Outline
due Friday 9 March 12:20 pm
Paper
due Friday 30 March 12:20 pm
Papers should be
submitted through Spark!
Log in
to http://spark.oit.umass.edu/
using your OIT computer account and click on the "Assignments" menu
item
Assignments. Acceptable formats are MSWord, PDF,
postscript, plain text (.txt) or rich text format (.rtf). In the event
of technical difficulties,
bring a paper copy to class before the deadline and we will accept that.
The midterm paper should be five to eight pages of text (typed), on a
topic taken from the lectures and/or the readings. It should be
researched from the lectures, the readings and other sources. Several
suggestions for topics are given below, although you can choose a
separate topic yourself, as long as you clear it with me first. The
paper should be framed in your own words, demonstrating your own
understanding of the subject. A discussion that simply parrots what is
said in the text or in class will receive a lower grade. An "A" paper
should demonstrate thinking or research at a slightly deeper level than
what was explicitly discussed in class. Above all, the complete
scientific
explanation of your subject is most important. A paper that only
describes, but does not explain the science will receive a lower grade.
All sources should be identified and properly cited. Your TAs and I are
available to
talk over any details of the paper you wish.
The outline for the paper is due 3 weeks before
the paper itself, and will be graded as a weekly assignment. The
outline
should be two or three pages long. It should identify all the main
themes
in the paper and should describe the structure of the paper explicitly.
That is, it should identify the content of each paragraph in the paper
with a sentence or a couple of bulleted items.
A tip for a good outline:
Try to construct the first and last sentence of each paragraph of the
paper and include those (or equivalent information) in the outline.
As always, I expect all writing to be legible and
clear, and to adhere to good grammatical form. If you feel you need
help
with the language or structure of a paper, you might like to talk to
the folks at the UMass Writing Center. They hold office hours in
Bartlett Hall Room 303A every Monday through Thursday. See: http://writingprogram.hfa.umass.edu/writingcenter/writingcenter.asp
.
Students should be aware that suspect assignments (e.g., those without
drafts, without works cited pages, or with large departures in style)
may be scanned using text matching software ("Turnitin") for the
purpose of
detecting possible plagiarism. Submitted assignments will be included
in the UMass Amherst dedicated database of assignments at Turnitin.
This database of assignments will be used solely for the purpose of
detecting possible plagiarism during this
term and in the future.
Late papers must be cleared with me first! Partial credit will be negotiated based on the circumstances.
The nature of physical reality
What are the most important differences between classical theories of
physics and quantum mechanics, as regards the nature of physical
reality. Describe each in detail. What is the experimental evidence in
favor of quantum mechanics view of the world? What aspects of the world
are not determined by experiment?
The nature of light
Identify the many models that have been used to explain the behavior of
light and describe each in detail. Discuss the successes and failures
of each model and describe the experimental results that drove the
changes from previous models.
The double slit
Describe the double slit experiment, including its many versions. What
are the observable results of the experiment? What do these results
demonstrate about the nature of the material in the experiment and
about the nature of physical reality, and why?
The Michelson-Morley experiment
What was the M-M experiment and how did it work? What did it set out to
measure? What were the results? What did the experiment prove and why?
What are the implications of the experiment for the theory of quantum
mechanics?