Modern Physics
Special relativity, the quantum revolution, atoms and nuclei: the experiments around 1900 that classical physics could not explain, from the Michelson–Morley null result and the ultraviolet catastrophe to the photoelectric effect, sharp atomic spectra and the impossible collapse of the classical atom; Einstein's postulates, time dilation from the light clock and length contraction, tested with cosmic-ray muons, storage rings and flying atomic clocks; the Lorentz transformation, the invariant interval, spacetime diagrams, the relativity of simultaneity, velocity addition and rapidity, and the twin and barn paradoxes; relativistic momentum and energy, E = mc², the energy–momentum relation, invariant mass in fixed-target and colliding-beam experiments, mass defects and the energy of the Sun; blackbody radiation from mode counting and equipartition to Planck's quantum hypothesis, with the Stefan–Boltzmann and Wien laws and the cosmic microwave background; photons in the photoelectric effect, Millikan's measurement of Planck's constant, Compton scattering, pair production and annihilation; de Broglie matter waves, electron diffraction, single-electron interference, wave packets and the uncertainty principle; the Schrödinger equation for the particle in a box, the finite well and tunnelling through barriers, with alpha decay, solar fusion and the scanning tunnelling microscope; the Bohr model and the quantum-mechanical hydrogen atom with its spectral series, quantum numbers, radial densities and selection rules; spin, the exclusion principle, the periodic table, X-rays and Moseley's law, and stimulated emission and lasers; nuclear size, binding energy and the liquid-drop model, radioactive decay and radiocarbon dating, fission in CANDU and light-water reactors, fusion in stars and medical isotopes; and a capstone on GPS relativity, atomic clocks, LEDs and solar cells, PET, MRI and superconducting qubits, with runnable Python examples throughout.
PHYS-271 Year 2 3 credits 12 lessons · 4 h 28 min ▶ Video lessons coming soon
Offered by HSM University · Physics
This is the Canadian version of this course. See the American version.
What you'll learn
- Identify the experimental results around 1900 that classical physics could not explain and state which modern theory resolved each.
- State Einstein's postulates, derive time dilation from a light clock, and apply time dilation and length contraction to muons, spacecraft and clocks.
- Use the Lorentz transformation, the invariant interval and spacetime diagrams to analyse simultaneity, velocity addition and the twin and barn paradoxes.
- Calculate relativistic momentum, energy and invariant mass, and apply \(E^2 = (pc)^2 + (mc^2)^2\) to collisions, thresholds and binding energies.
- Derive the Rayleigh–Jeans and Planck laws for blackbody radiation and use Wien's and Stefan's laws to find temperatures and radiated power.
- Explain the photoelectric effect, Compton scattering and pair production with photons, and extract Planck's constant and work functions from data.
- Calculate de Broglie wavelengths, interpret electron diffraction and single-particle interference, and apply the uncertainty principle to wave packets and atoms.
- Solve the time-independent Schrödinger equation for infinite and finite wells and compute tunnelling probabilities through barriers.
- Derive the Bohr energy levels of hydrogen, predict its spectral series, and describe the quantum numbers and radial probability densities of the Schrödinger solution.
- Use spin and the exclusion principle to build electron configurations and the periodic table, apply Moseley's law, and explain stimulated emission and lasers.
- Compute nuclear binding energies, explain the binding energy curve with the liquid-drop model, apply the decay law to dating, and describe fission, fusion and medical isotopes.
- Analyse GPS, atomic clocks, LEDs, solar cells, PET, MRI and superconducting qubits in terms of the relativity and quantum physics of the course.
Course content
12 lessons · 4 h 28 min total · final exam
- 1 Why modern physics: the cracks in classical physics around 1900 24 min · quiz
- 2 Special relativity I: postulates, time dilation and length contraction 22 min · quiz
- 3 Special relativity II: Lorentz transformations, spacetime diagrams and paradoxes 23 min · quiz
- 4 Relativistic energy and momentum 20 min · quiz
- 5 Blackbody radiation and the quantum hypothesis 20 min · quiz
- 6 Photons: the photoelectric effect, Compton scattering and pair production 22 min · quiz
- 7 Matter waves: de Broglie, electron diffraction and the uncertainty principle 23 min · quiz
- 8 The Schrödinger equation in one dimension: wells, barriers and tunnelling 23 min · quiz
- 9 The hydrogen atom: Bohr model, quantum numbers and spectra 21 min · quiz
- 10 Many-electron atoms, the periodic table, lasers and X-rays 21 min · quiz
- 11 The nucleus: binding energy, radioactivity and nuclear reactions 24 min · quiz
- 12 Capstone: modern physics in technology 25 min · quiz
- E Final exam 20 questions
Requirements
Recommended background. You can start any course at any time.
Description
Special relativity, the quantum revolution, atoms and nuclei: the experiments around 1900 that classical physics could not explain, from the Michelson–Morley null result and the ultraviolet catastrophe to the photoelectric effect, sharp atomic spectra and the impossible collapse of the classical atom; Einstein's postulates, time dilation from the light clock and length contraction, tested with cosmic-ray muons, storage rings and flying atomic clocks; the Lorentz transformation, the invariant interval, spacetime diagrams, the relativity of simultaneity, velocity addition and rapidity, and the twin and barn paradoxes; relativistic momentum and energy, E = mc², the energy–momentum relation, invariant mass in fixed-target and colliding-beam experiments, mass defects and the energy of the Sun; blackbody radiation from mode counting and equipartition to Planck's quantum hypothesis, with the Stefan–Boltzmann and Wien laws and the cosmic microwave background; photons in the photoelectric effect, Millikan's measurement of Planck's constant, Compton scattering, pair production and annihilation; de Broglie matter waves, electron diffraction, single-electron interference, wave packets and the uncertainty principle; the Schrödinger equation for the particle in a box, the finite well and tunnelling through barriers, with alpha decay, solar fusion and the scanning tunnelling microscope; the Bohr model and the quantum-mechanical hydrogen atom with its spectral series, quantum numbers, radial densities and selection rules; spin, the exclusion principle, the periodic table, X-rays and Moseley's law, and stimulated emission and lasers; nuclear size, binding energy and the liquid-drop model, radioactive decay and radiocarbon dating, fission in CANDU and light-water reactors, fusion in stars and medical isotopes; and a capstone on GPS relativity, atomic clocks, LEDs and solar cells, PET, MRI and superconducting qubits, with runnable Python examples throughout.
Part of the Science stream, typically taken in year 2.