Program Requirements

Courses

Faculty and Staff

Special Programs:

• 3-2 Program in Engineering
• Teacher Education

Complete Catalog Listing

Courses

Physics 100 — Topics in Physics (Fall, spring)
Recent offerings: How Things Work; Gravity and Science in Orbit; Light, Color, and Vision. Non-science majors only. One unit.

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Physics 101 — Introduction to Astronomy (Annually)
Motions of celestial bodies; the sun, Earth and moon; other terrestrial planets; Jovian planets; asteroids and comets; nebular model for the origin of the solar system; stars and stellar systems; Milky Way galaxy; the universe and the big-bang model. Non-science majors only. One unit.

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Physics 111 — General Physics 1 (Fall)
Kinematics in one and two dimensions; vectors; Newton's laws; work and energy; linear momentum and collisions; rotational motion; static equilibrium; oscillatory motion; gravitation; fluid mechanics; waves. Calculus-based. Includes a two-hour laboratory session per week. One and one-quarter units.

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Physics 112 — General Physics 2 (Spring)
Electric fields; electric potential; capacitance; DC circuits; magnetic fields; Faraday's law and inductance; AC circuits; geometric optics; wave optics; modern physics. Calculus-based. Includes a two-hour laboratory session per week. One and one-quarter units.

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Physics 115 — General Physics in Daily Life 1 (Fall)
Kinematics in one and two dimensions; vectors; Newton's laws; work and energy; linear momentum and collisions; rotational motion; static equilibrium; oscillatory motion; gravitation; fluid mechanics; waves. Calculus-based. One and one-quarter units.

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Physics 116 — General Physics in Daily Life 2 (Spring)
Electric fields; electric potential; capacitance; DC circuits; magnetic fields; Faraday's law and inductance; AC circuits; geometric optics; wave optics; modern physics. Calculus-based. One and one-quarter units.

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Physics 221 — Methods of Physics (Fall)
Mathematical techniques needed for the study of physics at the intermediate and advanced level. Ordinary differential equations; vector calculus; partial differential equations; matrices; Fourier series; and complex variables. One unit.

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Physics 223 — Modern Physics (Fall)
Special relativity; the particle aspects of electromagnetic radiation; the wave aspects of material particles; atomic structure; nuclear structure and reactions; elementary particles. One unit.

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Physics 225 — Modern Physics Laboratory* (Fall)
Millikan oil-drop experiment; gamma-ray spectroscopy and absorption; the Franck-Hertz experiment; measurements of e/m for the electron, Planck’s constant, the hydrogen Balmer lines, and the speed of light. Taken concurrently with Physics 223. One unit.

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Physics 231 — Optics (Alternate years in spring)
Fermat’s Principle; laws of reflection and refraction; image-forming properties of mirrors and lenses; analysis of optical systems; interference; diffraction; thin films; polarization; scattering of light; optical spectra; lasers and holography. One unit.

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Physics 233 — Optics Laboratory* (Alternate years in spring)
Image formation by lens systems; spherical and chromatic aberrations; determination of refractive index, optical activity, magneto-and electro-optical properties of materials using the interferometer, spectrometer and polarimeter; lasers, holography and optical fibers. Taken concurrently with Physics 231. One unit.

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Physics 234 — Electronics (Alternate years in spring )
Kirchhoff’s laws applied to DC and AC network analysis; the physics of semiconductors; properties of diodes and transistors; circuit applications including rectifiers, regulators, amplifiers, and oscillators; principles of feedback systems; operational amplifier circuits. One unit.

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Physics 236 — Electronics Laboratory* (Alternate years in spring)
AC and DC circuits; low- and high-pass filters; diode characteristics; rectifiers; transistor characteristics; multiple stage amplifiers with feedback; oscillators; operational amplifiers; TTL integrated circuits. Taken concurrently with Physics 234. One unit.

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Physics 342 — Classical Mechanics (Spring)
Motion of a particle in one dimension, including the damped, forced harmonic oscillator; vector analysis; motion of a particle in two or three dimensions, including motion under a central force; motion of a system of particles, including the two-body problem and coupled harmonic oscillators; rotation about an axis; introduction to Lagrangian dynamics. One unit.

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Physics 344 — Thermal Physics (Fall)
The laws of thermodynamics applied to various systems in equilibrium, including gases, magnetic materials, and solids; the concepts of temperature, heat, work, entropy, and the thermodynamic potential; reversible and irreversible processes. One unit.

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Physics 351 — Electromagnetic Theory (Spring)
The electrostatic field and potential; divergence and curl of E-field; work and energy in electrostatics; special techniques for calculating potentials; E-fields in matter; the Lorentz force and Biot-Savart law; divergence and curl of B-field; magnetic vector potential; magnetostatic fields in matter; EMF and Faraday’s law; Maxwell’s equations. One unit.

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Physics 353 — Quantum Mechanics (Fall)
The formalism of quantum mechanics; solutions of the one-dimensional Schrödinger equation including the infinite square well, the harmonic oscillator, and the finite well/barrier; solutions of the three-dimensional Schrödinger equation; the hydrogen atom; angular momentum and spin. Prerequisite: Physics 223. One unit.

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Physics 355 — Introduction to Astrophysics (Alternate years)
Celestial mechanics; spectra; solar physics; equations of stellar structure; thermonuclear reactions; stars and stellar systems; polytropes; stellar evolution; white dwarfs, neutron stars, and black holes; Milky Way galaxy; Hubble’s law; active galactic nuclei; big bang model. Prerequisite: Physics 223. One unit.

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Physics 356 — Experimental Solid State Physics (Alternate years)
Crystal structure; free-electron energy bands; semiconductors and metals; superconductivity; magnetic materials. Experiments include X-ray diffraction, optical spectroscopy, Mössbauer spectrometry, and resonance methods. Prerequisite: Physics 353. One unit.

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Physics 461, 462 — Independent Study (Fall, Spring)
One unit each semester.

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Physics 471, 472 — Undergraduate Research (Fall, Spring)
Supervised research in theory or experiment. One unit each semester.

*Each of these laboratory courses is taken as a fifth course and, as such, is figured in the GPA, but does not count toward the 32 courses required for graduation.