Leonard Susskind completes the discussion of quantum field theory and the second quantization procedure for bosons.

Professor Susskind answers a question about neutrino mixing and relates the oscillating quantum states of a neutrino to a precessing electron spin in a magnetic field. He then discusses a recent article about whether an electron is a sphere. After these topics, Professor Susskind continues the previous discussion about second quantization, and demonstrates that the position and momentum creation and annihilation operators are Fourier conjugates of each other.

Recorded on November 11, 2013.

Topics:
- Neutrino mixing
- Second quantization
- Fourier conjugates

1. Review of quantum mechanics and introduction to symmetry
2. Symmetry groups and degeneracy
3. Atomic orbits and harmonic oscillators
4. Spin, Pauli Matrices, and Pauli Exclusion Principle
5. Fermions: a tale of two minus signs
6. Quantum Field Theory: Particle Creation and Annihilation Operators
7. Quantum Field Theory: Fermions and Bosons
8. Second Quantization
9. Quantum Field Hamiltonian
10. Fermions and the Dirac equation

This course will explore the various types of quantum systems that occur in nature, from harmonic oscillators to atoms and molecules, photons, and quantum fields. Students will learn what it means for an electron to be a fermion and how that leads to the Pauli exclusion principle. They will also learn what it means for a photon to be a boson and how that allows us to build radios and lasers. The strange phenomenon of quantum tunneling will lead to an understanding of how nuclei emit alpha particles and how the same effect predicts that cosmological space can “boil.” Finally, the course will delve into the world of quantum field theory and the relation between waves and particles.