Quantum theory baffles even physicists, but it also gives them unprecedented insight into nature-and it can do the same for you, once you understand the fundamentals. Open your mind and broaden your scientific horizons with this 24-lecture course on the quantum world.
Understanding the Quantum World
Open your mind and broaden your scientific horizons as you discover the quantum world is more accessible than you ever imagined.
Rated 5 out of
5
by
coolmatrix71 from
Excellent course
I am truly glad that I bought this course and watched this all the way.
I am not a scientist or a mathematician. I have the basic understanding regarding physics from my high school days. Also I have watched the " Einstein Relativity by Prof Richard Wolfson " prior watching this.
Prof. Carlson does her best in making the audience understand the fundamental concepts in quantum mechanics using brilliant analogies. In my opinion, it is her this approach which has made this course super successful. You only need to have the desire to learn the subject and basic school science for this course.
Another important feature is the explanation of practical usage of quantum mechanics in everyday stuff. This also tune your curiosity regarding the subject.
To improve the course I think, it would have been perfect to add an episode explaining the famous Schrodinger equation ( not to calculate stuff, but to explain the symbols)
Great work Prof Carlson and TGC team!!!!
Date published: 2024-08-26
Rated 5 out of
5
by
Ron on a wave form from
Objective achieved.
I ordered this product to help me understand certain aspects of the quantum world and have found it very helpful in understanding these aspects to a limited extent, which is all I wanted. The program was very well presented but went into far more detail than I required.
Date published: 2024-08-14
Rated 4 out of
5
by
mjbates from
Good lecturer, nice tone
Enjoyed lecture and learned a lot. Some of it I didn't follow, weird world with them thar little quantums. Liked the lecturer she did a great job. Whats with the same pants suit?
Date published: 2024-06-09
Rated 5 out of
5
by
ChrisPAugustine from
GREAT Presentation, Lecturer, Analogies & Examples
The analogies that start in the beginning and work themselves through this course are amazing. Tieing up so many loose ends for me without the mathematics helped me understand wave particle duality (and technically it being no particle). The professor tied up the Heisenberg Uncertainty Equations where they made perfect sense. I love the dive into Chemistry to show ideas about electrons. The other course here on Quantum focused too much on the Many-Worlds-Theory (which I think is bunk). This professor sticks to known facts and mysteries instead of philosophy. Two thumbs up!
Date published: 2024-05-28
Rated 5 out of
5
by
Phudlucky from
Perfect level for non-scientists
I am not a scientist or physics although I have taken physics classes. I am fascinated by scientific leaning. This lecture series was prefect for me. I enjoyed it very much and learned a lot.
Date published: 2024-03-16
Rated 5 out of
5
by
Salt King from
Thoroughly worth the time
My first exposure to quantum theory was as an undergraduate engineering student fifty years ago. The professors were still trying to figure out how to teach a subject that has a lot that is counterintuitive without burying any but the students of theoretical physics in formulae. Dr. Carlson has captured most of that magic in this course. It's full of the concepts without too much in the way of proofs. There is a lot of related material available on You Tube. This course gives context to all of that.
Date published: 2023-11-11
Rated 3 out of
5
by
Nick Mirro from
Bored out of my mind
The backdrop is truly awful and is in fact a distraction. She seems like a nice enough person and is a pretty good explainer. I'm on chapter 3 and I'm struggling to stay with this. It's not at all complicated. It's the super dull analogies that seem to drag on. "So yes you can sit in three chairs at once in a theater." WHAT?
I'm slogging through this because I assume sooner or later it will get interesting as it gets more in depth. Don't take my word for that though.
There are much better explanations on amateur YouTube channels, at least of what I've seen so far. Amazingly, the graphics on those YouTube channels are drastically better!
Date published: 2023-10-04
Rated 5 out of
5
by
Darwin123 from
Highly recommended
The topics are interesting although it could become boring for 30 minutes. Overall, quantum mechanics ideas discussed makes this course highly recommended. Just buy. I wish more videos on this topic.
Date published: 2023-02-19
Overview
About
Erica W. Carlson is a 150th Anniversary Professor and Professor of Physics and Astronomy at Purdue University. She holds a BS in Physics from the California Institute of Technology and a Ph.D. in Physics from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). A theoretical physicist, she researches electronic phase transitions in quantum materials. Widely recognized for her teaching and research, Professor Carlson received the prestigious Cottrell Scholar Award from the Research Corporation for Science Advancement, and she was elected a fellow of the American Physical Society. At UCLA, she won the teaching associate award from the Department of Physics and Astronomy. At Purdue, her honors include the university’s highest teaching prize, the Charles B. Murphy Outstanding Undergraduate Teaching Award, as well as the Ruth and Joel Spira Award for Excellence in Teaching (three times), and the College of Science Award for Outstanding Contributions to Undergraduate Teaching by an Assistant Professor. Professor Carlson has published dozens of research articles in peer-reviewed journals. She has also presented papers at many conferences and been invited to present talks worldwide, on four continents. Her early experiments with podcasting college science courses were featured on the front page of the Chicago Tribune. She is active in outreach, having given science presentations to the public and to students from preschool through high school.
