24
Lectures
30
minutes/lecture
1.
The Quantum Enigma
Quantum mechanics is the most successful physical theory ever devised, and you learn what distinguishes it from its predecessor, classical mechanics. Professor Schumacher explains his ground rules for the course, which is designed to teach you some of the deep ideas and methods of quantum mechanics.
1.
The Quantum Enigma
|
13.
Antisymmetric and Antisocial
Why is matter solid, even though atoms are mostly empty space? The answer is the Pauli exclusion principle, which states that no two identical fermions can ever be in the same quantum state.
13.
Antisymmetric and Antisocial
|
2.
The View from 1900
You investigate the age-old debate over whether the physical world is discrete or continuous. By the 19th century, physicists saw a clear demarcation: Matter is made of discrete atoms, while light is a continuous wave of electromagnetic energy. However, a few odd phenomena remained difficult to explain.
2.
The View from 1900
|
14.
The Most Important Minus Sign in the World
At the fundamental level, bosons and fermions differ in a single minus sign. One way of understanding the origin of this difference is with the Feynman ribbon trick, which Dr. Schumacher demonstrates.
14.
The Most Important Minus Sign in the World
|
3.
Two Revolutionaries—Planck and Einstein
At the beginning of the 20th century, Max Planck and Albert Einstein proposed revolutionary ideas to resolve puzzles about light and matter. You explore Planck's discovery that light energy can only be emitted or absorbed in discrete amounts called quanta, and Einstein's application of this concept to matter.
3.
Two Revolutionaries—Planck and Einstein
|
15.
Entanglement
When two particles are part of the same quantum system, they may be entangled with each other. In their famous "EPR" paper, Einstein and his collaborators Boris Podolsky and Nathan Rosen used entanglement to argue that quantum mechanics is incomplete. You chart their reasoning and Bohr's response.
15.
Entanglement
|
4.
Particles of Light, Waves of Matter
Light propagates through space as a wave, but it exchanges its energy in the form of particles. You learn how Louis de Broglie showed that this weird wave-particle duality also applies to matter, and how Max Born inferred that this relationship makes quantum mechanics inherently probabilistic.
4.
Particles of Light, Waves of Matter
|
16.
Bell and Beyond
Thirty years after EPR, physicist John Bell dropped an even bigger bombshell, showing that a deterministic theory of quantum mechanics such as EPR violates the principle of locality—that particles in close interaction can't be instantaneously affected by events happening in another part of the universe.
16.
Bell and Beyond
|
5.
Standing Waves and Stable Atoms
You explore the mystery of why atoms are stable. Niels Bohr suggested that quantum theory explains atomic stability by allowing only certain distinct orbits for electrons. Erwin Schrödinger discovered a powerful equation that reproduces the energy levels of Bohr's model.
5.
Standing Waves and Stable Atoms
|
17.
All the Myriad Ways
Feynman diagrams are a powerful tool for analyzing events in the quantum world. Some diagrams show particles moving forward and backward in time, while other particles appear from nowhere and disappear again. All are possible quantum scenarios, which you learn how to plot.
17.
All the Myriad Ways
|
6.
Uncertainty
One of the most famous and misunderstood concepts in quantum mechanics is the Heisenberg uncertainty principle. You trace Werner Heisenberg's route to this revolutionary view of subatomic particle interactions, which establishes a trade-off between how precisely a particle's position and momentum can be defined.
6.
Uncertainty
|
18.
Much Ado about Nothing
The quantum vacuum is a complex, rapidly fluctuating medium, which can actually be observed as a tiny attraction between two metal plates. You also discover that vacuum energy may be the source of the dark energy that causes the universe to expand at an ever-accelerating rate.
18.
Much Ado about Nothing
|
7.
Complementarity and the Great Debate
You focus on the Einstein-Bohr debate, which pitted Einstein's belief that quantum events can, in principle, be known in every detail, against Bohr's philosophy of complementarity—the view that a measurement of one quantum variable precludes a different variable from ever being known.
