PHYS1060. Descriptive Astronomy (3)

A descriptive study of modern astronomy for the general student with an emphasis on the structure and dynamics of stars, galaxies and the universe. The sun, planets and other objects in our local solar system will also be considered.

PHYS1060L. Descriptive Astronomy Laboratory (1)

A laboratory course taught in connection with PHYS1060. Observational and laboratory activities are included, some in the evenings. Corequisites: PHYS1060 Fees: Additional fee required

PHYS1110. College Physics I (3)

A comprehensive non-calculus based approach to the fields of physics. Designed for students whose career goals are architecture, business, physical therapy, science education, and pre-medicine. Emphasis is placed on problem solving. Topics covered include mechanics, heat, thermodynamics and sound. Prerequisites: MATH1300, 1400, or pass the COMPASS math examination through trigonometry. Corequisites: PHYS1110L

PHYS1110L. College Physics I Laboratory (1)

The laboratory uses the discovery approach to physical principles. The laboratory will cover basic labs in mechanics, wave motion and heat. Corequisites: PHYS1110 Fees: Additional fee required.

PHYS1120. College Physics II (3)

A comprehensive non-calculus based approach to the fields of physics. Designed for students whose career goals are architecture, business, physical therapy, science education, and pre-medicine. Emphasis is placed on problem solving. Topics covered include electricity and magnetism, light and optics, and modern physics. Prerequisites: PHYS1110; MATH1300, 1400; or pass the COMPASS math examination through trigonometry. Corequisites: PHYS1120L

PHYS1120L. College Physics II Laboratory (1)

The laboratory uses the discovery approach to physical principles. The laboratory will cover basic labs in electricity and magnetism, light and optics. Corequisites: PHYS1120 Fees: Additional fee required.

PHYS2094. Topics in Physics (1-3)

A study in the field of physics not covered in other courses such as weather balloon launching, or conceptual physics. Prerequisites: Instructor's permission. May be repeated for credit.

PHYS2110. Physics for Science and Engineering I (3)

A comprehensive calculus based examination of the fields of physics. Designed for science students whose career goals are in engineering, physics, chemistry, medicine and veterinary science. Topics covered include mechanics, thermodynamics, wave phenomena and fluid mechanics. Prerequisites: MATH2510 Corequisites: PHYS2110L

PHYS2110L. Physics for Science and Engineering I Laboratory (1)

The laboratory uses the discovery approach to physical principles. Selected experiments from the fields of mechanics, wave motion and heat will be performed. Corequisites: PHYS2110 Fees: Additional fee required

PHYS2120. Physics for Science and Engineering II (3)

A comprehensive calculus based examination of the fields of physics. Designed for science students whose career goals are in engineering, physics, chemistry, medicine and veterinary science. Topics covered include electricity and magnetism, and light and optics. Prerequisites: MATH2510, 2520 Corequisites: PHYS2120L

PHYS2120L. Physics for Science and Engineering II Laboratory (1)

The laboratory uses the discovery approach to physical principles. Selected experiments from the fields of electricity and magnetism, and light and optics will be performed. Corequisites: PHYS2120 Fees: Additional fee required

PHYS2310. Instrumentation in Experimental Physics I (1)

An introduction into using instrumentation in experiments. Includes using instrumentation software such as LabVIEW to design virtual instruments and interface hardware. Error analysis of measurements is also studied. Selected experiments in physics using instruments commonly used in the discipline will be performed. Experimental devices used to acquire data will be explored, such as oscilloscopes, digital multimeters, thermocouples, adc's and dac's, Geiger counters, SEM and vacuum systems. Prerequisites: PHYS2110, 2120. Fees: Additional fee required

PHYS2320. Instrumentation in Experimental Physics II (1)

A continuation of PHYS2310 in instrumentation in experiments. Advanced LabVIEW programming and interfacing with instruments. This is accomplished by using experimental devices to acquire data, such as oscilloscopes, digital multimeters, thermocouples, adc's and dac's, Geiger counters, SEM and vacuum systems. Prerequisites: PHYS2110, 2120, 2310. Fees: Additional fee required

PHYS3094. Topics in Physics (1-3)

A concentrated study in a field of physics not covered in other courses such as low temperature physics, Mossbauer spectroscopy, elementary particles, relativity, and cosmology. Prerequisites: PHYS2120, MATH3540. May be repeated for credit.

