College Physics | PHYS 20045

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A.Y. 2023 – 2024 | 3rd Year, 2nd Semester

THEORY OF RELATIVITY o Therefore, Alex’s 1 minute is longer than

CLASSICAL RELATIVITY Bill’s 1 minute

 There is no absolute motion or absolute rest.

Objects move relative to each other.
SPECIAL THEORY OF RELATIVITY: LENGTH
 The earth, sun, and universe are constantly in CONTRACTION
motion, therefore nothing is ever at absolute rest or
absolute motion  Speed = distance/time
 When object moving close to the speed of light, the
EXAMPLE:
object contracts
 Time dilation is not enough to account alone for the
constancy of speed of light

EXAMPLE: (following time dilation example)

 Alex’s set up contracts and becomes “smaller” than

Bill’s allowing for the light beam to travel shorter
A truck is moving at a constant speed of 50mil/hr and two
distance
kids are playing catch aboard the truck with a ball moving at
 This allows for the speed of light to remain
10mil/hr.
constant
 The two kids feel/see that they are standing still
 The two kids, from their perspective sees the ball
moving at 10mil/hr Time dilation and length contraction work together to ensure
 The kid outside the truck observing them will see that the speed of light remains the same.
the ball as moving at 60mil/hr
Spacetime – space and time is seen as one entity

SPECIAL THEORY OF RELATIVITY: TIME

DILATION TIME TRAVEL

 The speed of light is the same for everyone  Time slows down for objects traveling close to the
 Time slows down speed of light and time stops for objects traveling at
the speed of light
 Speed = distance/time
o To cover greater distance, time must slow  Time must go backward for objects traveling faster
than speed of light
down
o Time is not a fixed unit and moves
relatively
GENERAL THEORY OF RELATIVITY
EXAMPLE:
 The theory only works for circumstances when
 The beam of light in the moving things move at constant speed through the universe
set up can be seen as moving a  Objects warp spacetime around it, causing it to
greater distance (because it is become curved, as a result objects experience
traveling) gravitational attraction to each other
 The speed of light is the same
for both boys, and the beam of
light touches the bottom mirror
at the same time (even though
Alex’s light must travel longer
because of the greater distance)
 Time dilation happened when Alex’s time slowed
down in order for the light to travel a greater
distance
 The warping of spacetime explains how objects
 Speed = distance/time
behave as they move through space
o In order for speed to remain constant,
when the distance increases, the time must
also “increase”

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College Physics | PHYS 20045
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A.Y. 2023 – 2024 | 3rd Year, 2nd Semester

HOW DO WE KNOW ITS TRUE?  You (Reference A) waiting for a friend (Reference
B) on a train moving in a vacuum at half speed of
 Modern GPS uses the theory to pinpoint location light
accurately
 B is sitting at top the train with a headlight
 In 1971
o Experiment with four (4) accurate atomic
clocks
o It was set to the exact same time as a
reference time and were in sync
o The clocks were placed aboard
commercial flights and flew twice around
the world, first eastward and then
westward
o When the clocks returned and were
compared to the reference clock, the
clocks were no longer synchronized  B sees the headlight moving away from him. A
 Differences were consistent with sees the headlight moving at 1½ speed (train +
the predictions of special and light)
general relativity o But light’s speed is constant and is
therefore still moving at the speed light

TIME DILATION:
SPECIAL RELATIVITY
 Proposed by Albert Einstein in 1905
 Explains the behavior of things that move very fast
 Called “special” as it only applies to specific
situations where the different frames of reference
aren’t accelerating
o Called Inertial Reference Frames
 Built around two main postulates:
o The Laws of Physics are the same in all
 B sees the light to travel to and back for a total of
inertial reference frames
10m
o The speed of light in a vacuum is the same
for all observers
 Speed of light is always constant
o Therefore the two variables (time and
distance) will have to change
o Time Dilation
 Occurs when another reference
frame is moving relative to
another
 Time in that reference frame
slows down relative to the time
another measures
o Length Contraction  A sees the light travel diagonally and travel a
 If something is moving relative to greater distance in comparison to B
A, its length in the direction it’s  Special relativity says that the speed of light is the
moving will seem shorter than it same for both A and B even though A measured
would if it wasn’t moving longer
 SIMULTANEITY  Time is slower for people in the moving reference
o What is simultaneous to A may not be frame
simultaneous to B
o Time can pass differently for people
depending on their frame of reference SIMULTANEITY:

