Invitation to Quantum Mechanics

Synoptic Contents
Welcome
``Something Isn't Quite Right"
	Light in thermal equilibrium: Blackbody radiation
	Photoelectric effect
	Wave character of electrons
	How does an electron behave?
	Quantization of atomic energies
	Quantization of angular momentum
	Multi-electron atoms
What is Quantum Mechanics About?
	Quantization
	The conundrum of projections
	Interference
	Aharonov-Bohm effect
	Light on the atoms
	Entanglement
	Quantum cryptography
	What is a qubit?
Forging Mathematical Tools
	What is a quantal state?
	Amplitude
	Reversal-conjugation relation
	Establishing a phase convention
	How can I specify a quantal state?
	States for entangled systems
	Are states ``real''?
	What is a qubit?
The Quantum Mechanics of Position
	Probability and probability density: One particle in one dimension
	Probability amplitude
	How does wavefunction change with time?
	Amplitude density: Two particles
	Solving the Schrödinger time evolution equation for the infinite square well
	What did we learn by solving the Schrödinger time evolution equation for the infinite square well?
	Other potentials
	Energy loss
	Mean values
	The classical limit of quantum mechanics
	Transitions induced by light
	Position plus spin
Solving the Energy Eigenproblem
	Sketching energy eigenfunctions
	Scaled quantities
	Numerical solution of the energy eigenproblem
Identical Particles
	Two or three identical particles
	Symmetrization and antisymmetrization
	Consequences of the Pauli principle
	Consequences of the Pauli principle for product states
	Energy states for two identical, noninteracting particles
	Spin plus space, two electrons
	Spin plus space, three electrons, ground state
Atoms
	Central potentials in two dimensions
	Central potentials in three dimensions
	The hydrogen atom
	The helium atom
	The lithium atom
	All other atoms
	The periodic table
The Vistas Open to Us
Appendix A Significant Figures
Appendix B Dimensions
Appendix C Catalog of Misconceptions
Appendix D Problem Solving Tips and Techniques