PHYS 290: Quantum

News:

• We'll start the class on Wednesday by studying the photoeletric effect. See Townsend pahes 9-11.
• We'll be using gradescope for probem sets. You can use the code EBR3XV to submit your solutions directly in gradescope. They are due on Gradescope by 10 AM Friday morning.
• The bookstore has Townsend on backorder with some copies arriving in this week. You can buy the (limited availablity) electronic version as well. This is available now.

Course Info:

Lab Info:

Problem Sets (pdf):

Extras:

• The PhET photoelectric effect webpage. (PhET's are nifty online physics simulations hosted by UC Boulder.)
• The moment of code in class on Monday September 7: example code for plotting (py) and example code for gathering data (py).
• The visible portion of the electromagnetic specctrum with wavelengths (pdf).
• Animation codes for the one, two, and three slit intereference patterns. Thanks to Brian Collett for these!
• On intsalling python (Thanks to Megan!)
• Plots from the Aspect et al single photon interference experiment.
• A webpage for python play.
• Single and double slit intensity plots (pdf).

Copenhagen Project Resources:

• A re-formated version of the Peierls-Frisch memorandum.
• Bernstein's article [Am. J. Phys. 79 (2011) 440] on the memorandum.
• Serber's Los Alamos primer.
• More on the 1938 Christmas discovery of Meitner and Frisch. Frisch visited his aunt who was in exile in Sweden.
• The PhET fission demo
• Snippets of the Farm Hall transcripts hosted by AIP. The transcripts are available in ``Operation Epsilon: the Farm Hall transcripts" (Burke Q141.O556 1993)
• On YouTube you can see a Kennedy Center performance of Copenhagen and a 2002 PBS film adaptation. Thanks to Syd for these links!

Last modified 7 September 2026