Modern Physics

Modern Physics is where the clean Newtonian picture from PHYS 101/102 breaks down and you start reasoning about a universe that is relativistic at high speeds and quantized at small scales. You'll work through Einstein's two postulates, the experiments that forced physicists to abandon classical intuitions, and then spend most of the semester solving the Schrödinger equation in one-dimensional bound and unbound problems before extending it to the hydrogen atom, spin, and statistical mechanics. Expect weekly problem sets, quizzes, a couple of midterms, lab work, and a term project; the payoff is the conceptual toolkit every later course in atomic, condensed matter, nuclear, and particle physics quietly assumes you already own.