 If a lightning struck the train simultaneously from

EXAMPLES: A’s perspective, B might not see it simultaneously

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 By the time the lightning has struck, B has already HISTORY

moved past A in the platform
 Classical Physics (Before 1900)
 B first sees the lightning struck the front before it
o Classical Mechanics – motion of objects
struck the back even though both light(ning)
traveled in the same speed based upon Newton’s Law of Motion
o Electrodynamics – describe radiation
based on Maxwell’s four equations
o Thermodynamics – describe the flow of
LENGTH CONTRACTION:
heat
 As the train moves past A, the 100m train might  First quarter of 20th century (1900-1925)
seem shorter challenges:
o Relativistic Front
 Newton’s Laws of Motion no
longer applies to relativistic
QUANTUM MECHANICS AND CLASSICAL speeds (speeds close to the speed
MECHANICS of light)
THREE (3) GENERAL TYPES OF MECHANICS: o Microscopic Front
 Classical physics cannot explain
CLASSICAL MECHANICS the dynamics of subatomic
 Studying motion focuses on the center of mass particles
 Center of mass – considered to represent all the  Important Events (1900-1925):
mass of the body o 1900: Blackbody Radiation (Max Planck)
 Example:  Where quantum mechanics
o A pen placed atop a flat surface has its formally began
o 1905: Photoelectric Effect (Albert
center of mass in the middle
o If the pen is slide across the surface to the Einstein)
o 1911: Discovery of the Atomic Nucleus
edge, the center of the mass shifts and
causes the pen to fall (E. Rutherford)
 Most important equation is Newton’s Second Law o 1913: The Model of Hydrogen Atom
of Motion (Neils Bohr)
o 1923: The Compton Effect (A. Compton)
dp o 1923: The Matter Waves (Louis de
F=
dt Broglie)
o 1925: The Quantum Pictures (E.
 Describes the world to be deterministic where the Schrodinger and W. Heisenberg)
entire future course is predefined  Pictures of Quantum Mechanics:
o Heisenberg Pictures
 aka Matrix mechanics
STATISTICAL MECHANICS  Dynamic quantities (position,
momentum, energy) are
 Studies motion through each and every described using matrices
particle/matter making up an object o Schrodinger Pictures
 Generally deals with averages and approximations  aka Wave mechanics
 Equation: Bowman’s (?) entropy formula  Describes using differential
equations
S= K log w
 More intuitive than Heisenberg

QUANTUM MECHANICS
QUANTUM MECHANICS
 Based on the assumption that the world is  Attempts to explain the behavior of subatomic
probabilistic and events take place at random particles at the nanoscopic level
chances  One of the most successful branches of physics
 Most important quantity: state of the system or
wave(?) function
 Equation: Schrodinger’s Wave Equation or ____?
PARTICLE
 Electron – orbits the nucleus of atoms

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o Nucleus is made-up move to other o Means electrons leap from one orbit to
particles namely protons and neutrons another without inhabiting the space in
o Elementary particle between
o One of the fundamental constituents of the  There are places within the atoms that electrons are
universe more likely to be and other places where it won't
 Protons and neutrons are made up of other particles
called quarks
o Elementary particles PARTICLES BEHAVE LIKE WAVES
o Held together by gluons DOUBLE SLIT
 Produces the strong force that EXPERIMENT
holds the quarks together  Particles display both
 Produces strong force that holds particle- and wave-
protons and neutrons within the like behavior
nuclei  A gun shoots tennis
balls one by one at a
detector that registers
where the balls land. In between the detector and
gun, a barrier with two slits is placed
o A pattern of tennis balls landing exactly
behind the slits were formed
 In a subatomic level, however, when electrons
where shot one by one, the pattern is different:
o The electrons
FOUR FORCES
landed behind
 Strong Force
the two slits
 Weak Force
and also in
 Electromagnetic Force narrow strips
 Gravity across the
length of the
detector
o A significant number of electrons landed
exactly behind the middle of the barrier
THE STANDARD MODEL OF ELEMENTARY
 Interference pattern and is associated with the
PARTICLES
behavior of waves
describes how all elementary particles and forces in the
o If a peak and trough (of a wave) meets, it
universe behave
cancels out each other

THE ACT OF MEASUREMENT

 When detectors were placed beside the slits in
order to record the event, the particles lost the
QUANTUM LEAP wave-like behavior and went through one or other
 Energy can only be released and absorbed in slit
discreet indivisible units called quanta  Also, when detectors when placed in between the
 Electrons have and move in fixed orbits around the slits and detector, assuming that electrons have split
nucleus as energy comes in discreet amounts in wave-like motion as they passed the slits,
 When electrons get excited or deexcited, it will electrons were still detected only behind each slit
absorb or emit a specific quanta of energy  In any attempt to record the interference pattern,
the particles loses its wave-like motion and only
appears behind the slits