7.
Complementarity and the Great Debate
|
19.
Quantum Cloning
You explore quantum information and quantum computing—Dr. Schumacher's specialty, for which he pioneered the concept "qubit," the unit of quantum information. You learn that unlike classical information, such as a book or musical recording, quantum information can't be perfectly copied.
19.
Quantum Cloning
|
8.
Paradoxes of Interference
Beginning his presentation of quantum mechanics in simplified form, Professor Schumacher discusses the mysteries and paradoxes of the Mach-Zehnder interferometer. He concludes with a thought experiment showing that an interferometer can determine whether a bomb will blow up without necessarily setting it off.
8.
Paradoxes of Interference
|
20.
Quantum Cryptography
The uncopyability of quantum information raises the possibility of quantum cryptography—an absolutely secure method for transmitting a coded message. This lecture tells how to do it, noting that a handful of banks and government agencies already use quantum cryptography to ensure the security of their most secret data.
20.
Quantum Cryptography
|
9.
States, Amplitudes, and Probabilities
The interferometer from the previous lecture serves as a test case for introducing the formal math of quantum theory. By learning a few symbols and rules, you can describe the states of quantum particles, show how these states change over time, and predict the results of measurements.
9.
States, Amplitudes, and Probabilities
|
21.
Bits, Qubits, and Ebits
What are the laws governing quantum information? Charles Bennett has proposed basic rules governing the relationships between different sorts of information. You investigate his four laws, including quantum teleportation, in which entanglement can be used to send quantum information instantaneously.
21.
Bits, Qubits, and Ebits
|
10.
Particles That Spin
Many quantum particles move through space and also have an intrinsic spin. Analyzing spin gives you a simple laboratory for exploring the basic ideas of quantum mechanics, and it is one of your key tools for understanding the quantum world.
10.
Particles That Spin
|
22.
Quantum Computers
You explore the intriguing capabilities of quantum computers, which don't yet exist but are theoretically possible. Using the laws of quantum mechanics, such devices could factor huge numbers, allowing them to easily decipher unbreakable conventional codes.
22.
Quantum Computers
|
11.
Quantum Twins
Macroscopic objects obey the snowflake principle. No two are exactly alike. Quantum particles do not obey this principle. For instance, every electron is perfectly identical to every other. You learn that quantum particles come in two basic types: bosons, which can occupy the same quantum state; and fermions, which cannot.
11.
Quantum Twins
|
23.
Many Worlds or One?
What is the fundamental nature of the quantum world? This lecture looks at three possibilities: the Copenhagen, hidden-variable, and many-worlds interpretations. The first two reflect Bohr's and Einstein's views, respectively. The last posits a vast, multivalued universe encompassing every possibility in the quantum realm.
23.
Many Worlds or One?
|
12.
The Gregarious Particles
You discover that the tendency of bosons to congregate in the same quantum state can lead to amazing applications. In a laser, huge numbers of photons are created, moving in exactly the same direction with the same energy. In superconductivity, quantum effects allow electrons to flow forever without resistance.
12.
The Gregarious Particles
|
24.
The Great Smoky Dragon
In this final lecture, you ponder John A. Wheeler's metaphor of the Great Smoky Dragon, a creature whose tail appears at the start of an experiment and whose head appears at the end. But what lies between is as uncertain as the mysterious and unknowable path of a quantum particle.
24.
The Great Smoky Dragon
|
24
Lectures
30
minutes/lecture
1.
The Crossroads of 21st-Century Science
Join Professors Sargent and Kelley for an initial plunge into the nanoscale, the tiny and mind-blowing realm where revolutionary developments are taking place in applied physics, computer science, biology, and medicine. Begin by probing the size of a nanometer and consider how laws of nature and principles of design change at that scale.
1.
The Crossroads of 21st-Century Science
|
13.
