rdj2027 Posted April 24, 2017 Share Posted April 24, 2017 Thank you for all who gave me ideas for 1/2 science credit the other day. My son has settled on quantum physics and loving mama that I am, I am researching books, tutorials and such. While there are some great books out there, the math is rather beyond what he can do and I remember. I have found a tutorial, youtube videos and I have "In Search of Schroedinger's Cat". Does anyone know of other resources that would work for a high school student who has not yet had calculus? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike in SA Posted April 24, 2017 Share Posted April 24, 2017 There are not many that are both curricula-worthy and accessible. "Ghost in the Atom" is not bad, but certainly not worthy of a curriculum. Brian Greene and Sean Carroll have some nice pop-science books. We tried looking for something in the vein of "A Very Gentle Introduction to the Mathematics of Relativity," to no avail. That book was very good, in that it described the mathematics bit-by-bit. It allowed the reader to actually understand the theory, even without a real command of the math (you'll know what tensor calculus is, but you may not be able to manipulate tensors yourself). Quantum physics really needs something similar in order to describe the various states and behaviors. Otherwise, you just have supplemental reading. One thing you might try is a good quality chemistry book (e.g., Atkins' Chemical Principles). It will teach just enough to make it worthwhile. MIT-OCW's "Principles of Chemical Science" opens with several weeks of it, and would make a legitimate supplemental course (going through ~lecture 15). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joules Posted April 24, 2017 Share Posted April 24, 2017 (edited) How to Teach Quantum Physics to Your Dog by Chad Orzel is a good survey. There was a thread on Modern Physics a month or so back and some resources there might be helpful. Unfortunately, I am better at quantum physics than searching these forums, so you are on your own with that! I'll try to remember what else I posted in that thread, if you can't find it. If you don't feel like you have enough meat for just quantum, you could do modern physics and include relativity. Edited April 24, 2017 by Joules Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rdj2027 Posted April 26, 2017 Author Share Posted April 26, 2017 Thanks to both of you. Yes, I think we will expand and do something like Intro to Modern Physics covering a number of topics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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