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Key facts
| Type | Weekly Classes |
|---|---|
| Location | Oxford |
| Address | Ewert House Ewert Place Summertown Oxford |
| Dates | Thu 18 Apr to Thu 20 Jun 2013 Day: Thursday Time of meeting: 7.00-9.00m Number of meetings: 10 |
| Subject area(s) | Astronomy |
| CATS points | 10 |
| Fees | From £165.00 |
| Application status | Course cancelled |
| Course code | O12P884PYW |
| Course contact | If you have any questions about this course, please email ppweekly@conted.ox.ac.uk. |
Overview
Quantum physics is the very successful description of what happens in the sub-atomic world. The mechanics of it is precise and is able to describe what goes on perfectly. Why and how it happens is another matter altogether - we explore its weird world!Description
Quantum mechanics is the outstanding physics success story of recent times and without it we would not now have mobile phones, televisions and lasers.However, the processes upon which the quantum world operates are so counterintuitive that it almost defies belief.
In this course we start by considering energy levels in the sub-atomic world which leads us on to an understanding of lasers and how they work.
We then consider the weird nature of how the quantum world is thought to work and the strange and unbelievable way in which our eventualpresence in the cosmos might well have had a retro-temporal influence on what happened in the Big Bang.
Programme details
Week 1: What is quantum physics? Its totally underterministic nature. Can it really be so out of step with the determinism of relativity?Week 2: The Photoelectric Effect. What did Einstein and others notice about how certain wavelengths of light can cause an electrical discharge?
And what this has to do with atoms.
Week 3: How the great models of the atom, including the Rutherford model, were demolished by quantum physics and what an atom might really be like.
Week 4: Principal Quantum Numbers. The Bohr atom and how electrons are unlikely to be in certain places around the atom.
Week 5: The Rydberg Equation. We can calculate what sort of light electrons can give us when they change t heir position around an atomic nucleus.
Week 6: The Laser. What is a laser made of and what does it do? We investigate how it works and what it can do for us.
Week 7: Quantum Theory. We look at some of the ideas inherent to quantum physics as presented by Heisenberg and others. Can electrons really respond to the presence of a sensient being?
Week 8: Stranger than fiction (1). We examine some of the experiments that have been done and which to date challenge explanation. Can sub-atomic particles travel backwards in time? We investigate.
Week 9: Stranger than fiction (2). We go on to examine the less well known predictions of the quantum theory as possible expressions of the well known equations - with some startling results.
Week 10: The Hawking / Hertog conjecture. Can it really be true that we have determined what happened in the Big Bang? These two physicists say it is!
Background Reading:
Chapple, David The Quantum World, (arima publishing 6 Aug 2012)
Staff
Mr David Chapple
Role: Tutor
David Chapple is a lecturer in the Physical Sciences, an author of physics textbooks, and has worked on the design and development of weapons systems.
Course aims
Course Aim:To provide an awareness of the operation of the sub-atomic world and our best guess as to how this strange world operates and to relate this to what might have happened in the Big Bang.
Course Objectives:
1. Calculate energy levels in the Bohr atom.
2. Explain the process of operation of a laser.
3. Describe some ideas about the counterintuitive behaviour of sub-atomic particles.
Assessment methods
This will be by Option A, with assessable coursework elements consisting of a number of assignments in the form of set questions throughout the course. The number of elements will be two.Teaching methods
Teaching/learning methods will include:1. Presentations by power point.
2. Use of video presentations.
3. Use of overhead projector.
4. Use of white board.
5. Class or group discussions/activities
Teaching outcomes
1. Describe how the hydrogen atom behaves2. Explain how electrons can cause radiation to be emitted from an atom according to energy balance
3. Relate quantum processes to events in the cosmos.
Apply for this course
Sorry, this course is not currently accepting applications. If you have any questions about this course, please use the course enquiry form.