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 Entangled properties have the opposite properties

or states
THE SUPERPOSITION PRINCIPLE
 A pair of entangled particles could be separated by
 While an electron is not measured for its position,
an entire universe and when one particle is
it is in all possible positions/states it can be in at the
observed, its superposition will collapse and
same time
immediately collapse the superposition of the other
 When observed, the superposition collapses and
 Einstein did not like the explanation of quantum
the electron chooses one position/state
mechanics for entangled particles
o Stated that when particles were entangled
is has already been decided what
SCHRODINGER’S CAT (property) each of the particle will have
 A cat is placed in a covered box with a radioactive  However, Einstein’s explanation broke down and
sample that has a 50% chance of killing and the QM remain consistent with the results of the
decaying the cat experiment
 While the box is covered, no one has an idea
whether the cat is dead or alive
o In a sense, the cat is dead, alive, (and
QUANTUM TUNNELING
dying) all at the same time while the box
 Particles have the ability to cross barriers they
is covered
should not be able to due to its wave-like function
 Particles are in all the states it could possibly be in
simultaneously until it is observed

o The probability of finding the particle in

the other side of the barrier is low but not
zero
o The particle can tunnel itself to the other
side of the barrier
 Responsible for nuclear fusions in the sun

THE MANY WORLDS THEORY

 Every time there is one or
more possible option
available for the universe,
the universe splits and
creates copies where all
possible outcomes come
true  Hydrogen nuclei, made up of protons, repels each
 States that anything that other although the presence of a large amount of
can happen, does happen heat/energy allows to overcome this barrier and
 QM states that before measuring, particles are in fuse the atoms
every state in could be in and only collapses into o Though the sun is not hot enough to
one state once recorded overcome the barrier
 MW Theory states that when measurement o In cases, some atoms tunnel through the
happens, the electrons will collapse to all of the barrier and fuse with the other atom
states but different worlds will observe different
results
WHY DO WE ACCEPT QUANTUM MECHANICS?
 The predictions of QM have proved so reliable that
QUANTUM ENTANGLEMENT experimental evidence cannot be ignored
 Occurs when two particles become connected in  The entire electronics industry is built upon using
such a way that when the property of one particle is the quantum theory
changed, an instantaneous change in the property of o Led to creation of lasers, transistors, and
the other particle occur integrated circuit
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o Laws of Motion
o Law of Universal Gravitation
THE FUTURE OF QUANTUM MECHANICS
 Quantum Computer
o Still being developed
HISTORY AND MAJOR CHALLENGES
 Teleportation
o Using quantum entanglement Before the year 1900, physics was comprised of three major
o Two particles (A and B)are entangled and fields:
separated by a large distance
o A third particle (T) is introduced and the 1. Classical Mechanics – explains the motion of the
particle to be teleported objects around us
o T interacts with A and the quantum state 2. Electrodynamics – describes radiation
of T with A is learned (information) which 3. Thermodynamics – describes the flow of heat
is then sent to where B is being kept
o As A and B are entangled, the information The three fields of physics could explain almost everything
about how the quantum state of T relates around, so physicists thought they had pretty much figured
to A will also reveal how T relates B out everything.
o B will then be manipulated to replicate the However, in the first quarter of the 20th century (1900 to
quantum state of T, becoming an exact 1925), classical physics experienced major challenges:
copy of T
o T will then be destroyed as its information  On the relativistic front: in 1905 Albert Einstein
is copied, and sent across figured out that Newton's laws of motion are no
longer valid at relativistic speeds (speeds close to
the speed of light).
o Led to the formulation of the theories of
relativity
 On the microscopic front: classical physics cannot
explain the dynamics at the microscopic level
o Led to the development of quantum
o Although not impossible, it is improbable physics was

QUANTUM MECHANICS AND GENERAL RELATIVITY

RELATIVITY INCOMPATIBILITY  Main Proponent: Albert Einstein
 QM describes space and time as being quantized o Theory of Special Relativity
while General Relativity describes space and time  Predicts that the speed of light is
as a smooth continuum constant for all observers
 String Theory  States that energy and matter are
o Attempts to resolve the incompatibility different aspects of the same
o And attempts to find the illusive theory of thing (E=mc2)
everything o Theory of General Relativity
 Space and time are part of the
same fabric (spacetime)
 The force of gravity comes from
KINEMATICS: Theories of Relativity objects-bending spacetime,
THE THREE FIELDS OF PHYSICS making other objects fall in
towards them

QUANTUM PHYSICS
Before Planck, physicists thought energy was a kind of
continuous flow. But it turned out that energy could exist in
discrete packets called quanta.

