MIT Subject Evaluations

8.05: Quantum Physics II
Fall 1998 Summary

Lecturer: Professor Krishna Rajagopal
Recitation Instructor: Professor Jeffrey Goldstone

Enrollment: 61
Number of students commenting: 34

8.05 is the second in a series of quantum physics courses. It is often taken by physics majors in their junior year. Combined with 8.059, which follows it, the class covers quantum physics using applications from modern physics. Respondants found the course challenging, yet well-taught and enjoyable.

Many students found the course content interesting, although a few commented that the course covered too much material. While one liked it better than 8.04, two others felt that a lot of it repeated 8.04 material. There were a few topics class members wanted to see; perturbation theory was the most prevalent of these. Much of the class remarked that the problem sets were quite long; some students liked this and learned from it, while others did neither. Additionally, a few found the problem sets too grungy. Some complained that the recommended texts were actually required, as readings came from them. Others felt that the class would benefit from lecture notes.

Overall, the students in this class felt that they worked hard, and in return, learned a lot while benefiting from an excellent lecturer.

Professor Krishna Rajagopal, the lecturer for this course, received high praise from his students, quite a few of whom described him as the best professor in the physics department. They described him as an excellent lecturer who was extremely clear and well-prepared. Class members also praised his organizational skills and knowledge, and commented that he made difficult topics seem easy. Also, they felt that he answered questions well. While two students said that the lectures moved at a good pace, two others felt the lectures got bogged down in math and rigor, especially near the beginning of the course.

Professor Jeffrey Goldstone's recitations were viewed by students as extremely unstructured, unclear and disorganized. They felt that he would simply talk about random things, especially when asked a question. Some class members found this interesting, it annoyed quite a few others. As such, some commented that the recitations did not relate to the lecture. Others felt that he conducted the recitation at too high of a level and needed to lower his level to that of the students. One class member did, however, find him very easy to get a hold of.

A few quotes from class members:

"Krishna is probably the best physics lecturer I've had to date. Makes a difficult subject palatable. Very well prepared and stimulates interest in subject."

"This is a great course. I hope the rest of my MIT experience is as interesting."

"8.05 is really amazing, fundamentally new stuff. I found it really interesting, only wish I had had more time to philosophize about it all..."