Brrrrr. It was so cold this morning I had to wipe the Bose-Einstein condensation off the windows. Perhaps more amusing was the sight I saw on the edge of the road this morning on my way into work. The ‘white-line painting crew’ had clearly been out remarking the road. The white line on the left […]
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Why do I need to know about quantum mechanics?
In my last lecture before the Easter break, I spent a bit of time putting the subject matter into a broader context for the students. It was a second year lecture in our short paper on ‘Quantum and Solid State Physics’. The paper is mostly taken by electronic engineering (the majority) and physics students. It’s […]
Continue readingBenefits of student assignments
I spent a large fraction of last week marking assignments. I’m currently teaching three different papers, and, due to a major lack of concentration on my part, I managed to set each class an assignment that was due on the same day. To be useful for students, assignments need to be marked rapidly, which meant […]
Continue readingQuantum interference
I’ve just put an order in for a new piece of lab equipment – an experimental set-up that will allow students to carry out the two-slit, one-photon experiment. This is one of the ‘classic’ experiments of quantum mechanics – showing just how strangly small things behave. Interference patterns are commonly observable when you have two […]
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