Remodeling Reality

Popis

"Remodeling Reality: The Impact of Relativity and Quantum Mechanics on Our Worldview” is focused on the conceptual and philosophical aspects of modern physics and the personalities of the physicists responsible for introducing these revolutionary ideas. It can be used as the primary text for a one-semester course aimed at Liberal Arts students or as supplementary reading in traditional courses in Modern Physics or Quantum Mechanics.

Obsah

1. The First 2000 Years
   1. The Birth of Science
   2. The Greek Worldview
   3. The Middle Ages
2. The Scientific Revolution and the Modern Worldview
   1. Nicolaus Copernicus
   2. Tycho Brahe and Johannes Kepler
   3. Galileo Galilei
   4. Isaac Newton
3. Nineteenth Century Physics
   1. Atoms in the 19th Century
   2. The Chemical Elements
   3. The Nature of Light
   4. Energy
4. Unresolved Questions at the Beginning of the Twentieth Century
   1. Observations That Appeared To Defy Analysis Using Classical Physics
   2. The Scientific Worldview at the Start of the 20-th Century
5. Max Planck and the Concept of the Quantum
   1. Max Planck
   2. The Concept of the Quantum
6. Albert Einstein and the Miracle Year
   1. The Photoelectric Effect and the Quantum Nature of Electromagnetic Radiation
   2. Brownian Motion and the Reality of Atoms
   3. Special Relativity and Space-time
   4. The Equivalence of Matter and Energy
   5. Einstein’s Fifth Paper
7. Length Contraction and Time Dilation
   1. The Relativity of Speed
   2. The Relativity of Time
   3. Time Dilation
   4. Length Contraction
   5. The Twin Paradox
8. The General Theory of Relativity
   1. The Principle of Equivalence
   2. The General Theory of Relativity
   3. Evidence for the General Theory of Relativity
   4. The General Theory of Relativity Today
9. The Bohr Model of the Atom
   1. Classical Models of the Atom
   2. The Bohr Model of the Atom
   3. Problems with the Bohr Model
10. Werner Heisenberg and Matrix Mechanics
    1. Werner Heisenberg
    2. Matrix Mechanics
11. Erwin Schrodinger and Wave Mechanics
    1. De Broglie Waves
    2. Schrodinger’s Wave Equation
12. Max Born and the Interpretation of the Wave Function
    1. Schrodinger’s Interpretation
    2. Max Born’s Interpretation
    3. The Double-Slit Experiment
    4. Indeterminacy
13. Werner Heisenberg and the Uncertainty Principle
    1. Werner Heisenberg
    2. The 1927 Solvay Conference
    3. The 1930 Solvay Conference
14. Niels Bohr and the Copenhagen Interpretation
    1. The Correspondence Principle and Complementarity
    2. The Copenhagen Interpretation
15. The Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen Challenge and Bell’s Inequality
    1. The Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen Experiment
    2. Bell’s Inequality
16. The Delayed-Choice Experiment and Schrodinger’s Cat
    1. The Delayed-Choice Experiment
    2. Schrodinger’s Cat