Max Planck

CLASSICAL PHYSICS  Max Planck’s Law

 Main Proponent: Isaac Newton  Electromagnetic energy takes the form of quanta –
tiny, discrete packets
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o At a certain point, energy cannot be o Frames of reference in constant,

divided into anything smaller than these unchanging motion (non-accelerating
packets observers)
 Published General Theory in 1915, which applies
Albert Einstein
to frames that are accelerating with regard to each
 Argued that light energy travel in packets called other
photons
o Makes light behave like a particle
 Suggested an experiment involving photoelectric TWO KEY CONCEPTS
effect 1. Objects move relative to each other
 As long as an object is moving in a
straight line at a constant speed (with no
SUB-FIELDS OF QUANTUM PHYSICS acceleration), the laws of physics are the
same for everyone
 Atomic Theory
 The natural world allows no “privileged”
 Condensed matter physics
frames of reference
 Nuclear physics
 There is no such thing as absolute motion
 Particle physics
or absolute rest
 Quantum field theory
2. Speed of light is the same for all observers
o All of quantum physics combined with the
 Time dilates and length contracts because
special theory of relativity
light always travels at the same speed
o Doesn’t include gravity – unknown how to
(speed of light is constant)
join together quantum physics and general
 Einstein found that space and time were
theory of relativity
interwoven into a single continuum known
as spacetime
 E=mc2 implies that “mass and energy are
THEORIES OF RELATIVITY different manifestations of the same thing”
PRIOR TO EINSTEIN: o As an object approaches the
speed of light, its mass becomes
 Newton’s laws were used to understand the physics
infinite (increases) and it is
of motion
unable to go any faster than light
o Wrote that gravity affects everything in
travels
the universe
 Newton saw space and time as fixed.
o Scientists believed that space was filled
with ether that would cause the speed of NEW CONCEPTS OF SPACE & TIME
light to change depending on the relative 1. Time Dilation
motion of the source and the observer  Time does not pass at the same rate for
everyone
 Means that time moves more slowly when
THEORIES OF RELATIVITY APPEARED: one is moving, than when one is standing
still
 Gave physicists a new understanding of space and
2. Length Contraction
time
 A fast-moving object appears shorter
 Showed that space and time were fluid and
along the direction of motion, relative to a
malleable (in contrast with Newton)
slow-moving one
 When objects appear shorter the faster
they are moving in relation to the observer
THE THEORY OF SPECIAL RELATIVITY  Occurs as objects reach very high speeds
 There is no fixed frame of reference in the universe
(Einstein) Special relativity tells us that when it comes to light, speed
o Claimed the ether did not exist is always constant. Which would mean that the other two
 Reference point where all motion variables would have to change – time and distance for the
occurred speed of light to remain constant. When time changes, that’s
o Everything is moving relative to called time dilation, and when distance changes, that’s
everything else called length contraction. Time dilation occurs when
 Known as “special” because it applies only to another reference frame is moving relative to you, so time in
“special” cases

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College Physics | PHYS 20045
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A.Y. 2023 – 2024 | 3rd Year, 2nd Semester

that reference frame slows down relative to the time you causing earth and other planets to move in
measure. curved paths (orbits) around it

3. Mass and energy are different manifestations of

the same thing
 E=mc2 means a quantity of energy is
equivalent to a quantity of mass times the
speed of light squared
 Enables the release of a huge amount of
energy from a nuclear explosion
o Because the speed of light is a
big number, even a tiny amount
of mass is equivalent to, and can  Warping affects measurements of time
be converted into — a very large o Just as gravity can stretch or warp space,
amount of energy. That’s why gravity can also dilate time
atomic and hydrogen bombs are o Any object in a big gravity field is
so powerful accelerating, so it will also experience
4. Increased mass time dilation
 As a result of E=mc2, a fast-moving object o Example: If a friend climbs to the top of a
appears to have increased mass relative to mountain, his clock is ticking faster
a slow-moving one. compared to yours; another friend, at the
o Increasing an object’s velocity bottom of a valley, will have a slower-
increases its kinetic energy and, ticking clock, because of the difference in
therefore, its mass (since mass = the strength of gravity at each place
energy)  Spacetime – space and time are part of one
 Increase in mass is the reason that matter continuum
cannot travel faster than light (Einstein) o Can be thought of as a grid or fabric
o Mass increases with velocity o The presence of mass distorts space-time
until the mass becomes infinite  Rubber sheet model is a popular
when it reaches light speed. visualization
o An infinite mass would require  For illustration: imagine setting a large body in the
infinite energy to move, so this is center of a trampoline.
impossible. o The body would press down into the
 Light moves at the speed it does is fabric, causing it to dimple.
because photons, the quantum particles o A marble rolled around the edge would
that make up light, have a mass of zero spiral inward toward the body, pulled in
the same way that the gravity of a planet
pulls at rocks in space.
THE THEORY OF GENERAL RELATIVITY o A massive object (e.g. Sun) bends the
 Determined in 1915 that massive objects cause a spacetime blanket with its gravity, such
distortion in space-time, which is felt by gravity that light no longer travels in a straight
line as it passes by the Sun
 Space has three dimensions, and the fourth
dimension is time.
o More recent theories presume extra
dimensions that we do not perceive. (four-
dimensional spacetime)
 Relativity explains where gravity comes from.
o The rubber sheet model shows that gravity
results from massive objects warping
space-time.
 Essentially a theory of gravity
o The warp is called a gravity well.
o Instead of an invisible force attracting
objects to one another, gravity is a curving
or warping of space.
o The more massive an object, the more it ATOMIC CLOCK EXPERIMENT
warps the space around it  In 1971
o Example: the sun is massive enough to
 Tested by placing precisely synchronized atomic
warp space across the solar system – clocks in airliners and flying them around the world
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A.Y. 2023 – 2024 | 3rd Year, 2nd Semester

