Anacortes Senior College

No previous science or math background is required. In this intense, non-mathematical science appreciation course you will step into a realm where reality refuses to follow common sense. You’ll wrestle with fundamental questions about the nature of matter, energy, observation and reality itself. Through six lectures, we’ll trace the evolution of quantum physics development which will challenge your deepest intuitions.

Lecture 1: Introduction to the Realms of Physics - We’ll map out the hierarchy of physical theories from Newton’s clockwork cosmos to Einstein’s warped spacetime to where quantum phenomena begin to dominate.

Lecture 2: The Early History of Quantum Mechanics – We will trace the bold intellectual leaps that forged quantum theory’s foundation.

Lecture 3: The Schrödinger Equation - Discover the central equation of quantum mechanics without the benefit of mathematics. We’ll interpret the wavefunction as a repository of possibilities and their probabilities. You’ll gain an intuitive grasp of why particles behave like waves and waves behave as particles and why this duality upends our classical, worldly expectations.

Lecture 4: Making Sense of Quantum Mechanics – We will delve into several interpretations that wrestle with our attempt at making sense of the quantum foundation of reality and its mind-bending predictions. No single interpretation commands universal acceptance. It is still a mystery!

Lecture 5: QFT and The Standard Model of Particle Physics – We will move beyond particles to fields as the universe’s true building blocks of reality. We’ll outline how quantum field theory is consistent with Einstein’s special relativity and leads to the current Standard Model’s description of quarks, leptons, and their interactions with the force carrying fields. Although we’ll skip the math, you’ll come away with a basic conceptual sense of subatomic reality.

Lecture 6: Beyond the Standard Model - We will discuss the open questions that hint at deeper layers of reality, including quantum gravity contenders like string theory and loop quantum gravity, and the ongoing hunt for a unified description of all forces.

This course will likely leave you dazzled by the staggering successes of quantum physics while aware of the profound mysteries that persist. Hopefully, you’ll appreciate why quantum physics demands nothing less than a reimagining of reality itself.

Instructor: Barrie Hughlock PhD

I love science, and have studied science throughout my life, and continue to do so. I have taken many courses in science outside of my major, which is physics. I completed my undergraduate studies at the University of California at Berkeley and received my doctorate at Brown University.