Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Department of Mechanical Engineering 6.050J/2.110J – Information, Entropy and Computation – Spring 2008

Unit 10: Physical Systems

Schedule

Lecture Handouts

Students who for any reason did not receive these items can pick up a copy in Room 38-344. Most of this material is also available on the 6.050J/2.110J Web site http://mtlsites.mit.edu/Courses/6.050.

• Unit 10 Resources (this page)
• 6.050J / 2.110J Notes
  • Chapter 10, Physical Systems
  • Andrew M. Steane and Wim van Dam, "Physicists Triumph at Guess My Number," Physics Today, pp. 35-39; February, 2000. A charming introduction to superdense coding, in which the transmission of a classical bit can convey more than a bit of information if the channel is set up in advance using quantum entanglement

Reading Assignment

• Chapter 10, Physical Systems

Resources

Technical

There are many Web sites that discuss quantum mechanics. Naturally, some are better than others, and some assume a higher level of expertise on the part of visitors than others. Here are a few.

• Introduction without math
• Links on interpretation of quantum mechanics
• FAQ about measurements in quantum mechanics
• List of references, including many books
• Google directory on quantum mechanics

Historical

The pioneers of quantum mechanics

• Werner Heisenberg (1901 - 1976) biography
• Erwin Schrödinger (1887 - 1961) biography
• Niels Bohr (1885 - 1962) biography
• Albert Einstein (1879 - 1955) biography
• Paul Dirac (1902 - 1984) biography
• Max Planck (1858 - 1947) biography
• Louis de Broglie (1892 - 1987) biography

Books

• There are many excellent textbooks dealing with quantum mechanics at the graduate or advanced undergraduate level. Unfortunately there is little if anything in the way of good explanations at a simpler level. An excellent set of notes, by MIT faculty, for a graduate course, is P. L. Hagelstein, S. D. Senturia, and T. P. Orlando, "Introductory Applied Quantum and Statistical Physics," Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA; 2000.
• The predictions of quantum mechanics have been verified repeatedly in careful experiments, and the theory has been used effectively in the design of practical systems. Nevertheless, it cannot be explained in terms that are compatible with everyday experience. The field that tries to do this is sometimes called the "philosophy of quantum mechanics." One of the best, most readable books describing the status of such attempts is by John Polkinghorne, "Quantum Theory: A Very Short Introduction," Oxford University Press, Oxford, U. K.; 2002.

Help Wanted

6.050J/2.110J students: be the first to suggest a resource, for example a useful Web site or a good book or article, to add to the list above. Send your suggestion by e-mail during Spring 2008 to 6.050-staff at mit.edu.