Trailer
01: Particle-Wave Duality
Begin your journey into the quantum world by focusing on one of its most baffling features: the behavior of quantum entities as both particles and waves. Following her approach of presenting analogies over equations, Professor Carlson gives a handy way of visualizing this paradox. Then she takes you further into quantum weirdness by using a slinky to show how waves can be quantized.
25 min
02: Particles, Waves, and Interference Patterns
Investigate one of the most famous demonstrations in physics: the double-slit experiment. See how electrons behave as both particles and waves when passing through two parallel slits in a plate and then striking a screen. Bizarrely, the wave properties disappear when the electrons are monitored as they pass through each slit, showing our inability to have complete information of a quantum state.
26 min
03: Observers Disturb What They Measure
Consider what life would be like if quantum effects held at our everyday scale. For instance, there would be no trouble sitting in three chairs at once! Learn what happens when a particle in such a mixed state is forced by measurement to assume a definite position—a situation known as wave function collapse. This leads to the important quantum principle that observers disturb what they measure.
27 min
04: Bell’s Theorem and Schrödinger’s Cat
Ponder two celebrated and thought-provoking responses to the apparent incompatibility of quantum mechanics and classical physics. Bell’s theorem shows that attempts to reconcile the two systems are futile in a certain class of theories. Next, Schrödinger’s cat is a thought experiment implying that a cat could be both dead and alive if the standard interpretation of quantum mechanics holds.
28 min
05: Quantum Paradoxes and Interpretations
Review the major theories proposed by physicists trying to make sense of the paradoxes of the quantum world. Look at the Copenhagen interpretation, Einstein’s realist view, the many worlds interpretation, quantum Bayesianism, non-local hidden variables, and other creative attempts to explain what is going on in a realm that seems to be governed by probability alone.
32 min
06: The Position-Momentum Uncertainty Relation
Heisenberg's uncertainty principle sets a fundamental limit on how much we can know about an object's position and momentum at the same time. Professor Carlson introduces this simple equation, showing how it explains why atoms have structure and come in the diverse forms of the periodic table of elements. Surprisingly, the stability of our everyday world rests on uncertainty at the quantum level.
30 min
07: Wave Quantization
Electrons don't just orbit the nucleus—they simultaneously exist as standing waves. Go deeper into what standing wave modes look like in one, two, and three dimensions, discovering that these shapes explain the quantization of energy states in an atom. As usual, Professor Carlson introduces useful analogies, including the standing waves produced in a vibrating drum head.
32 min
08: Quantum Wave Shapes and the Periodic Table
Focus on standing waves of electrons around nuclei, seeing how the periodic table of elements results from what electrons do naturally: fall into the lowest energy state given the total electric charge, existing electron population, and other features of an atom. Learn the Pauli exclusion principle and a handy mnemonic for remembering the terminology for atomic orbitals, such as 1s, 2p, 3d, etc.
30 min
09: Interference of Waves and Sloshing States
Watch what happens when electrons are put into wave forms that differ from standing waves. Your goal is to understand why some of these superposition states are unstable. Professor Carlson notes that the sloshing of an electron back and forth in an unstable state causes it to act like an antenna, radiating away energy until it falls to a lower energy level.
29 min
10: Wave Shapes in Diamond and Graphene
What accounts for the dramatic difference between diamond and graphene (a sheet of graphite one atom thick), both of which are composed of pure carbon? Study the role of electrons in molecular bonds, applying your knowledge of electron standing waves. In carbon, such waves make possible several types of bonds, which in diamond and graphene result in remarkably different physical properties.
30 min
11: Harmonic Oscillators
A clock pendulum is an example of a classical harmonic oscillator. Extend this concept to the atomic realm to see how quantum waves behave like harmonic oscillators. Then learn how quantum physics was born at the turn of the 20th century in Max Planck’s solution to a paradox in the classical picture of oscillating atoms. His conclusion was that the energies of oscillation had to be quantized.
