Physics 360 - ADVANCED TOPICS IN PHYSICS

Selected special topics which vary from year to year; typically some subset of the following climate physics, cosmology, general relativity, nuclear and particle physics, optics, solid state physics. Prerequisites vary with the topics of the course. Quantum mechanics is perhaps the most successful scientific theory of all time, but it has also been one of the most controversial. This course systematically explores questions about the physical meaning of quantum mechanics,to which different thinkers have given radically different answers. Topics include Bohr's Copenhagen interpretation; the concerns of Einstein, Schroedinger, and Bell; and alternative formulations including the pilot-wave theory of de Broglie and Bohm, the "many worlds" interpretation of Everett, and the spontaneous collapse theory of Ghirardi et al. Pre-requisite: PHY 215 or equivalent.

Topic: Foundations of Quantum Mechanics.