PHYS3130. Modern Physics (3)

Basic ideas of quantum theory which led to the Rutherford-Bohr model of the atom; elementary quantum mechanics using Schroedinger's equation with applications to atoms, molecules, nuclei and elementary particles will be studied. Topics include: atomic and molecular spectra; ionic and covalent bonds; theory of alpha, beta and gamma decay; and quantum statistics of Bose and Fermi particles. Prerequisites: PHYS2120 Corequisites: PHYS3130L

PHYS3130L. Modern Physics Laboratory (1)

This course is designed to provide students with experience in experimental research techniques used in modern physics. Emphasis is placed on experimental methods and procedures, the relationship among various observable quantities and data analysis. Experiments performed will include determining electron charge to mass ratio, lattice spacing determination using low-energy electron diffraction, nuclear decay rate measurements, and others pertaining to topics covered in class. Corequisites: PHYS3130 Fees: Additional fee required

PHYS3410. Analytic Mechanics (3)

Applications of Newtonian mechanics to physical systems. Topics covered include central force problems, equations of motion of Lagrange and Hamilton, normal modes resulting from small vibrations, and rotating frames of reference. Corequisites: PHYS2110; MATH3530,3540 (or as a Pre-requisite) Offered: Alternate years

PHYS3420. Vibrations and Waves (3)

An introduction to oscillatory phenomena and wave motion. The concepts and phenomena taught in this course occur throughout nature from biology to quantum mechanics. Topics include: free, damped and forced vibrations, resonance, coupled oscillators; the nature of traveling waves and transport of energy; types of waves including sound, water waves and light; interference, beats and standing waves; dispersion; simple diffraction phenomena. Corequisites: PHYS2110; MATH3530,3540 (or as a Prerequisite) Offered: Alternate years

PHYS3510. Thermodynamics and Statistical Mechanics (3)

An integrated approach to the study of thermodynamics and statistical mechanics. Topics covered include the properties of gases, liquids, and solids from a thermodynamic viewpoint; phase diagrams, first, second and third laws of thermodynamics and related state functions such as energy, entropy, enthalpy; free energy and the Gibbs function with applications to chemical and physical systems. Additional topics include probability distributions for classical and quantum systems; microcanonical, canonical and grand canonical partition-functions and associated thermodynamic potentials; conditions of thermodynamic equilibrium for homogenous and heterogenous systems. Prerequisites: PHYS2110; MATH3530. Offered: Alternate years

PHYS4610. Electricity and Magnetism (3)

A vector calculus based examination of the laws of Gauss, Biot-Savart, Ampere and Faraday; application of the equations of Laplace and Poisson to boundary valued problems. Maxwell's equations are introduced and used to investigate electromagnetic wave propagation in different media and radiation from antennas. Corequisites: PHYS2120; MATH3530,3540 (or as Prerequisites) Offered: Alternate years

PHYS4720. Solid State Physics (3)

An introduction to the physics of the solid state of matter. Topics include crystal structure, lattice vibrations and electronic band structure of crystals, electrical, optical, and thermal properties of solids, transport and other non-equilibrium phenomena in uniform and non-uniform solids. Prerequisites: PHYS3130; MATH3530, 3540. Offered: Alternate years

PHYS4810. Fundamentals of Quantum Mechanics (3)

A beginning course in quantum mechanics which starts with the postulates and derives Schroedinger's equation from physical optics principles. Several simple systems are studied and the properties of eigen functions are used to introduce matrix methods and operator theory. Emphasis is placed on mathematical formalism with applications to atomic systems. Prerequisites: PHYS3130; MATH3530,3540. Offered: Alternate years

PHYS4970. Research (1)

Participation with a faculty member in an individual investigative project or literature review. Required of all physics and engineering physics majors. May be repeated for credit.

PHYS4980. Senior Seminar (1)

Required of and limited to seniors. Involves a written and oral presentation of work completed in PHYS4970 or ENGR4970. Prerequisites: Instructor's permission.