PHYSICS 115B
Quantum Mechanics
Description: Lecture, three hours; discussion, one hour. Enforced requisites: courses 115A, 131. Formal theory: commutator algebra, Hermitian operators, generalized uncertainty principle, Ehrenfast relations. Three-dimensional problems. Central potentials. Angular momentum. Hydrogen atom. Identical particles and Pauli exclusion principle. Electrons in an electromagnetic field. Letter grading.
Units: 4.0
Units: 4.0
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Most Helpful Review
Fall 2019 - very heavy workload with (about 10-15 hrs homework per week to expect) but the professor is very helpful who add extra office hours(3 hrs per week and he stay late until you asked all your problems too). He knows a lot intersting facts about physics career too internationally. and also he's a very funny professor who can always make hard lecture funny and make you more interested in the subject. TA constantly come to lecture to hack what's the process of the course so that the discussion is a perfect reinforcement of the lecture. the homework is challenging (usually 9 problems per week, 3 is DIY by professor) but also intriguing which really help you understand the material. The exam is too much though. I can't finish all my problems during the midterm. But in general, If you are here to persue knowledge (or plan to go to graduate school) take with him. the extra knowledge he provide will for sure benifit you for your further career. and the patentness of him are for sure will help you catch up with what you haven't learned but all the others knows. -- as long as you are willing to spend time on the subject. on the other hand, if you are looking for a easy A, then take with others, the course is fulfulling but definitly can not be described as easy.
Fall 2019 - very heavy workload with (about 10-15 hrs homework per week to expect) but the professor is very helpful who add extra office hours(3 hrs per week and he stay late until you asked all your problems too). He knows a lot intersting facts about physics career too internationally. and also he's a very funny professor who can always make hard lecture funny and make you more interested in the subject. TA constantly come to lecture to hack what's the process of the course so that the discussion is a perfect reinforcement of the lecture. the homework is challenging (usually 9 problems per week, 3 is DIY by professor) but also intriguing which really help you understand the material. The exam is too much though. I can't finish all my problems during the midterm. But in general, If you are here to persue knowledge (or plan to go to graduate school) take with him. the extra knowledge he provide will for sure benifit you for your further career. and the patentness of him are for sure will help you catch up with what you haven't learned but all the others knows. -- as long as you are willing to spend time on the subject. on the other hand, if you are looking for a easy A, then take with others, the course is fulfulling but definitly can not be described as easy.
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Most Helpful Review
Fall 2022 - I think Hamilton is a really good professor overall. The grading scheme consisted of homework, two midterms, and a final exam. The homework was pretty straightforward overall. The midterms I thought were extremely fair. If I had to give a tip to do well on the midterms I would say do the practice midterms he gives out and go to the review session. The questions on the midterms/final were not computationally intensive but rather conceptually difficult, so you really have to make sure you understand the ideas presented in this course. The final exam was exactly like the midterms just longer. The midterms/final are open book but the midterms are designed to take almost the whole time of the class so it doesn't really help for those. Overall I really liked Hamilton for quantum, and I don't think he deserves his rating on bruin walk. The only thing that was a negative was that he was pretty monotone so his lectures weren't super engaging overall. Also he goes super slow for the first two weeks for review of 115A but the pace increases quite a bit after that so keep that in mind if you take him.
Fall 2022 - I think Hamilton is a really good professor overall. The grading scheme consisted of homework, two midterms, and a final exam. The homework was pretty straightforward overall. The midterms I thought were extremely fair. If I had to give a tip to do well on the midterms I would say do the practice midterms he gives out and go to the review session. The questions on the midterms/final were not computationally intensive but rather conceptually difficult, so you really have to make sure you understand the ideas presented in this course. The final exam was exactly like the midterms just longer. The midterms/final are open book but the midterms are designed to take almost the whole time of the class so it doesn't really help for those. Overall I really liked Hamilton for quantum, and I don't think he deserves his rating on bruin walk. The only thing that was a negative was that he was pretty monotone so his lectures weren't super engaging overall. Also he goes super slow for the first two weeks for review of 115A but the pace increases quite a bit after that so keep that in mind if you take him.
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Most Helpful Review
Winter 2022 - Professor Regan knows his stuff, and that's an understatement. He clearly has an extraordinary grasp of quantum mechanics and does his best to impart that to students. There's two downsides to this, though. The first is that it makes it hard for him to realize that students may have some difficulty with the concepts. They might be second nature to him, but they're entirely new to us. Yet he assumes that we are as comfortable as he is, and races through topics like the goddamn Road Runner getting away from Wile E. Coyote. The other problem, though (and this is arguably the worse of the two), is that Regan's self-perceived mastery of physics makes him an insufferable asshole. Just absolutely so far up his own ass, he's basically wearing his head as a beret. With that said, I will reiterate that Regan is very knowledgeable, and he does at least try to share that with his students. Sometimes he goes a bit too far and too fast, but it's clear he is making an effort, which I appreciate. And it works. I do feel like I have learned a good amount in this class, that I may not have if he had not focused on the fundamentals like he did. In addition, his exams are insanely difficult and nearly impossible to finish in the allotted time, but he seems to be fair about grading and curving them, so the end result isn't too bad. Moral of the story then: really smart guy, raging asshole, medium teacher overall.
Winter 2022 - Professor Regan knows his stuff, and that's an understatement. He clearly has an extraordinary grasp of quantum mechanics and does his best to impart that to students. There's two downsides to this, though. The first is that it makes it hard for him to realize that students may have some difficulty with the concepts. They might be second nature to him, but they're entirely new to us. Yet he assumes that we are as comfortable as he is, and races through topics like the goddamn Road Runner getting away from Wile E. Coyote. The other problem, though (and this is arguably the worse of the two), is that Regan's self-perceived mastery of physics makes him an insufferable asshole. Just absolutely so far up his own ass, he's basically wearing his head as a beret. With that said, I will reiterate that Regan is very knowledgeable, and he does at least try to share that with his students. Sometimes he goes a bit too far and too fast, but it's clear he is making an effort, which I appreciate. And it works. I do feel like I have learned a good amount in this class, that I may not have if he had not focused on the fundamentals like he did. In addition, his exams are insanely difficult and nearly impossible to finish in the allotted time, but he seems to be fair about grading and curving them, so the end result isn't too bad. Moral of the story then: really smart guy, raging asshole, medium teacher overall.
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