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History 181B:  Modern Physics
Class 22 (3/7/01)
Atomic physics
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Outline Thinking about atoms

    General considerations:  Do atoms exist?
         Ontology, epistemology, and methodology
         19th-century assessments

    Einstein:  Brownian motion and kinetic theory
         The phenomenon
         Why is this interesting?  Macro and micro
         Thermodynamics and statistical mechanics

    What is atomic physics?
         Rethinking inward bound
         Why do atoms belong to physics anyways?
Names and terms 
Primary Secondary
"On the motion of small particles suspended in liquids at rest required by the molecular-kinetic theory of heat" (1905)
diffusion
random walk
Jean Perrin (1870-1942), NP 1926		 Robert Brown (1773-1858)
Joseph Fourier (1768-1830)
Avogadro's number
Copyright © Cathryn Carson 2001