PH253: HW8 is out

Here you go, due Nov 2. I'll be back in town on Oct. 31 and reading email for last-minute questions, and around on Mon Nov 1 all day.

PH253: help on HW

I uploaded some new files here that will be of great utility.

UPDATE: on problem 3b, those should be x's not r's

Also, some useful bits from hyperphysics:

Hydrogen energies & levels:

http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/hyde.html#c2

Spectrum:

http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/hyde.html#c4

Quantum physics topics:

http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/quacon.html#quacon

Schrodinger & Hydrogen concepts, Wave functions & plots:

http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/quantum/schrcn.html#c1

http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/quantum/hydcn.html#c1
http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/quantum/hydwf.html#c1
http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/hydwf.html#c1

PH253: HW6 solutions

Here.

PH253: HW7 is out.

Here you are. Due friday.

Make your own spectrometer / misc

This is awesome. Cell phone spectrometer ...

In other news: I've been unavoidably detained by advising issues the last day or so, but I will be updating Moodle grades, putting out HW6 solutions, and posting HW7 over the weekend. HW7 will not be due until ~Friday next week since I'm delayed in posting it.

Tuesday, we will look at the angular parts of the hydrogen atom solution we ignored so far, and figure out what p, d, and f orbitals are all about. That will run in to Thursday, but by the end of the week we'll have a good understanding of atomic orbitals, ideally.

PH253: Public talk

Dr. Orzel has been nice enough to post his slides, so if you were not able to make the lecture, you can complete the extra credit assignment by reading his slides and sample book material. Write a page on what you learned.

PH253: Physics help desk

Good news everyone, I've negotiated with the PH10x TAs, and they have agreed that it is OK if you come by the physics help desk for PH253 homework questions.* You can find the help desk hours here. The following TAs explicitly agreed to help with PH253 questions:

Lei Lu, Zachary Burell, Arindam Das, Jason Carson, Chockalingam Sivakumar, Sahar Keshavarz, Christopher Sterpka, Andrea Chaney

I didn't hear back from a few of the TAs when I asked if it was OK for you to come by, but the list above covers most of the available help desk hours. (I said that a lack of response would be construed as a 'yes' on their part though.) I agreed to send them the HW solutions in advance each week so they can better help you.

*Previously, the help desk was only for 100-level physics, but I asked if they would expand their repertoire.

PH253: Unsavory HW6 typo

Indeed, you are right: in problem 1 the width of the well is 2a, not a as I listed originally. The well extends from x=-a to x=a, and has V=0 over that interval. For |x|>a, the potential is infinite. That is why the normalization constant is 1/sqrt(a), not sqrt(2/a).

I've corrected that on the problem set, available at the same place.

Physics tutoring

Two options:

1) I am going to negotiate with the grad students running the physics help desk to let you go to their hours for help. They are only expected to help out with 100-level physics at the moment, but I think they'd be happy to help. Presume you can go to their office hours listed in the link above unless I tell you otherwise ...

2) The physics student society runs study sessions every Sunday evening at 6pm in 109 Gallalee. It is not organized per se, but a group of physics students that get together to work on homework collectively. A lot of them are upper-level students who have already been through PH253, so they can help. I've talked to them, and they are happy to work with anyone who shows up. The main entrance is locked on Sunday, but usually they will have someone manning the quad-side door periodically to let people in. This might be the even better option, sometimes getting some help from someone who was in your position not so long ago is the best.