Explore an active area of research in optical physics: producing designer pulse shapes to achieve specific purposes, such as breaking apart a molecule. Carefully create the perfect shaped pulse to break apart a molecule by individually manipulating the colors of light that make up a pulse.

Quantum mechanics–even in the ordinary, non-relativistic, “particle” formulation that will be the primary focus of this course–has been a staggeringly successful physical theory, surely one of the crowning achievements of 20th century science. It’s also rather bizarre–bizarre enough to lead very intelligent and otherwise sensible people to make such claims as that the universe is perpetually splitting into many copies of itself, that conscious minds have the power to make physical systems “jump” in unpredictable ways, that classical logic stands in need of fundamental revision, and much, much more. In this course, we intelligent and sensible people will attempt to take a sober look at these and other alleged implications of quantum mechanics, as well as certain stubborn problems that continue to trouble its foundations.
Along the way, we will take plenty of time out to discuss philosophical questions about science that quantum mechanics raises in new and interesting ways: e.g., what it means to attribute probabilities to physical events, what the aims of scientific inquiry are (does it aim at something true, or merely at something useful?), what the role of observation is in constructing a scientific theory, what it means to say that there is an “objective” physical world, whether something as basic as logic can be viewed as an empirical discipline, whether there can be meaningful scientific questions whose answers cannot possibly be settled by experiment, and more.

See how light knocks electrons off a metal target, and recreate the experiment that spawned the field of quantum mechanics.

See how light knocks electrons off a metal target, and recreate the experiment that spawned the field of quantum mechanics.

This course is an introduction to quantum mechanics for use by chemists. Topics include particles and waves, wave mechanics, semi-classical quantum mechanics, matrix mechanics, perturbation theory, molecular orbital theory, molecular structure, molecular spectroscopy, and photochemistry. Emphasis is on creating and building confidence in the use of intuitive pictures.

This course presents an introduction to quantum mechanics. It begins with an examination of the historical development of quantum theory, properties of particles and waves, wave mechanics and applications to simple systems — the particle in a box, the harmonic oscillator, the rigid rotor and the hydrogen atom. The lectures continue with a discussion of atomic structure and the Periodic Table. The final lectures cover applications to chemical bonding including valence bond and molecular orbital theory, molecular structure, spectroscopy.
Acknowledgements
The material for 5.61 has evolved over a period of many years, and, accordingly, several faculty members have contributed to the development of the course contents. The original version of the lecture notes that are available on OCW was prepared in the early 1990’s by Prof. Sylvia T. Ceyer. These were revised and transcribed to electronic form primarily by Prof. Keith A. Nelson. The current version includes additional contributions by Professors Moungi G. Bawendi, Robert W. Field, Robert G. Griffin, Robert J. Silbey and John S. Waugh, all of whom have taught the course in the recent past.

Starting from Max Planck’s law of black body radiation to Einstein's photoelectric effect this first part of the Mini Lecture "Quantum Mechanics" introduces to the beginnings of quantum physics.

Part two of the Mini Lecture "Quantum Mechanics" discusses Bohr's atomic model and the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle and highlights the validity of both theorems for present-day quantum physics research.

Explore the properties of quantum "particles" bound in potential wells. See how the wave functions and probability densities that describe them evolve (or don't evolve) over time.

This course is a three-course series that provides an introduction to the theory and practice of quantum computation. The three-course series comprises:
8.370.1x: Foundations of Quantum and Classical computing—quantum mechanics, reversible computation, and quantum measurement
8.370.2x: Simple Quantum Protocols and Algorithms—teleportation and superdense coding, the Deutsch-Jozsa and Simon’s algorithm, Grover’s quantum search algorithm, and Shor’s quantum factoring algorithm
8.370.3x: Foundations of Quantum communication—noise and quantum channels, and quantum key distribution
Prior knowledge of quantum mechanics is helpful but not required. It is best if you know some linear algebra.
This course was organized as a three-part series on MITx by MIT’s Department of Physics and is now archived on the Open Learning Library, which is free to use. You have the option to sign up and enroll in each module if you want to track your progress, or you can view and use all the materials without enrolling.

This course presents the fundamental concepts of quantum mechanics: wave properties, uncertainty principles, the Schrödinger equation, and operator and matrix methods. Key topics include commutation rule definitions of scalar, vector, and spherical tensor operators; the Wigner-Eckart theorem; and 3j (Clebsch-Gordan) coefficients. In addition, we deal with many-body systems, exemplified by many-electron atoms (“electronic structure”), anharmonically coupled harmonic oscillators (“intramolecular vibrational redistribution: IVR”), and periodic solids.

Together, this course and 8.06 Quantum Physics III cover quantum physics with applications drawn from modern physics. Topics covered in this course include the general formalism of quantum mechanics, harmonic oscillator, quantum mechanics in three-dimensions, angular momentum, spin, and addition of angular momentum. The lectures and lecture notes for this course form the basis of Zwiebach’s textbook Mastering Quantum Mechanics published by MIT Press in April 2022.

This is the first semester of a two-semester graduate-level subject on quantum theory, stressing principles. Quantum theory explains the nature and behavior of matter and energy on the atomic and subatomic level. Topics include Fundamental Concepts, Quantum Dynamics, Composite Systems, Symmetries in Quantum Mechanics, and Approximation Methods.

This subject introduces the key concepts and formalism of quantum mechanics and their relevance to topics in current research and to practical applications. Starting from the foundation of quantum mechanics and its applications in simple discrete systems, it develops the basic principles of interaction of electromagnetic radiation with matter.
Topics covered are composite systems and entanglement, open system dynamics and decoherence, quantum theory of radiation, time-dependent perturbation theory, scattering and cross sections. Examples are drawn from active research topics and applications, such as quantum information processing, coherent control of radiation-matter interactions, neutron interferometry and magnetic resonance.

Watch quantum "particles" tunnel through barriers. Explore the properties of the wave functions that describe these particles.

When do photons, electrons, and atoms behave like particles and when do they behave like waves? Watch waves spread out and interfere as they pass through a double slit, then get detected on a screen as tiny dots. Use quantum detectors to explore how measurements change the waves and the patterns they produce on the screen.

How did Rutherford figure out the structure of the atom without being able to see it? Simulate the famous experiment in which he disproved the Plum Pudding model of the atom by observing alpha particles bouncing off atoms and determining that they must have a small core.

How did Rutherford figure out the structure of the atom without being able to see it? Simulate the famous experiment in which he disproved the Plum Pudding model of the atom by observing alpha particles bouncing off atoms and determining that they must have a small core.

Dope the semiconductor to create a diode. Watch the electrons change position and energy.

Dope the semiconductor to create a diode. Watch the electrons change position and energy.