Objectives and Homework for September 15, 2005.
[1] Understand what is meant by a wavepacket, and understand how wavepackets necessarily lead to uncertainty relations.
[2] Understand what a Fourier Transform is.
[3] Understand the concepts “dispersive medium”, “phase velocity”, and “group velocity”.
[4] Realize that the interpretation of quantum mechanics is a probabilistic one, and realize how probabilities are calculated from matter wave amplitudes.
[5] Know that there exist many sets of complementary variables in nature, all of which satisfy uncertainty relations. Be able to describe the physical origin of such uncertainty relations.
Homework due Friday, September 16, 2005.
[1] Study for Quiz 1, which will cover material from Chapters 2-4 of Thornton & Rex.
[2] Study for Quiz 1. Really!