Modern Physics for Engineers Lecture slides 01a – Introduction to the class

This lecture introduces the motivation for why we need ideas of modern physics so we can understand the world around us and engineer the technologies that make it work. It summarizes the topics to be taught in later lectures, including quantum mechanics and statistical mechanics. Specific topics include the quantum view of the world, particles, atoms and crystals, thermal distributions, bands and electronic devices, light and quantum mechanics, and semiconductor optoelectronics. (slides)