My Physics Log: from diagrammatical puzzling, to problems with problem-solving and more!: January 2013

Below are maps of Chapter 1 of 'Wave Mechanics', the first book in the Open University course SM358, The Quantum World.

Map 1

A map of my entire course!

This first map lays out what I'm going to learn. As we can see, Book 1 focuses on wave mechanics, Book 2, quantum mechanics and its interpretation, and Book 3, quantum mechanics of matter.
I thought it would be a great idea to collect links to texts and videos online, relevant to the above topics. Please visit my Online Resources for Quantum Mechanics page by clicking this LINK

Map 2

Chapter 1 of Book 1

This is a map to see what's ahead of me in the next month or so. The idea is that I don't have to turn any pages, and that, the map can be added to- or at the very least, (as I don't think there's enough space on this one), I can add references to pages in other areas of my mind-map books.

Map 3

Chapter 1 of Book 1

This is an excerpt of my map of the introduction to chapter 1. In retrospect, I think I could have conveyed graphically, more of a connection between topics. It would be fun to experiment with different shaped boxes, which could explain more concisely the nature of a topic than words could. On this map we learn that there is a unique signature called the spectrum. Every element has a spectrum, which is formed by spectral lines, which are arranged in a way that is unique to that element. The question that I really like here is, how do atoms produce spectral lines?

Map 4

Chapter 1 of Book 1

Contents of this map: Introduction to energy levels. Bohr's discovery that the energy levels of atoms have a discrete nature. When the energy level of an atom drops down a level, a photon is emitted. Photons are packets of electromagnetic radiation. The atom jumps discretely to lower and lower energy levels, until it reaches a state of lowest energy. The state of lowest energy is called the 'ground state'. In part 2 of the map, I have highlighted what a photon is again, and part 3 features the equation for the change in energy of an atom. We see that the change in energy of an atom is directly proportional to Planck's constant.

Map 5