 After the timepieces after the planes landed showed  Doppler effect – change in the frequency
that the clocks aboard the airliners were running a of a wave in relation to an observer
tiny bit slower than (less than one millionth of a moving relative to the source of the wave
second) the clocks on the ground o Example: the siren in an
 Disparity resulted from the speed of the planes and emergency vehicle; as the vehicle
their greater distance from the center of Earth’s moves towards an observer,
gravitational field sound waves are compressed, but
as it moves away, the sound
waves are stretched out

5. Universal Speed Limit

 Speed of light in a vacuum (c) is constant
 All light must obey the speed limit of
 The clocks in space tick faster because the (Global 186,000 miles (300,000) kilometers per
Positioning Satellite) GPS satellites are above Earth second
and experience weaker gravity.  Even if two particles of light carry very
 So even though the GPS satellites are moving and different amounts of energy, they will
experience a seven-microsecond slowing every day travel at the same speed
because of their movement (time dilation), the
result of the weaker gravity causes the clocks to
tick about 45 microseconds faster than a ground-
based clock. 6. Black Holes
 Adding the two together results in the GPS satellite  Extremely dense objects from which no
clock ticking faster than a ground-based clock, by light can escape
about 38 microseconds daily  A prediction of general relativity
 Represent the most extreme distortions of
the fabric of space-time
NEW CONCEPTS OF SPACE & TIME
1. Orbiting objects follow the path that is shortest
and requires least amount of energy
 Planets move in ellipses, the most energy-
efficient path in the gravity well of the sun
2. Gravitational Lensing
 Gravity bends light
 When observing a distant galaxy, the
gravity of matter between Earth and the
galaxy causes light rays to be bent into
different paths
o When light reaches the telescope,
multiple images of the same
galaxy appear
3. Gravitational Vortex
 Black hole’s gravity are so intense it make
infalling material “wobble” around them 7. Gravitational Waves
 Black hole’s distortion of space has a  Ripples in space-time created by violent
wobbling effect on material orbiting the events (e.g. collision of 2 black holes)
hole  Hypothesized by Einstein about 100 years
4. Gravitational Redshift ago
 The electromagnetic radiation of an object  In 2016, subtle signal of gravitational
is stretched out slightly inside a waves were detected
gravitational field

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A.Y. 2023 – 2024 | 3rd Year, 2nd Semester

oTraveling for 1.3 billion years,

after two black holes merged in a
cataclysmic event
o By astronomers working with
Laser Interferometer
Gravitational-Wave
Observatory (LIGO)
8. The Sun Delaying Radio Signals
 Planetary exploration showed Einstein to
be right about general relativity
 In 1970, NASA found that, as Einstein
said, there was a delay in the total
roundtrip time because of the Sun’s
gravity

KINEMATICS: Classical & Quantum

9. Proof from Orbiting Earth
Mechanics
 NASA’s Gravity Probe B (2004) – CLASSICAL MECHANICS VS MEQUANTUM
designed to watch Einstein’s theory: MECHANICS
o Earth, a rotating body, should be CLASSICAL MECHANICS
pulling the fabric of space-time  Describes the motion of macroscopic objects
around it as it spins, in addition (projectiles, machinery) and astronomical objects
to distorting light with its gravity (spacecraft, planets, stars, and galaxies)
 In 2011, observed tiny changes in the
 If the present state of an object is known, it is
gyroscope’s directions as a consequence
of Earth
possible to predict by the laws of classical
mechanics how it will move in the future
(determinism) and how it has moved in the
EXPLAIN: THEORY OF RELATIVITY past (reversibility)
1. Time is the 4th dimension.  Earliest development was referred to as Newtonian
2. The faster you move through space, the slower you mechanics
move through time.  Provides accurate results about large but not
3. Gravity is the curvature of space and time extremely massive objects and speeds not
4. Gravity travels in the form of waves. approaching speed of light
5. Light speed remains constant.
6. Time slows down around heavy objects.
QUANTUM MECHANICS

