PHYS 2350, 2360 - Physics I, II

This is the first of a two-semester subject sequence that provides the foundations for contemporary research in selected areas of atomic and optical physics. Topics covered include the interaction of radiation with atoms: resonance; absorption, stimulated and spontaneous emission; methods of resonance, dressed atom formalism, masers and lasers, cavity quantum electrodynamics; structure of simple atoms, behavior in very strong fields; fundamental tests: time reversal, parity violations, Bell's inequalities; and experimental methods.

This is the second of a two-semester subject sequence beginning with Atomic and Optical Physics I (8.421) that provides the foundations for contemporary research in selected areas of atomic and optical physics. Topics covered include non-classical states of light–squeezed states; multi-photon processes, Raman scattering; coherence–level crossings, quantum beats, double resonance, superradiance; trapping and cooling-light forces, laser cooling, atom optics, spectroscopy of trapped atoms and ions; atomic interactions–classical collisions, quantum scattering theory, ultracold collisions; and experimental methods.

This first course in the physics curriculum introduces classical mechanics. Historically, a set of core concepts—space, time, mass, force, momentum, torque, and angular momentum—were introduced in classical mechanics in order to solve the most famous physics problem, the motion of the planets.

The principles of mechanics successfully described many other phenomena encountered in the world. Conservation laws involving energy, momentum and angular momentum provided a second parallel approach to solving many of the same problems. In this course, we will investigate both approaches: Force and conservation laws.

Our goal is to develop a conceptual understanding of the core concepts, a familiarity with the experimental verification of our theoretical laws, and an ability to apply the theoretical framework to describe and predict the motions of bodies.

This class is an introduction to classical mechanics for students who are comfortable with calculus. The main topics are: Vectors, Kinematics, Forces, Motion, Momentum, Energy, Angular Motion, Angular Momentum, Gravity, Planetary Motion, Moving Frames, and the Motion of Rigid Bodies.

This freshman-level course is the second semester of introductory physics. The focus is on electricity and magnetism. The subject is taught using the TEAL (Technology Enabled Active Learning) format which utilizes small group interaction and current technology. The TEAL/Studio Project at MIT is a new approach to physics education designed to help students develop much better intuition about, and conceptual models of, physical phenomena.

Vibrations and waves are everywhere. If you take any system and disturb it from a stable equilibrium, the resultant motion will be waves and vibrations. Think of a guitar string—pluck the string, and it vibrates. The sound waves generated make their way to our ears, and we hear the string’s sound. Our eyes see what’s happening because they receive the electromagnetic waves of the light reflected from the guitar string, so that we can recognize the beautiful sinusoidal waves on the string. In fact, without vibrations and waves, we could not recognize the universe around us at all!

The amazing thing is that we can describe many fascinating phenomena arising from very different physical systems with mathematics. This course will provide you with the concepts and mathematical tools necessary to understand and explain a broad range of vibrations and waves. You will learn that waves come from many interconnected (coupled) objects when they are vibrating together. We will discuss many of these phenomena, along with related topics, including mechanical vibrations and waves, sound waves, electromagnetic waves, optics, and gravitational waves.

This course offers an introduction to probability, statistical mechanics, and thermodynamics. Numerous examples are used to illustrate a wide variety of physical phenomena such as magnetism, polyatomic gases, thermal radiation, electrons in solids, and noise in electronic devices.

This course covers probability distributions for classical and quantum systems. Topics include: Microcanonical, canonical, and grand canonical partition-functions and associated thermodynamic potentials. Also discussed are conditions of thermodynamic equilibrium for homogenous and heterogenous systems.