  • 9 – 10:30: ALP Presentations
  • 10:30 – 11:00: Break
  • 11 – 12: EM Problem Session 2
  • 12 – 1: EM Lecture 3
• Thu. May 25 (Cave)
  • 9 – 10: EM Problem Session 3
  • 10 – 11: QM Problem Session 2
  • 11 – 12: Break
  • 12 – 3:30: ALP open lab time; Programming check-in; Contract check-in; Individual meetings (including Academic Statements)

• PS#16/#13 Solutions Assignments can be accessed here.
• Note that you will need to be logged in to our program web-site to access the page linked above. If not logged-in, you can do so via this link.
• People assigned to the same problem are welcome to work together and submit one solution, or work separately and submit two.

Several students have requested the opportunity to study thermodynamics & statistical mechanics at the upper-division level next year. Several options exist.

• There is a Thermodynamics course available as partial credit option in Atoms, Molecules, and Reactions (AMR). This is currently planned as 8 credits: 4 in winter and 4 in spring. This will be a solid course in thermodynamics from a chemistry perspective, with minor coverage of statistical mechanics.
• I’ve discussed with several interested students the possibility of a group contract in Thermodynamics & Statistical Mechanics (an identical Individual Learning Contract that each student in the group would submit), which would likely be 6 – 8 credits, spread out over fall and winter (3 – 4 in fall, and 3 – 4 in winter). The contract would cover Chapters 1 – 7 in Introduction to Thermal Physics, by Schroeder.
• A new possibility that Dharshi and I have been recently discussing (but no commitments have been made) is for me to teach Thermodynamics & Statistical Mechanics within AMR. This would be the same coverage as the contract, but would be taught as a course instead of as an independent study and would in be in winter/spring instead of fall/winter.

I invite your responses to these possibilities: your ranked list of personal preferences; pros & cons of the options; your creative ideas. Please email me.

• If you are on a school computer, make sure you are using the Chrome browser (otherwise Flash and Java plug-ins might not work properly).
• Go to http://www.falstad.com/mathphysics.html and scroll down to Quantum Mechanics. Run the Hydrogen Atom Applet.
• Switch from Real Orbitals (chem.) to Complex Orbitals (phys.) in the pull-down menu; you can always switch back.
• Under View, note the options available to you. For now, turn off every option except Phase as color.
• Select n = 1. What options do you have for l and m? Under view, turn on Radial Distribution and compare to Figure 10.5 in your text. Turn off Radial Distribution.
• Select n = 1. What options do you have for l and m? Does this make sense? Choose different sets of l and m for n = 2 to view, and also view without and with Radial Distribution. Look at Figure 9.11 and Figure 10.5 and compare to what you see on your screen.
• Now, start with Figure 9.11 and Figure 10.5 before doing anything with the computer visualization. Look at the l = 2 graphs in Figure 9.11, and the R_3,2 graph  in Figure 10.5. Imagine what the combined wave functions might look like. Check it out using the simulation.
• Explore other parts of the simulation.

• If you are on a school computer, make sure you are using the Chrome browser (otherwise Flash and Java plug-ins might not work properly).
• Go to https://phet.colorado.edu/en/simulation/radiating-charge and click on the play button in the image.
• Play with the various configurations, and test out what we discuss in class.
• If time/interest, here’s a more feature-full simulation: go to http://www.falstad.com/mathphysics.html and scroll down to Electrodynamics. Run the 2-D Electrodynamics Applet (TE) and play with the various options in the pull-down menus. See what sense you can make of radiation fields. 

Problem Sets to be completed in your corresponding PSNs by noon Sun. May 21.

• EM PS#16: Griffiths: 11.2, 11.5, 11.6, 11.26 || 11.17(a)(b), 11.18(a), 11.20, 11.34. Note: 11.17(c) removed from this assignment.
• QM PS#13: Townsend: 10.3, 10.4, 10.6, 10.7 || 10.9, 10.10, 10.11, 10.18. Notes: for 10.10, you may find the reminder of separation of variables on p. 371 (just after eq. (10.82)) – p. 372 (just before the section heading Spherical Coordinates) to be useful.

• Qu¡xam 3Q covered Townsend Ch. 9.
• Revisions due Thu. May 18 at 9am. If you choose to do a revision, standard revision guidelines apply.

On Tuesday May 16 from 10 -11 in the CAL, we’ll have another in-program workshop on Academic Statements and Self-Evaluations.

• Academic Statements for continuing students are due Week 27 Thursday May 18 (the day after Academic Fair) and for graduating students are due Friday June 16 (end of conference week) (see details here).
• Graduating Seniors: Please bring your most up-to-date Academic Statement draft.
• Continuing Students: Please bring your most up-to-date Self-Evaluation and your PSAM spring syllabus.

• I’ve added notes to your Collaborative Problem Set Solutions for QM PS#11 and QM PS#12; please recall that you need to be logged in to access these.
• Please compare the solutions in your Problem Set Notebook to these solutions, updating or correcting as you need to. If you disagree or would like further clarification, please send me an email.
• I’ll do a spot check of your QM PSN for QM PS#11 and PS#12, so please bring with you and leave on the front table in the CAL during Quixam! 3Q. If you didn’t submit for an earlier QM PSN check but have that for me to check, please flag it clearly somehow, and I’ll check as well. Similarly for your EM PSN, but I can also look at that next week.

Week 27 Reading:

• EM: Griffiths Ch. 11 (Reminder: video lectures here)
• QM: Townsend 10.1-10.2; 10.3-10.4
  

• Please email me to ask questions, request particular coverage of topics, etc.

Week 27 Schedule:

• Mon. May 15 (CAL)
  • 9 – 10: Qu¡xam 3Q! (covers Ch. 9); QM PSN check (and catch-up on EM PSN)
    
  • 10 – 11: Qu¡xam 3Q! Workshop
  • 11 – 12:30 Break
    • 11:15 – 12:15 Optional Reading Group meeting
      
  • 12:30 – 1:30: EM Lecture 1
  • 1:45 – 2:45: QM Lecture 1
• Tue. May 16
  • 9 – 10: EM Lecture 2 (CAL)
    
  • 10 – 11: Academic Statement & Self-Evaluation Workshop II (CAL)
  • 11 – 12:30 Break
    
  • 12:30 – 1:30: QM Problem Session 1 (Cave)
  • 1:30 – 2:30: QM Lecture 2 (Cave)
• Wed. May 17 (Cave)
  
  • 9 – 10:30: ALP Presentations
  • 10:30 – 11:00: Break
  • 11 – 12: EM Problem Session 1
  • 12 – 1: EM Lecture 3
  • 1:30 – 4: All-Campus Mentoring Day Activities (see this post)
  • 4 – 6: Academic Fair
• Thu. May 18 (Cave)
  • 9 – 10: EM Problem Session 2
  • 10 – 11: QM Problem Session 2
  • 11 – 12: Break
  • 12 – 3:30: ALP open lab time; Programming check-in; Contract check-in; Individual meetings (including Academic Statements)