 Studies objects about the size of an atom

 Special Relativity – describe velocities not small
compared to speed of light
 General Relativity – extremely massive objects
 Energy, momentum, and other quantities of a
system may be restricted to discrete values
(quantization)
 Objects have characteristics of both particles and
waves (wave-particle duality)
 There are limits to the precision with which
quantities can be known (uncertainty principle)

CLASSICAL QUANTUM
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A.Y. 2023 – 2024 | 3rd Year, 2nd Semester

MECHANICS MECHANICS
Studies Larger Extremely small
motion of (macroscopic) (microscopic) particles
particles
Basis - Newton’s Law of - Planck’s Quantum
Motion (1686) Theory (1900)
- Maxwell’s - Einstein’s Theory of
Electromagnetic Relativity (1905)
Theory of Light - de Broglie
(1865) Hypothesis (1924)
- Schrodinger’s Wave
Equation (1926)
- Heisenberg’s
Uncertainty Principle
(1927)  Light emitted by an atom looks like a barcode
Idea Future is World is probabilistic; o Each bar of light corresponds to an
deterministic events take place at
electron jumping from a wave with a high
random chance
Absorption Continuous Discontinuous energy to one with a lower energy
and emission (quantization) o At the same time, emitting a quantized
of energy photon of light
Light Wave Dual nature (wave-
particle duality) STANDARD PARTICLE MODEL
Mass of body Constant; remains Increases during  Developed to describe macroscopic objects’ non-
the same whether motion
observable properties, characteristics and
body is at rest or in
motion interactions
Length of Constant; length Decreases during  Fundamental Particles
Body stays the same motion (length o Basic building blocks making up
whether body is at contraction) everything in the universe
rest or in motion
o Governed by four fundamental forces (the
Time Absolute Relative and passes
slowly in moving strong force, the weak force, the
frame of reference electromagnetic force, and the
(time dilation) gravitational force)
Position and Can be determined Cannot be determined  Links the matter-energy conversions, with the help
momentum of simultaneously with simultaneously with
particles accuracy accuracy (uncertainty
of Quarks, Leptons, Gauge Bosons and Higgs
principle) Boson
Low energy Cannot penetrate Can penetrate high  Describes how all the elementary particles and
particle high energy barrier energy barrier forces in the universe behave, apart from gravity
(tunneling effect)

QUANTUM MECHANICS
THE NAME “QUANTUM”
 “Quantum” is a discrete natural unit, or packet of
energy
 Atomic spectra
o atoms give off light with specific discrete
energies (said to be quantized)
o one of the first quantum effects people
saw
 The electron-wave is constrained by the atom and
quantized to certain wavelengths.
o Short wavelength has a high energy
o Long wavelength has a lower energy
An atom is made up of:

 Fermion
o Quarks
 Up
 Down
 Charm

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College Physics | PHYS 20045
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A.Y. 2023 – 2024 | 3rd Year, 2nd Semester

 Strange QUANTUM THEORY +/- GENERAL THEORY OF

 Top RELATIVITY
 Bottom  Combining the quantum theory (for micro world)
o Leptons and general theory (for macro world) in a single
Electron
 framework is difficult
Muon
 o No two mathematically compatible
Tau
 context of the Standard Model has ever
 Electron neutrino been made
 Muon neutrino  For particle physics, however, the effect of gravity
 Tau neutrino is so weak as to be negligible
 Boson or gauge boson o So the Standard Model still works well
despite the exclusion of gravity
Protons and neutrons are made up of quarks and quarks are
o Only when matter is in bulk (i.e. human
held together by gluons.
body or of the planet) does the effect of
Electrons, on the other hand, are made up of leptons. gravity dominate

The force carrier particles (bosons or gauge bosons):

 Gluons NEW CONCEPTS OF QUANTUM MECHANICS

o Particles 1. Quantum Leap
o Produces the strong force that holds the  In the early 19th century it was
quarks together theorized that at the sub-atomic level,
o Holds the protons and neutrons together energy can only be released and
by mediating the strong force between absorbed in discreet indivisible units
them
called quanta. This means electrons
 Photons
have fixed orbits around the nucleus
 W and Z bosons
 Higg’s boson of the atom as their energy comes in
 Graviton – hypothetical particle that mediates the discrete amounts
gravitational force  When the electron gets excited or de-
excited they will absorb or emit a
Particles like electrons and quarks can be thought of as
creating matter and the particles like gluons we can think of
specific quanta of energy which will
as creating the forces. mean they leap from one orbit to
another without inhabiting the space
in between, this is called the quantum
THE FOUR FUNDAMENTAL FORCES leap
 Gravity 2. Double-Slit Experiment
o Weakest but has an infinite range  Refer to “Particles Behave Like Waves”
o Not part of the Standard Model because it 3. The Measurement Problem
is hard to fit into the framework  Refer to “The Act of Measurement”
4. The Superposition Principle
The following three results from the exchange of force  Wave can be made by adding, or
carrier particles (bosons). Particles of matter transfer superimposing two waves
discrete amounts of energy by exchanging bosons with each
 Superposition – means adding together of
other.
waves
 Electromagnetic force  Refer to “The Superposition Principle”
o Has infinite range but stronger than
gravity
o Carried by the “photon”
 Weak Forces
o Much stronger than gravity
o From W and Z bosons
 Strong Forces
o Strongest of all four
o Carried by the “gluon”

