Details of PH2101 (Autumn 2012)
| Level: 2 | Type: Theory | Credits: 3.0 |
| Course Code | Course Name | Instructor(s) |
|---|---|---|
| PH2101 | Physics III | Bhavtosh Bansal |
| Syllabus |
|---|
| Waves and optics
The wave equation in 1 dimension. D'Alembert's solution and solution by separation of variables. Applications to a stretched string. Electromagnetic waves in vacuum. Plane wave solutions. Waves in a linear isotropic medium. Transverse nature of EM waves. Polarization. Fermat's principle of least time. Applications. Introduction to matrix methods in optics. The wave nature of light. Two beam interference. Coherence temporal and spatial. Examples of interference by division of amplitude and a division of wavefront. Diffraction. Fraunhoffer diffraction from single slit, double slit and diffraction gratings. Resolving power Rayleigh criterion. Fresnel diffraction (qualitative). Fresnel zones and zone plate. Quantum mechanics Precursors to quantum theory : Black body radiation. Rayleigh-Jeans law the ultraviolet catastrophe. The Planck distribution and the quantum hypothesis. The photon hypothesis. Photoelectric effect. Compton effect. De-Broglie and wave-particle duality. Heisenberg's uncertainty principle. The Heisenberg microscope. Simple applications of the Heisenberg principle. The wave function in coordinate space and its probabilistic interpretation. The momentum space wavefunction. Connection with the uncertainty principle. Free evolution of the wavefunction of a point particle the initially Gaussian case. Expectation values and operators. Hermitian operators. Examples of calculation of expectation values and variances of position, momentum, etc. The Schrdinger equation time dependent and time independent. Stationary states. The particle in a box. Step potential. |
| References |
|---|
|
Course Credit Options
| Sl. No. | Programme | Semester No | Course Choice |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | IP | 1 | Not Allowed |
| 2 | IP | 3 | Not Allowed |
| 3 | MS | 3 | Not Allowed |
| 4 | RS | 1 | Not Allowed |