In this video, David explains how an atom can absorb and emit photons with particular values of energy and how to determine the allowed values.
The PhET project at the University of Colorado creates "fun, interactive, research-based simulations of physical phenomena." This particular one deals with Beer's Law. "The thicker the glass, the darker the brew, the less the light that passes through." Make colorful concentrated and dilute solutions and explore how much light they absorb and transmit using a virtual spectrophotometer! The simulation is also paired with a teachers' guide and related resources from PhET. The simulation is also available in multiple languages.
Make a whole rainbow by mixing red, green, and blue light. Change the wavelength of a monochromatic beam or filter white light. View the light as a solid beam, or see the individual photons.
This is an introductory graduate-level course on the phenomenology and experimental foundations of nuclear and particle physics, including the fundamental forces and particles, as well as composites. Emphasis is on the experimental establishment of the leading models, and the theoretical tools and experimental apparatus used to establish them.
Create a laser by pumping the chamber with a photon beam. Manage the energy states of the laser's atoms to control its output.
Create a laser by pumping the chamber with a photon beam. Manage the energy states of the laser's atoms to control its output.
This video segment adapted from Shedding Light on Science demonstrates the law of reflection by showing how light energy is reflected off both smooth and rough surfaces at predictable angles.
How did scientists figure out the structure of atoms without looking at them? Try out different models by shooting light at the atom. Check how the prediction of the model matches the experimental results.
Do you ever wonder how a greenhouse gas affects the climate, or why the ozone layer is important? Use the sim to explore how light interacts with molecules in our atmosphere.
Dieter Hartmann, a high-energy physicist, presents a story-based lesson on the science of Gamma-Ray astronomy. The lesson focuses on gamma-ray bursts; examining their sources, types, and links to the origin and evolution of the Universe. The story-based format of the lesson also provides insights into the nature of science. Students answer questions based on the reading guide. A list of supplemental websites is also included.
Produce light by bombarding atoms with electrons. See how the characteristic spectra of different elements are produced, and configure your own element's energy states to produce light of different colors.
See how light knocks electrons off a metal target, and recreate the experiment that spawned the field of quantum mechanics.
See how light knocks electrons off a metal target, and recreate the experiment that spawned the field of quantum mechanics.
Explaining the photoelectric effect using wave-particle duality, the work function of a metal, and how to calculate the velocity of a photoelectron. Created by Jay.
In this video, David explains what a photon is and how to determine the energy of a photon. Created by David SantoPietro.
In this video, David (and surfer Dan) explain how to determine the momentum of a photon.
This is the first course in the undergraduate Quantum Physics sequence. It introduces the basic features of quantum mechanics. It covers the experimental basis of quantum physics, introduces wave mechanics, Schrödinger's equation in a single dimension, and Schrödinger's equation in three dimensions. The lectures and lecture notes for this course form the basis of Zwiebach’s textbook Mastering Quantum Mechanics published by MIT Press in April 2022.
This presentation of 8.04 by Barton Zwiebach (2016) differs somewhat and complements nicely the presentation of Allan Adams (2013). Adams covers a larger set of ideas; Zwiebach tends to go deeper into a smaller set of ideas, offering a systematic and detailed treatment. Adams begins with the subtleties of superpostion, while Zwiebach discusses the surprises of interaction-free measurements. While both courses overlap over a sizable amount of standard material, Adams discussed applications to condensed matter physics, while Zwiebach focused on scattering and resonances. The different perspectives of the instructors make the problem sets in the two courses rather different.
This course covers the experimental basis of quantum physics. It introduces wave mechanics, Schrödinger's equation in a single dimension, and Schrödinger's equation in three dimensions.
It is the first course in the undergraduate Quantum Physics sequence, followed by 8.05 Quantum Physics II and 8.06 Quantum Physics III.
When do photons, electrons, and atoms behave like particles and when do they behave like waves? Watch waves spread out and interfere as they pass through a double slit, then get detected on a screen as tiny dots. Use quantum detectors to explore how measurements change the waves and the patterns they produce on the screen.
6.977 focuses on the physics of the interaction of photons with semiconductor materials. The band theory of solids is used to calculate the absorption and gain of semiconductor media. The rate equation formalism is used to develop the concepts of laser threshold, population inversion and modulation response. Matrix methods and coupled mode theory are applied to resonator structures such as distributed feedback lasers, tunable lasers and microring devices. The course is also intended to introduce students to noise models for semiconductor devices and to applications of optoelectronic devices to fiber optic communications. This course is worth 12 Engineering Design points.