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Table of contents
  1. Preface
  2. Optics
    1. 1 The Nature of Light
      1. Introduction
      2. 1.1 The Propagation of Light
      3. 1.2 The Law of Reflection
      4. 1.3 Refraction
      5. 1.4 Total Internal Reflection
      6. 1.5 Dispersion
      7. 1.6 Huygens’s Principle
      8. 1.7 Polarization
      9. Chapter Review
        1. Key Terms
        2. Key Equations
        3. Summary
        4. Conceptual Questions
        5. Problems
        6. Additional Problems
        7. Challenge Problems
    2. 2 Geometric Optics and Image Formation
      1. Introduction
      2. 2.1 Images Formed by Plane Mirrors
      3. 2.2 Spherical Mirrors
      4. 2.3 Images Formed by Refraction
      5. 2.4 Thin Lenses
      6. 2.5 The Eye
      7. 2.6 The Camera
      8. 2.7 The Simple Magnifier
      9. 2.8 Microscopes and Telescopes
      10. Chapter Review
        1. Key Terms
        2. Key Equations
        3. Summary
        4. Conceptual Questions
        5. Problems
        6. Additional Problems
    3. 3 Interference
      1. Introduction
      2. 3.1 Young's Double-Slit Interference
      3. 3.2 Mathematics of Interference
      4. 3.3 Multiple-Slit Interference
      5. 3.4 Interference in Thin Films
      6. 3.5 The Michelson Interferometer
      7. Chapter Review
        1. Key Terms
        2. Key Equations
        3. Summary
        4. Conceptual Questions
        5. Problems
        6. Additional Problems
        7. Challenge Problems
    4. 4 Diffraction
      1. Introduction
      2. 4.1 Single-Slit Diffraction
      3. 4.2 Intensity in Single-Slit Diffraction
      4. 4.3 Double-Slit Diffraction
      5. 4.4 Diffraction Gratings
      6. 4.5 Circular Apertures and Resolution
      7. 4.6 X-Ray Diffraction
      8. 4.7 Holography
      9. Chapter Review
        1. Key Terms
        2. Key Equations
        3. Summary
        4. Conceptual Questions
        5. Problems
        6. Additional Problems
        7. Challenge Problems
  3. Modern Physics
    1. 5 Relativity
      1. Introduction
      2. 5.1 Invariance of Physical Laws
      3. 5.2 Relativity of Simultaneity
      4. 5.3 Time Dilation
      5. 5.4 Length Contraction
      6. 5.5 The Lorentz Transformation
      7. 5.6 Relativistic Velocity Transformation
      8. 5.7 Doppler Effect for Light
      9. 5.8 Relativistic Momentum
      10. 5.9 Relativistic Energy
      11. Chapter Review
        1. Key Terms
        2. Key Equations
        3. Summary
        4. Conceptual Questions
        5. Problems
        6. Additional Problems
    2. 6 Photons and Matter Waves
      1. Introduction
      2. 6.1 Blackbody Radiation
      3. 6.2 Photoelectric Effect
      4. 6.3 The Compton Effect
      5. 6.4 Bohr’s Model of the Hydrogen Atom
      6. 6.5 De Broglie’s Matter Waves
      7. 6.6 Wave-Particle Duality
      8. Chapter Review
        1. Key Terms
        2. Key Equations
        3. Summary
        4. Conceptual Questions
        5. Problems
        6. Additional Problems
    3. 7 Quantum Mechanics
      1. Introduction
      2. 7.1 Wave Functions
      3. 7.2 The Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle
      4. 7.3 The SchrÓ§dinger Equation
      5. 7.4 The Quantum Particle in a Box
      6. 7.5 The Quantum Harmonic Oscillator
      7. 7.6 The Quantum Tunneling of Particles through Potential Barriers
      8. Chapter Review
        1. Key Terms
        2. Key Equations
        3. Summary
        4. Conceptual Questions
        5. Problems
        6. Additional Problems
        7. Challenge Problems
    4. 8 Atomic Structure
      1. Introduction
      2. 8.1 The Hydrogen Atom
      3. 8.2 Orbital Magnetic Dipole Moment of the Electron
      4. 8.3 Electron Spin
      5. 8.4 The Exclusion Principle and the Periodic Table
      6. 8.5 Atomic Spectra and X-rays
      7. 8.6 Lasers
      8. Chapter Review
        1. Key Terms
        2. Key Equations
        3. Summary
        4. Conceptual Questions
        5. Problems
        6. Additional Problems
    5. 9 Condensed Matter Physics
      1. Introduction
      2. 9.1 Types of Molecular Bonds
      3. 9.2 Molecular Spectra
      4. 9.3 Bonding in Crystalline Solids
      5. 9.4 Free Electron Model of Metals
      6. 9.5 Band Theory of Solids
      7. 9.6 Semiconductors and Doping
      8. 9.7 Semiconductor Devices
      9. 9.8 Superconductivity
      10. Chapter Review
        1. Key Terms
        2. Key Equations
        3. Summary
        4. Conceptual Questions
        5. Problems
        6. Additional Problems
        7. Challenge Problems
    6. 10 Nuclear Physics
      1. Introduction
      2. 10.1 Properties of Nuclei
      3. 10.2 Nuclear Binding Energy
      4. 10.3 Radioactive Decay
      5. 10.4 Nuclear Reactions
      6. 10.5 Fission
      7. 10.6 Nuclear Fusion
      8. 10.7 Medical Applications and Biological Effects of Nuclear Radiation
      9. Chapter Review
        1. Key Terms
        2. Key Equations
        3. Summary
        4. Conceptual Questions
        5. Problems
        6. Additional Problems
        7. Challenge Problems
    7. 11 Particle Physics and Cosmology
      1. Introduction
      2. 11.1 Introduction to Particle Physics
      3. 11.2 Particle Conservation Laws
      4. 11.3 Quarks
      5. 11.4 Particle Accelerators and Detectors
      6. 11.5 The Standard Model
      7. 11.6 The Big Bang
      8. 11.7 Evolution of the Early Universe
      9. Chapter Review
        1. Key Terms
        2. Key Equations
        3. Summary
        4. Conceptual Questions
        5. Problems
        6. Additional Problems
        7. Challenge Problems
  4. A | Units
  5. B | Conversion Factors
  6. C | Fundamental Constants
  7. D | Astronomical Data
  8. E | Mathematical Formulas
  9. F | Chemistry
  10. G | The Greek Alphabet
  11. Answer Key
    1. Chapter 1
    2. Chapter 2
    3. Chapter 3
    4. Chapter 4
    5. Chapter 5
    6. Chapter 6
    7. Chapter 7
    8. Chapter 8
    9. Chapter 9
    10. Chapter 10
    11. Chapter 11
  12. Index
A photograph of a D wave qubit processor
Figure 7.1 A D-wave qubit processor: The brain of a quantum computer that encodes information in quantum bits to perform complex calculations. (credit: modification of work by D-Wave Systems, Inc.)

Quantum mechanics is a powerful framework for understanding the motions and interactions of particles at small scales, such as atoms and molecules. The ideas behind quantum mechanics often appear quite strange. In many ways, our everyday experience with the macroscopic physical world does not prepare us for the microscopic world of quantum mechanics. The purpose of this chapter is to introduce you to this exciting world.

Pictured above is a quantum-computer processor. This device is the “brain” of a quantum computer that operates at near-absolute zero temperatures. Unlike a digital computer, which encodes information in binary digits (definite states of either zero or one), a quantum computer encodes information in quantum bits or qubits (mixed states of zero and one). Quantum computers are discussed in the first section of this chapter.

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