https://gdpark.blog/series/modern-physics-i-studied/Recent content in Modern Physics I Studied on gdpark.blogHugoenTue, 22 Mar 2016 00:00:00 +0000https://gdpark.blog/posts/modern-physics-01-time-dilation-in-special-relativity/Thu, 20 Aug 2015 00:00:00 +0000https://gdpark.blog/posts/modern-physics-01-time-dilation-in-special-relativity/A fun dive into Einstein’s special relativity — covering the two postulates and why time itself literally has to slow down to keep the speed of light constant. hehehttps://gdpark.blog/posts/modern-physics-01-rutherford-scattering-and-the-rutherford-scattering-formula/Sat, 02 May 2015 00:00:00 +0000https://gdpark.blog/posts/modern-physics-01-rutherford-scattering-and-the-rutherford-scattering-formula/Deriving the Rutherford scattering formula while stumbling through the wild history of how we went from Thomson’s pudding model to discovering the atomic nucleus — scary math incoming lol.https://gdpark.blog/posts/modern-physics-02-the-relativistic-doppler-effect/Thu, 20 Aug 2015 00:00:00 +0000https://gdpark.blog/posts/modern-physics-02-the-relativistic-doppler-effect/We connect the classic Doppler effect to time dilation, and it turns out moving really fast changes the frequency you perceive even when you’re not getting closer or farther away!https://gdpark.blog/posts/modern-physics-03-length-contraction-in-special-relativity/Thu, 20 Aug 2015 00:00:00 +0000https://gdpark.blog/posts/modern-physics-03-length-contraction-in-special-relativity/Muons from cosmic rays should die way before reaching Earth — so why do we detect them?! It all comes down to length contraction and time dilation in special relativity!https://gdpark.blog/posts/modern-physics-04-the-twin-paradox-in-special-relativity/Thu, 20 Aug 2015 00:00:00 +0000https://gdpark.blog/posts/modern-physics-04-the-twin-paradox-in-special-relativity/Finally cracking the twin paradox using length contraction — whoever changed direction was the one actually moving, and the math totally checks out hehe.https://gdpark.blog/posts/modern-physics-05-relativistic-mass-momentum-and-energy/Fri, 21 Aug 2015 00:00:00 +0000https://gdpark.blog/posts/modern-physics-05-relativistic-mass-momentum-and-energy/We crack open why mass isn’t as intrinsic as you thought by watching two particles collide across reference frames to see how relativistic momentum really works.https://gdpark.blog/posts/modern-physics-06-general-relativity/Fri, 21 Aug 2015 00:00:00 +0000https://gdpark.blog/posts/modern-physics-06-general-relativity/A fun casual intro to general relativity — from Einstein’s 11-year Riemannian geometry grind to the wild idea that gravity actually bends light!https://gdpark.blog/posts/modern-physics-07-the-rayleigh-jeans-formula-and-blackbody-radiation/Mon, 24 Aug 2015 00:00:00 +0000https://gdpark.blog/posts/modern-physics-07-the-rayleigh-jeans-formula-and-blackbody-radiation/Diving into Chapter 2 with blackbody radiation — what a black body even is, how to fake one in a lab, and why standing waves are the secret behind that glowing-sword spectrum!https://gdpark.blog/posts/modern-physics-08-the-photoelectric-effect/Mon, 24 Aug 2015 00:00:00 +0000https://gdpark.blog/posts/modern-physics-08-the-photoelectric-effect/Ever wonder why Einstein won the Nobel Prize for the photoelectric effect and not relativity?! Let’s dig into the experiment that changed everything!https://gdpark.blog/posts/modern-physics-09-x-rays/Tue, 25 Aug 2015 00:00:00 +0000https://gdpark.blog/posts/modern-physics-09-x-rays/X-rays are basically the reverse of the photoelectric effect — slam electrons into a plate with insane voltage and boom, mystery radiation appears (hence the ‘x’!).https://gdpark.blog/posts/modern-physics-10-the-compton-effect/Tue, 25 Aug 2015 00:00:00 +0000https://gdpark.blog/posts/modern-physics-10-the-compton-effect/Compton’s wild experiment pits X-ray photons head-on against electrons and uses conservation of momentum & energy to prove light really does act like a particle.https://gdpark.blog/posts/modern-physics-11-wave-properties-of-particles/Tue, 25 Aug 2015 00:00:00 +0000https://gdpark.blog/posts/modern-physics-11-wave-properties-of-particles/If light can act like a particle, why not flip it — turns out matter has wave properties too, and that wild idea leads straight to de Broglie wavelengths and Schrödinger’s equation!https://gdpark.blog/posts/modern-physics-12-atomic-models-and-the-bohr-model/Tue, 25 Aug 2015 00:00:00 +0000https://gdpark.blog/posts/modern-physics-12-atomic-models-and-the-bohr-model/We dig into why the old orbital atomic model is totally wrong — spinning electrons radiate energy and collapse — and set the stage for Bohr’s fix.https://gdpark.blog/posts/modern-physics-14-a-basic-understanding-of-the-photolithography-process/Tue, 22 Mar 2016 00:00:00 +0000https://gdpark.blog/posts/modern-physics-14-a-basic-understanding-of-the-photolithography-process/A casual breakdown of the photolithography process — from photoresist types to clean rooms — by someone genuinely shocked engineering is this hard.