3 credits
Fall 2025 Lecture Distance Learning Upper DivisionThis course offers an introduction to quantum mechanics, exploring how it has transformed our understanding of the physical world and revolutionized modern technology. The concepts will be illustrated with a variety of contemporary physics results and applications, including relativistic effects and a brief overview of the emerging field of quantum information science and engineering.
Learning Outcomes1Understand key concepts in quantum mechanics, including wave-particle duality, superposition, entanglement, and the uncertainty principle. Apply these concepts to predict the behavior of quantum magnets (spins) and quantum light (photons).
2Learn the wavefunction, the Schrodinger equation, and probability and measurement outcomes in quantum mechanics. Solve the Schrodinger equation in simple model systems and use the results to understand atom spectra, nuclear reactions, molecular bonds, and electronic motion in solids (including semiconductors and superconductors).
3Understand how quantum mechanics has enabled many modern technologies, including lasers, transistors, solar cells, magnetic resonance imaging, electron microscopy, and the global positioning system. Understand basic ideas of the theory of relativity and relativistic effects in contemporary quantum science.
4Gain an overview of the emerging field of quantum information science and engineering by exploring quantum computing, quantum communication, and quantum sensing.