Delivering Drugs with “Smart” Nanocapsules
Learn how nano-enabled drug delivery systems can target cells with greater potency and fewer side effects than traditional treatments can. Examples include protein nanoparticles and liposomes, which have already been approved for clinical use. Then examine some next-generation approaches.
13.
Delivering Drugs with “Smart” Nanocapsules
|
2.
The Fundamental Importance of Being Nano
Professor Sargent discusses the rules that govern the nanoscale, where the strange effects of quantum mechanics offer exciting possibilities for engineering. Survey the structure of atoms and molecules and their interactions with light, which are fundamental properties at the nanoscale.
2.
The Fundamental Importance of Being Nano
|
14.
Nanoscale Surgical Tools
Nanoscale surgical tools can make excisions with incredible precision, ensuring that when a cancerous tumor is removed, no malignant cells remain and no healthy cells are harmed. Explore this ongoing medical revolution, and discover the role of robotics in enhancing the surgeon’s skill.
14.
Nanoscale Surgical Tools
|
3.
From Micro to Nano—Scaling in a Digital World
Trace the evolution of the original computer switches—vacuum tubes—to smaller and smaller components: first to discrete transistors and then to printed circuits that have now shrunk to the nanoscale. Learn how Moore’s law predicts exponential progress in this “race to the bottom.”
3.
From Micro to Nano—Scaling in a Digital World
|
15.
Nanomaterials for Artificial Tissue
Regenerative medicine focuses on producing artificial substitutes that can restore or replace damaged tissues or organs. Learn how nanomaterials stimulate cell and tissue growth in the body. Also follow progress in generating artificial organs outside the body to help meet the demand for organ transplants.
15.
Nanomaterials for Artificial Tissue
|
4.
Leveraging the Nanometer in Computing
Moore’s law forecasts that the number of transistors on an integrated circuit will double roughly every two years. This rule of thumb has held for more than half a century. But how long can it continue? The nanoscale offers new challenges and solutions to the problem of producing ever-smaller circuits.
4.
Leveraging the Nanometer in Computing
|
16.
How Nano Research Gets Done
Professors Kelley and Sargent introduce their research teams. Discover that nanotechnology is highly interdisciplinary. Chemists generate new materials. Physicists help understand those materials. Biologists put biomolecules and nanomaterials together. And engineers help turn basic discoveries into devices.
16.
How Nano Research Gets Done
|
5.
Leveraging the Nanometer in Communications
How did the world become networked so fast? Follow a beam of light down a fiber-optic cable to understand why it now costs pennies to send data that would have been billed at more than $100,000 just a few decades ago.
5.
Leveraging the Nanometer in Communications
|
17.
Nanomotifs—Building Blocks, Complex Structures
Professor Sargent takes a brief interlude to showcase the visual side of nanoengineering. View the complex structures that are built from nanoparts. Starting with nanoparticles, consider the many shapes that can be created, from nanotubes to supercrystals—structures that are not just useful but beautiful.
17.
Nanomotifs—Building Blocks, Complex Structures
|
6.
Sensing the World through Nanoengineering
Megapixel cameras on cell phones may seem miraculous, but nanoengineering promises far more powerful imaging systems. Quantum dots will give cameras much greater sensitivity and the ability to detect light across a broad range of invisible wavelengths, opening new applications for image processing.
6.
Sensing the World through Nanoengineering
|
18.
Using Nanotechnology to Capture Sunlight
Starting a sequence of lectures on nanotechnology and energy, Professor Sargent probes the physics of solar cells, which use semiconductors to generate an electric current from sunlight. Learn how nanotechnology is making this renewable energy source more efficient and cost-effective.
18.
Using Nanotechnology to Capture Sunlight
|
7.
Nanomedicine—DNA and Gold Nanoparticles
Begin a series of lectures with Dr. Kelley on nanoscience in biology. The building blocks of life, including DNA, are nanoscale objects, making ideal targets for nanotechnology diagnostic tools and disease treatments. As an example, see how gold nanoparticles are used to identify genetic mutations.
7.
Nanomedicine—DNA and Gold Nanoparticles
|
19.