5. Schrödinger's Equation
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A.Y. 2023 – 2024 | 3rd Year, 2nd Semester

 Erwin Schrodinger directions of measurement when

 Find out the probability of the electron being in the particles were entangled
a particular location 10. Quantum Tunnelling
 Particles have a probability of moving
through barriers, essentially allowing
things like electrons to pass through walls
 When a wavefunction meets a barrier, it
decays exponentially in the barrier
 If the barrier is narrow enough, the wave-
function will exist on the other side
meaning there is a probability of the
 On the detector screen, most of the particle being found there when a
electrons landing in the places where the measurement is made
electrons wave is at its most intense.
 Refer to “Quantum Tunneling”
o As if the electron is not in a fixed
11. The Quantum Computer
position but has different
 The future of quantum mechanics
probabilities of being in many
 Currently being developed
different places at once
 Harnessing a particle’s ability to be in
6. The Many Worlds Theory or Parallel Universe’s
many states at once = multiple processes
Theory
can be executed simultaneously increasing
 Refer to “The Many Worlds Theory”
our computing power
7. Quantum Entanglement
12. Quantum Teleportation
 Involves quantum particles interacting
 Refer to “Teleportation”
with each other at speeds faster than the
 Trying to transfer immense data of a
speed of light
human would take upwards of a
 Measuring the property of one particle can
quadrillion years
instantly tell you the property of another
particle, no matter how far away they are
 Refer to “Quantum Entanglement”
8. Spooky Action at a Distance CLASSICAL MECHANICS
 Phenomena where entangled particles  The mathematical science that studies the
communicate with a speed faster than the displacement of bodies under the action of forces
speed of light, something that Einstein's  Investigates the motion of objects in our everyday
theory of special relativity ruled out. life
 When the particles were entangled it was
decided what states they would each have
when measured in any given direction and HISTORY
there was no communication happening Aristotle’s Contribution
between the two particles when they were
measured, after they had been separated  Thought that objects tended to stay at rest unless
9. Bell’s Theorem the force is acted upon them
 Quantum mechanics vs Einstein's  Described the motion of arrow i.e. the air went
explanation for Spooky action at a around the arrow and pushed it forward
distance  Claimed that free fall and heavenly motion were
 Professor John Bell exceptions
 Came up with an experimental way to test Galileo’s Contribution
whether quantum mechanics or Einstein's
more classical explanation worked when it  Initiated the modern era of mechanics by using
came to explaining the results entangled mathematics to describe the motion of bodies
particles gave when measured for their  Published in 1623, introduced the concepts of force
spins. and described the constant accelerated motion of
 Results showed that: objects near the surface of the Earth
o Einstein's explanation broke
down Newton’s Contribution
o Predictions made by quantum  Formulated the Laws of Motion, and published in
mechanics were consistent with 1687
experimental results  Solved the greatest scientific problem of his time
o The spin of the particles were not by applying his Universal Law of Gravitation to
defined specifically in all determine the motion of planets
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A.Y. 2023 – 2024 | 3rd Year, 2nd Semester

 Led to a great century of applications of the QUANTUM PHYSICS

principles of Newtonian mechanics
 Examples:
Euler’s Contribution o Computers
o Photodetectors
 Began a systematic study of the three dimensional
o Light emitting diodes
motion of rigid bodies
o Lasers
 Led to a set of dynamical equations now known as
o Nuclear power
Euler’s Equations of Motion
 Describes the smallest things in the world
Concept of Energy o Atoms
o Subatomic particless
 Culminated in the middle of the nineteenth century
o Molecules
in the discovery of the principle of conservation of
 Wavefunction – everything (proton, neutrons, etc.)
energy and its immediate applications to the laws
is describe as waves
of thermodynamics
o Not physically real
Development of Continuum Mechanics o Abstract mathematical waves
o Position = amplitude^2
 The experimental methodology and mathematical
 Gives the probability
tools of Newtonian mechanics were applied to
distribution that tells where an
other non-rigid systems of particles leading to the
electron is most probably like to
development of continuum mechanics
be
 The theories of fluid mechanics, wave mechanics,
and electromagnetism emerged

Development of the Wave Theory of Light

 The theories of fluid mechanics, wave mechanics,

and electromagnetism lead to the development of
the wave theory of light
 However, there were many perplexing aspects of
the wave theory of light
o Example: Does light propagate through a
medium, called the “ether.”

