First lectures

October 2nd, 2009

I had the first lecture on Thursday. It is called “Meccanica quantistica” and represents 6 credits this trimester. Later there will be a course called “Applicazioni di meccanica quantistica” which will bring the grand total of this marvelous subject to 12 credits.
The professor made an excellent first impression and seems to have a teaching style I like. Should I mention he’s a theorist?
I already have a slight suspicion as to what my favorite subject will be…
For now we reviewed some linear algebra (a subject that I love), introducing Dirac’s bra-ket notation, which is part of the reason why quantum mechanics is so cool and a good example of how choosing a good notation can simplify complex things. It is said that Einstein, after inventing his summation convention, whimsically said or wrote to someone: “I discovered some new mathematics”. Sorry for being so unprecise, I’ve googled but couldn’t find the quote. Instead I found a document called One Hundred Reasons to be a Scientist, which contains some personal stories written by famous scientists like Freeman Dyson or Claude Cohen-Tannoudji.

When I was talking to my flatmate about my first impression of my classmates, I wanted to say that I had the impression that the women were quite short on average. I guess I shouldn’t have used the word “piccole” because, with a slightly worried expression on her face, she asked: “Ma… piccole di cervello?”.
No, that is not what I meant…
As it turns out, I should have used the adjective “basso”.

Kategorien: Italiano, Physics