511398 - Elements of modern physics

1) WAVE/PARTICLE DUALITY: Physical theories and primitive ontologies, Planck and the quantum physics, Einstein and the introduction of wave/particle duality, de Broglie: waves and particles, Heisenberg: neither waves nor particles, Schroedinger: only waves, no particles, Born: only particles, no waves, Bohr: waves or particles, Feynman and the quantum double slit, Merli, Missiroli and Pozzi experiment, Bunge: quantons, Pauli: connection between spin and statistics, bosons or fermions, The standard model of elementary particles. 2) UNCERTAINTY RELATIONS: Heisenberg: non-commutativity and uncertainty, the microscope thought experiment; Heisenberg and von Neumann formalisms; Bohr: intrinsic uncertainty X-P and E-t; Kennard: intrinsic uncertainty X-P; Robertsion: generalized intrinsic uncertainty; Pauli, Mandelstam and Tamm, Vaidman: intrinsic uncertainty E-t; Resonances, decays and the Lorentzian distribution; Heisenberg and von Neumann's misunderstanding, Popper's clarification; Collapse of the wave function and the effect of error/disturbance on successive measurements of incompatible observables; Heisenberg: operational uncertainty X-P and E-t; Aharonov and Bohm, Landau: operational uncertainty E-t; Ozawa and Fujikawa: universal uncertainty X-P; Busch, Lahti and Werner: critique of universal uncertainty relations. 3) ATOMIC MODELS: The discovery of the electron, The atomic models of Thomson, Nagaoka and Perrin, Geiger and Marsden: scattering of alpha particles, The Rutherford atomic model, The Bohr atomic model, Successes and limits of the Bohr model, The Sommerfeld atomic model, Franck and Hertz: Atomic excitations with electrons, Moseley: Characteristic X-ray spectra and atomic number, Atomic structure and periodic table, Total angular momentum, normal Zeeman effect, anomalous Zeeman effect, The atom after Schroedinger: from orbits to orbitals. 4) ATOMIC NUCLEI and NUCLEAR INTERACTIONS: Discovery of the neutron, Nuclear properties, The deuteron, Nuclear forces, Nuclear stability, Liquid drop nuclear model, Shell nuclear model, Radioactive decays, Alpha, beta and gamma decays, Radioactive Nuclides, Nuclear reactions, Reaction kinematics, Reaction mechanisms, Fission, Fission reactors, Fusion, Nuclear energy applications. 5) PARTICLE PHYSICS: Early discoveries, The fundamental interactions, Classification of particles: leptons (electron, muon, tau, neutrinos) and hadrons (mesons, baryons), Symmetries and conservation laws, Quarks and the color quantum nember, Families of elementary particles, The standard model, Beyond the standard model, Particle accelerators. 6) ASTROPHYSICS, GENERAL RELATIVITY and COSMOLOGY: Stellar evolution, Galaxies and the Hubble law, The discovery of dark matter, Principles of general relativity, Tests of general relativity, Black holes, Gravitational waves, Evidence for the Big Bang, The Big Bang theory and open problems, The age of the universe, Standard cosmological model, The end of the universe.