Professor: Steven J. Pollock
Phone: 492-2495 Office: F419 in the Gamow Tower
Office Hours (tentative) : Mon 3-3:50, Tues. 1:10-3, and other times by appointment
Email/Electronic Office Hours: pollock@lucky.colorado.edu (anytime)
Grader: Ettouhami
Lectures: MWF 2 PM in Duane G116
Texts:
Required: ""Quantum Physics " - S. Gasiorowicz
(Homework assignments will often come out of Gasiorowicz. There will be 2 copies on reserve in the physics library)
Suggested: "Introduction to Quantum Mechanics" - D. Griffiths
(This is written at a slightly more basic level than Gasiorowicz, and you may find it useful as a reference. There will be a copy on reserve in the physics library)
Other references:
Stephen Wolfram, "Mathematica: A system for Doing Mathematics by Computer" - On occasion we will have computer assignments, so this is a useful reference. (There should be a copy in the NeXT Lab.)
P. Tipler, "Modern Physics" (pretty introductory, more like a 2170 text)
Eisberg and Resnick, "Quantum Physics " (between Tipler and Gasiorowicz in level)
R. Liboff, "Introductory Quantum Mechanics" (Very comparable to Gasiorowicz, useful for a slightly different perspective and additional problems/examples)
S. Gasiorowicz: ""Structure of Matter" More advanced)
Feynman, Leighton, and Sands: "The Feynman Lectures on Physics, part III."
(The latter is part of a truly wonderful series of 3 "introductory" physics books.)
M. Boas, "Mathematical Methods in the Physical Sciences", very useful for mathematical tricks and techniques you may have forgotten.
Required Work: Problem sets are an essential part of this class. No one questions that mastering a musical instrument or playing a sport well requires repetition of exercises designed to increase skill. The study of physics is not so different! One problem set will be assigned every week, (usually) on Wednesdays, due at the start of class the following Wednesday. Group study is fine (encouraged!) as long as you always generate your final solutions by yourself. My homework solutions will be posted by my office, with a copy in the library. These may be borrowed briefly for copying. (Please be considerate of your classmates.)
Because solutions will be posted, late homeworks can not be accepted.
Grades and Exams:
Short quizzes will be given during lectures roughly every few weeks.
(Probable quiz dates: Fridays Sept. 20, Oct. 18, Nov. 22, Dec. 6)
Exams are tentatively scheduled for Thursday evenings (7:30 PM), Oct. 3 and Nov 7
Final exam will be Tues, Dec 17, 3:30-6:30
The total grade weighting will be approximately:
Problem sets: 30 to 40%
Quizzes: about 5%
Mid Terms: 17.5% each (=> 35%)
Final Exam: 25%
Computer info: Everyone in this class should have an account in the NeXT lab, Duane 0060a. This can be done on your own, through Netscape (or CUline PLUS). Choose the URL http://www.colorado.edu/plus , and set up an account on aeinstein.
To get a door code, you must remotely log into your new account: username@pdirac which should be available after an hour or so. The door code is in the file door_code.
We have a WWW page: http://spot.colorado.edu/~pollocks/current_class.html Copies of hw assignments, brief summaries of classes, and late announcements will be there. Occasionally, extra credit hw problems may be there as well. Accessible from this page (or from any news reader), we have a newsgroup "cu.courses.phys3220". I encourage you to post questions, comments, and ideas there. Use common sense (posting your h.w. solutions before the set is due is clearly not in your best interest!) But, feel free to discuss the homework on the newsgroup (or in study groups), as long as you always generate your final solutions by yourself. If you have a specific question for me, you're better off emailing me directly, as I check email more often than I read the newsgroup. I will answer your questions to you directly, and will also post the question (anonymously!) and my solution on the web, so if you're stuck you might want to take a look to see if someone else has already asked the same question!
There will be a couple of computer assignments this semester - you can use any language on any machine, but I encourage you to use Mathematica ("Mma"). I can provide you with a brief written Mma tutorial, but we will not spend class time on it. If you have no computer experience, let me know, and I can help you get started.
Reading Assignments: We will be following Gasiorowicz, the syllabus for this semester will take us through Ch's 1-12. Reading the textbook before class is highly encouraged. It will allow you to concentrate on understanding the lecture instead of taking lots of notes and trying to make sense of them later... (Each homework will also have a required reading assignment)
Go to Prof. Pollock's home page.
Go to the Physics Department's home page.
Email: Steven.Pollock@colorado.edu