Frank Peiris

For many centuries, both scientists and artists have pondered the myriad compositions of light, including rainbows, shadows, colors and mirages. While the beauty of these phenomena is fascinating, it is also rewarding to grapple with the underlying theory that explains them. In this course, students explore how light can be modelled as a ray, wave or particle, and use these ideas to explain concepts such as reflection, refraction, scattering, diffraction and absorption. Several in-class laboratory exercises strengthen the conceptual understanding of light. Throughout the course, the focus is to explain various phenomena, ranging from fiber-optic technology to pointillism. A final project, which synthesizes the conceptual understanding of light, is required, and students are encouraged to follow their interests, through various forms, in order to fulfill it. While the course has some mathematical content -- simple algebra and geometry -- it is open to any student and does not count toward the physics major. No prerequisite.

This course is the first in a one-year introductory physics sequence. Topics include Newtonian mechanics, work and energy, fluids, and electric fields. When possible, examples relate to life science contexts. The course combines lectures, in-class exercises, homework assignments and examinations. Knowledge of calculus is not required. This course does not count toward the physics major. Prerequisite: concurrent enrollment in PHYS 131. Sophomore standing. Offered every fall.

This laboratory course meets one afternoon each week and is organized around weekly experiments that explore the phenomena of classical mechanics and electromagnetism, including motion, forces, fluid mechanics and conservation of energy and momentum. Lectures cover the theory and instrumentation required to understand each experiment. Experimental techniques emphasize computerized acquisition and analysis of video images to study motion. Students are introduced to computer-assisted graphical and statistical analysis of data as well as the analysis of experimental uncertainty. Except in rare instances, this course does not count toward the physics major. Prerequisite: concurrent enrollment in PHYS 130 (or PHYS 140 for sophomores enrolled in PHYS 140). Offered every fall.

This laboratory course meets one afternoon each week and is organized around weekly experiments that explore the phenomena of waves phenomena, geometrical and physical optics, elementary quantum theory, atomic physics, X-rays, radioactivity, nuclear physics and thermodynamics. Lectures cover the theory and instrumentation required to understand each experiment. Students continue to develop skills in computer-assisted graphical and statistical analysis of data as well as the analysis of experimental uncertainty. This course does not count toward the physics major. Prerequisite: PHYS 131 and concurrent enrollment in PHYS 135. Offered every spring.

This laboratory course is a corequisite for all students enrolled in PHYS 145. The course meets one afternoon each week and is organized around weekly experiments exploring the phenomena of waves, optics, X-rays, and atomic and nuclear physics. Lectures cover the theory and instrumentation required to understand each experiment. Experimental techniques include the use of lasers, X-ray diffraction and fluorescence, optical spectroscopy, and nuclear counting and spectroscopy. Students are introduced to computer-assisted graphical and statistical analysis of data, as well as the analysis of experimental uncertainty. This course is required for the physics major. Prerequisite: PHYS 131 or 141 and concurrent enrollment in PHYS 145. Offered every spring.

This lecture course is the third semester of the calculus-based introductory sequence in physics, which begins with PHYS 140 and PHYS 145. Topics include electric charge, electric and magnetic fields, electrostatic potentials, electromagnetic induction, Maxwell's equations in integral form, electromagnetic waves, the postulates of the special theory of relativity, relativistic kinematics and dynamics, and the connections between special relativity and electromagnetism. It may be an appropriate first course for particularly strong students with advanced placement in physics and mathematics; such students must be interviewed by and obtain permission from the chair of the physics department. This course is required for the physics major. Prerequisite: PHYS 140 or equivalent and concurrent enrollment in PHYS 241 (upper-class students) or PHYS 141 (first-years) and MATH 213 or equivalent. Offered every fall.

The course begins with a discussion of the wave nature of light. The remainder is concerned with the study of electromagnetic waves and their interactions with lenses, apertures of various configurations and matter. Topics include the properties of waves, reflection, refraction, interference, and Fraunhofer and Fresnel diffraction, along with Fourier optics and coherence theory. This counts toward the theoretical elective for the major. Prerequisite: PHYS 350. Offered every other spring.

Modern field theories may find their inspiration in the quest for understanding the most fundamental forces of the universe, but they find crucial tests and fruitful applications when used to describe the properties of the materials that make up our everyday world. In fact, these theories have made great strides in allowing scientists to create new materials with properties that have revolutionized technology and our daily lives. This course includes crystal structure as the fundamental building block of most solid materials; how crystal lattice periodicity creates electronic band structure; the electron-hole pair as the fundamental excitation of the "sea" of electrons; and Bose-Einstein condensation as a model for superfluidity and superconductivity. Additional topics are selected from the renormalization group theory of continuous phase transitions, the interaction of light with matter, magnetic materials and nanostructures. There will be a limited number of labs on topics such as crystal growth, X-ray diffraction as a probe of crystal structure, specific heat of metals at low temperature, and spectroscopic ellipsometry. This counts toward the theoretical elective for the major. Prerequisite: PHYS 360. Offered every other spring.

This course is an introduction to upper-level experimental physics that prepares students for work in original research in physics and for work in industry applications of physics. Students acquire skills in experimental design, observation, material preparation and handling, and equipment calibration and operation. Experiments are selected to introduce students to concepts, techniques and equipment useful in understanding physical phenomena across a wide range of physics subdisciplines, with the twofold goal of providing a broad overview of several branches of experimental physics and preparing students to undertake any experiments in PHYS 386 and 387. This course is required as part of the 1 unit of upper-level experimental physics coursework to complete the major in physics. Prerequisite: PHYS 241, 245 and 380. Offered every spring and runs only the first half of the semester.

In this course, students explore fundamental physical interactions between light and matter, such as Compton scattering, Rayleigh and Mie scattering, and matter-antimatter annihilation, while also learning to use common nuclear and optical detection and analysis techniques. This counts toward the experimental elective for the major. Prerequisite: PHYS 385 (may be taken in the same semester). Offered in alternate years and runs only the second half of the spring semester.

In this course, students probe the structure of solids using X-ray crystallography and atomic force microscopy, study the physical properties of semiconductors, and use the manipulation of magnetic fields to examine the resonant absorption of energy in atoms and nuclei. This counts toward the experimental elective for the major. Prerequisite: PHYS 385 (may be taken in the same semester). Offered in alternate years and runs only the second half of the spring semester.