Week 1
Dropping a ball, as viewed in two different reference frames
Young's experiment again
Sound interference: beats
Optional:
More sound interference: noise canceling headphones and car mufflers
Week 2
Week 3
Tutorial on the photon clock and time dilation
Week 4
Relativity of simultaneity using animations
Time dilation and length contraction as spacetime geometry: a simple paradox involving light and its resolution
Week 6
Animations about the equivalence principle and spacetime curvature
Equivalence principle and experimental consequences (don't worry about the math)
High-precision tests of the equivalence principle carried out in space
Einstein's rotating disk thought experiment (and the bending of light by gravitational fields)
Recorded lecture on tests of general relativity
Optional:
A 2007 test of the equivalence principle using individual atoms
Week 9
J. J. Thomson and electrons
March 25 Zoom lecture on atoms and electrons
Blackbody radiation
Interactive blackbody page and an astronomical application
Recorded lecture on blackbody spectra
Week 10
Photoelectric effect (follow the links)
Photoelectric effect simulation
Recorded lecture on quanta and the photoelectric effect
Rutherford scattering experiment
Recorded lecture on atomic nuclei plus a brief addendum
Spectra (follow the links)
Emission and absorption line spectra as inverses of each other
The Bohr atom and its explanation of emission and absorption lines
PBS's Science Odyssey on Rutherford and Bohr
Animation of the Bohr model of the atom
Recorded lecture on line spectra and the Bohr model
Bohr's explanation of the periodic table
Brief summary of our April 1 Zoom meeting
Optional:
Another animation of the Rutherford gold foil experiment
The Bohr atom as performed by middle schoolers
Week 11
Recorded lecture on Compton scattering and matter waves
Recorded lecture on wave functions and probability
Electron "de Broglie waves" and diffraction patterns
Comparison of X-ray vs. electron diffraction
Electron microscopes, including scanning electron microscopes
Neat pictures of tiny things
Entire atoms and molecules can act like waves
Pictures of probability clouds
Visual representations of the Schrödinger model
The periodic table explained via four quantum numbers
A summary of quantum numbers and orbital shapes
Optional:
Description of the first experiment confirming electron waves
Week 12
Recorded lecture on the Copenhagen interpretation and the electron double-slit experiment
Recorded lecture on Schrödinger's cat
Animated video describing the electron double-slit experiment
Video showing actual lab data for that experiment
Video showing lab data for the same experiment but using photons rather than electrons
Schrödinger's original description of the cat paradox
Optional:
Lab data video for electron double-slit experiment embedded within an article
Week 13
Recorded lecture on the EPR paper and entanglement
Recorded lecture on Bell's theorem and the Aspect experiment
Recent experimental support for entanglement
Using starlight to shrink the freedom-of-choice loophole
Entanglement used for secure electronic money transfers
Quantum encryption and a Chinese satellite
Quantum teleportation into space (with optional video at the end)
Quantum teleportation of a macroscopic object
Read about how quantum computing works
Optional:
Entangled pairs of diamonds
Scientific American article on entanglement
More on quantum computers
Week 14
Recorded lecture on alternatives to the Copenhagen interpretation
Recorded lecture on quantum mechanics and consciousness
Book recommendations in quantum philosophy
PHY 110: Previous Links
Written by Chris Magri
Last modified on April 29, 2020
URL: https://sites.google.com/a/maine.edu/magri/phy110e/prevlinks