32 min
12: The Energy-Time Uncertainty Relation
Return to the Heisenberg uncertainty principle from Lecture 6 to see how quantum uncertainty also extends to energy and time. This has a startling implication for energy conservation, suggesting that short-lived “virtual” particles can pop into existence out of nothing—as long as they don’t stay around for long. Consider evidence for this phenomenon in the Lamb shift and Casimir effect.
29 min
13: Quantum Angular Momentum and Electron Spin
Continue your investigation of the counterintuitive quantum world by contrasting angular momentum for planets and other classical objects with analogous phenomena in quantum particles. Cover the celebrated Stern–Gerlach experiment, which in the 1920s showed that spin is quantized for atoms and can only take on a very limited number of discrete values.
31 min
14: Quantum Orbital Angular Momentum
Having covered electron spin in the previous lecture, now turn to orbital angular momentum. Again, a phenomenon familiar in classical physics relating to planets has an analogue in the quantum domain—although with profound differences. This leads to a discussion of permanent magnets, which Professor Carlson calls “a piece of quantum physics that you can hold in your hand.”
33 min
15: Quantum Properties of Light
Among Einstein’s insights was that light comes in discrete packets of energy called photons. Explore the photoelectric effect, which prompted Einstein’s discovery. See a do-it-yourself project that demonstrates the photoelectric effect. Close by surveying applications of the quantum theory of light to phenomena such as lasers, fluorescent dyes, photosynthesis, and vitamin D production in skin.
36 min
16: Atomic Transitions and Photons
Dive deeper into the interactions of light with matter. Starting with a hydrogen atom, examine the changes in energy and angular momentum when an electron transitions from one orbital to another. See how the diverse possibilities create a “fingerprint” specific to every type of atom, and how this is the basis for spectroscopy, which can determine the composition of stars by analyzing their light.
28 min
17: Atomic Clocks and GPS
Peer into the structure of a cesium atom to see what makes it ideal for measuring the length of a second and serving as the basis for atomic clocks. Then head into space to learn how GPS satellites use atomic clocks to triangulate positions on the ground. Finally, delve into Einstein’s special and general theories of relativity to understand the corrections that GPS must make to stay accurate.
29 min
18: Quantum Mechanics and Color Vision
Probe the quantum events that underlie color vision, discovering the role of the retinal molecule in detecting different frequencies of photons as they strike cone cells in the eye’s retina. Also investigate the source of color blindness, most common in men, as well as its inverse, tetrachromacy, which is the ability to see an extra channel of color information, possessed by some women.
29 min
19: A Quantum Explanation of Color
Now turn to the sources of color in the world around us, from the yellow glow of sodium street lights to the brilliant red of a ruby pendant. Grasp the secret of the aurora, the difference between fluorescence and phosphorescence, and the reason neon dyes look brighter than their surroundings. It turns out that our entire experience of color is governed by the quantum world.
30 min
20: Quantum Tunneling
Anyone who makes use of a memory stick, a solid-state hard drive, or a smartphone relies on one of the most baffling aspects of the quantum world: quantum tunneling. Professor Carlson uses a roller coaster analogy, combined with your newly acquired insight into wave mechanics, to make this feat of quantum sorcery—the equivalent of walking through walls—perfectly logical.
32 min
21: Fermions and Bosons
Investigate why two pieces of matter cannot occupy the same space at the same time, reaching the conclusion that this is only true for fermions, which are particles with half-integer spin. The other class of particles, bosons, with integer spin, can be in the same place at the same time. Learn how this feature of bosons has been exploited in lasers and in superfluids such as liquid helium.
29 min
22: Spin Singlets, Entanglement, and the EPR Paradox
Study the most celebrated challenge to the Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics: the paradox proposed by Albert Einstein and his collaborators Boris Podolsky and Nathan Rosen—later updated by David Bohm. Is quantum mechanics an incomplete theory due to hidden variables that guide the outcome of quantum interactions? Examine this idea and the experiments designed to test it.
29 min
23: Quantum Mechanics and Metals
Analyze how metals conduct electricity, discovering that, in a sense, electrons “surf” from one metal atom to the next on a quantum mechanical wave. Probe the causes of electrical resistance and why metals can never be perfect conductors. Finally, use the Pauli exclusion principle to understand the optimum distribution of electrons in the different quantum states of metal atoms.
31 min
24: Superconductivity
Close with one of Professor Carlson’s favorite topics: superconductivity. As noted in Lecture 23, when electrons flow through a metal, they lose energy to resistance. But this is not true of superconductors, whose amazing properties trace to the difference between bosons and fermions. Learn how quantum stability allows superconductors to conduct electricity with zero resistance, then step back and summarize the high points of your quantum tour.
35 min