Limitations of Newtonian Mechanics

 Seems like there is a quantum realm and the real
 Einstein was able to resolve the apparent conflicts world
between optics and Newtonian mechanics (through o Quantum realm – where particles behave
Theory of Special Relativity) like waves
 A second limitation on the validity of Newtonian o Measuring collapses the wave-like
mechanics appeared at the microscopic length scale characteristics and therefore only a
particle is seen in the real world
Development of General Relativity
 Double-slit experiment
 th
In the 20 century
 Newton’s Universal Law of Gravitation no longer
accurately modeled the observed universe and
needed to be replaced by General Relativity

THREE SUBFIELDS
 Kinematics – implications of observed motions of
objects without reference to the forces which cause
the motion
 Dynamics – study of motion and its relation to
forces; study of motion along with the factors that
cause motion
 Statics – forces in equilibrium; study of
equilibrium and its relation to force  Superposition

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Polytechnic University of The Philippines Sto. Tomas Campus | Office of The Vice President for Branches and Campuses
A.Y. 2023 – 2024 | 3rd Year, 2nd Semester

 Proposed and proved that as energy increases,

frequency increases
 But upon reaching the ultraviolet spectrum,
 Entanglement frequency started dropping
o Waves become extremely linked and  The higher the energy, the higher the frequency,
remain connected but only to a peak before it starts (going down)
o Non-locality – link between two particles  Resolved by Max Planck: Plank’s Law
that stretches over an indefinite distance o Led to the establishment of quantum
mechanics

PLANCK’S LAW

 Electromagnetic energy takes the form of tiny

 Quantum Tunneling discrete packets (quanta)
o Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle  At some point, energy cannot divided into anything
 Energy Quantization smaller than these packets
o Quanta – packet  E = hf
o Visualization: o E – energy of photon
 A string tied at both ends can o h – Planck’s constant
only have waves that exist in  6.626 x 10^-34 m^2 x kg/s
certain ways o f – frequency

 In this situation, we may say that

 energy definition throughout the years:
the wave is “quantized”
o The same thing happens to electrons in an
atom
 The electron wave is constrained
by the atom and quantized to
certain wavelengths
 Short wavelengths = high energy
o This is why the light emitted by an atom
looks like a bar code
 Each bar corresponds to an
electron jumping from a wave
with a high energy to one with a
lower energy and at the same
time emitting a quantized photon  Einstein: light energy traveled in packets (photons)
 The light from an atom is  Photoelectric Effect
quantized  Both wave theory and particle theory of light
predict that light knocks electrons out of the metal

WHAT IS LIGHT?

Ultraviolet Catastrophe

 Blackbody
 Rayleigh-Jeans Law

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Polytechnic University of The Philippines Sto. Tomas Campus | Office of The Vice President for Branches and Campuses
A.Y. 2023 – 2024 | 3rd Year, 2nd Semester

 Increasing intensity of light, increases the number  Study of quantities such as momenta can be
of electrons ejected, but does not affect the considered
maximum KE  Area of study used in: Applied Mathematics,
 The higher the instensity from the cutoff, the higher Mechanical Engineering
the max KE  Properties: analysis of the forces operating upon
 Photons exist. Light travels in discrete packets and any moving body, torques, moments of inertia, and
behaves like a particle angular momenta
 Wave-Particle Duality

HISTORY OF CLASSICAL MECHANICS

CLASSICAL MECHANICS

- Mathematical science that studies the displacement

bodies under the action of forces

HISTORY (refer to History)

INTRODUCTION TO CLASSICAL MECHANICS

 Studies the motion of objects

 Distinguishes 3 Types of Motion:
o Translational – box sliding across a tilted
surface
o Rotational – rotating objects
o Vibrational – between masses connected
by a spring

KINEMATICS

 Concerned with questions of “how does it move?”

o Describe situation at any given time
 Concepts: position, velocity, acceleration

DYNAMICS

 Concerned with why objects move the way they do

o “Why does it move?”
 Concepts: force, torque, Newton’s law of motions

STATICS

 Situations when nothing moves, studies forces in

equilibrium
o Objects may get bent or deformed but
nothing moves

DIFFERENCES BW KINEMATICS & DYNAMICS

Kinematics – concerned with the motion of objects

(particles and bodies) without reference to the forces which
cause the motion

 Do not deal with the causes of motion; simply

making a calculation with regards to kinematic
quantities
 Areas of study used in: Displacement, Velocity,
Acceleration
 Properties: properties of motion only, such as
velocity, displacement, and acceleration

Dynamics – study motion along with factors that cause the

motion; involve masses and forces

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