Wednesday, March 31, 2010

PH253: Thursday's plan

Thursday, we'll go over the variational method for bonding again, and do a couple of examples to show you how the method really works. Today (Tuesday) we went over the general scheme for molecular orbitals, we'll expand on that to figure out how simple hydrocarbons and such things work.

From this we'll find the pi and sigma orbitals you've probably heard so much about in Chemistry class, the basis for starting organic chemistry. From there, we'll be able to figure out some methods for handling a whole solid's worth of atoms and the electronics properties of metals, semiconductors, and insulators. With a few more details, next week we'll be calculating the properties of realistic materials.

In other news, I'll be posting some heavy-duty homework hints on Wednesday to get you started, and we'll do a couple of problems in class on Thursday.

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