Physics 213/214 Honors (PHYCS 199HT) Fall 2008 Honors seminar: special topics in quantum and thermal physics

Announcements Note: The first class meeting will be on Monday, August 25, Rm. 257 LLP Bring your calculators! Welcome to the Honors supplement to Physics 213/214 (also known as PHYS 199HT). We will meet Mondays, 1:00pm - 2:50pm, in 257 Loomis. This one-credit-hour course complements, but does not replace, Physics 213 and 214. You must be registered for both Physics 214 and 213, which starts mid semester.

Course staff Instructor: Jim Wolfe Office: 1016 Materials Research Laboratory phone: (217) 333-2374 email: j-wolfe@uiuc.edu Purpose of the Course: This is a companion class to Physics 213/214 for physics majors and others with a strong interest in learning more about quantum mechanics (214) and thermodynamics (213). The format will be based on discussion of problems, aimed at demonstrating in greater detail the subject matter discussed in Physics 214/213. In some cases we may use simple visualization tools to better understand the material. Topics will include the standard 214/213 material, as well as other material such as particle scattering, photon quantum states (214), and chemical potential, quantum statistics, and Planck distribution (213). The goal of this course is to learn methods for approaching physics problems.

Course Information

Course syllabus

Required books: QED -- The Strange Theory of Light and Matter, R. Feynman, Princeton University Press (1988). A Matter of Degrees, Gino Segre, Penguin Books (2002).

Physics (and other) links UIUC physics department Physics Today Physics Central, a nice site run by the American Physical Society.