QUANTUM MECHANICS

PRESENTATION:
Since the beginning of the 20th century, an increasing number of experiments have shown that the laws of Newtonian mechanics are no longer valid when applied at a very small scale, such as that of atoms, molecules or nuclei. This brings us into the field of quantum mechanics, where physical laws take on a whole new dimension, which was scrupulously formalized in the late 1920s. Not only has this veritable intellectual revolution been essential in understanding the true nature of the physical world, from elementary particles to the big bang; it is also responsible for the emergence of most modern technologies such as microelectronics, lasers and optical telecommunications.

This course offers an initial introduction to quantum mechanics. Based on an historical approach and the confrontation between experiments and theory, the class will teach you the basic principles of quantum mechanics and give you a glimpse into some of its applications. The course comprises eight sessions, as described below:

Wave-particle duality
Wave function
Fourier transform
From pulses to Hamiltonian mechanics
The confined quantum particle
Individual quantum measures
One-dimensional potential wells
Tunneling