Photons to Electricity—Nano-Based Solar Cells
Explore further into nanoscale solar cell technology by looking at different techniques for capturing solar energy. Rigid silicon-based hardware may soon be a thing of the past, replaced by inexpensive products such as organic photovoltaics, which are composed of physically flexible organic polymers that can be applied like plastic sheeting.
19.
Photons to Electricity—Nano-Based Solar Cells
|
8.
Nano and Proteins—Enzymes to Cholesterol
Gold nanoparticles attached to an antibody protein allow a simple pregnancy test. Discover that nanoparticles are also tools for mapping how cholesterol and other protein molecules enter cells.
8.
Nano and Proteins—Enzymes to Cholesterol
|
20.
Nanotechnology for Storing Energy
One of the challenges of renewable energy is that its hours of peak production may not correspond to times of peak demand, creating the problem of energy storage. Investigate some solutions that nanotechnology offers, including supercapacitors and a remarkable new class of batteries assembled by viruses.
20.
Nanotechnology for Storing Energy
|
9.
Nanoparticles Detect Cancer in Living Organisms
Learn how metal nanoparticles called quantum dots can signal the presence of cancer cells inside the body. While still experimental, this technology may herald a breakthrough in noninvasive medical imaging.
9.
Nanoparticles Detect Cancer in Living Organisms
|
21.
Nanotechnology for Releasing Energy
Catalysts foster a chemical reaction without being consumed by the reaction, using and releasing energy with incredible efficiency. Explore this phenomenon at the nanoscale, seeing how nanomaterials can increase the surface area of a catalyst, which greatly improves its performance for a wide range of applications.
21.
Nanotechnology for Releasing Energy
|
10.
Detecting Only a Few Molecules of a Disease
Turn to cancer diagnostic tools “in vitro”—outside the body. Professor Kelley discusses her own work on a system for disease diagnosis that uses nanomaterials layered on microelectronic chips. This research promises much more efficient detection of the molecules that signal cancer.
10.
Detecting Only a Few Molecules of a Disease
|
22.
Energy’s Holy Grail—Artificial Photosynthesis
The ultimate energy collection and storage system is photosynthesis. Nature does it with plants, but researchers are striving to attain the same result with nanotechnology—using sunlight to produce and store energy in the form of a fuel such as hydrogen.
22.
Energy’s Holy Grail—Artificial Photosynthesis
|
11.
Nanomaterials That Seek and Destroy Disease
Explore three strategies for treating tumors. A photothermal approach places gold nanoparticles in a tumor and then irradiates the particles from an external source. A similar but more targeted technique tunes the radiation to a precise frequency, sparing surrounding tissues. Finally, learn how the gold nanoparticles themselves can be the tumor-killing agent.
11.
Nanomaterials That Seek and Destroy Disease
|
23.
Nanorobots and Nature’s Nanomachines
Learn how nanorobots that take over the world in science fiction usually defy the laws of physics, and survey concerns about the harm that nanomaterials can do. Look at nanovehicles built with buckeyballs for wheels, and then turn to nature’s nanomachines such as diatoms, which build astonishing structures at the molecular level. Explore ways that these tiny creatures may be more effective than nanorobots.
23.
Nanorobots and Nature’s Nanomachines
|
12.
How Nanomaterials Improve Drug Delivery
Drugs are administered by injection, inhalation, skin patches, or in pills. These methods deliver only a fraction of the medication to the needed areas, and many potentially useful biomolecules have no effective way to get to their targets. Discover that nanomaterials offer a solution to these problems.
12.
How Nanomaterials Improve Drug Delivery
|
24.
On the Horizon and in the Far Future
Close your exploration of nanotechnology by looking ahead at possible near- and long-term developments. One is a real “cloak of invisibility.” Then look back to revisit physicist Richard Feynman’s bold predictions. See how far we’ve come and discover what Feynman apparently overlooked.
24.
On the Horizon and in the Far Future
|