Module Outlines
Here are brief outlines of all the modules that may be taken by current 2nd year physics and physics and business studies students.
Term 1
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The first year module PX101 Quantum Phenomena discussed some of the phenomena that led to quantum theory and showed that most of these are a consequence of wave-particle duality. The first part of this year's module uses the simple ideas introduced in PX101 to explore atomic structure. The module goes on to cover the mathematical tools needed in quantum mechanics and outlines the fundamental postulates that form the basis of the theory. The module will discuss the time-independent and the time-dependent Schrödinger equations for spherically symmetric and harmonic potentials, angular momentum and hydrogenic atoms.
The second half of the module looks at many-particle systems and aspects of the standard model of particle physics. The module will introduce the quantum mechanics of free fermions and discuss how it accounts for the conductivity and heat capacity of metals, the state of electrons in white dwarf stars and that of neutrons in neutron stars. Introducing the lattice and the scattering of electrons off ions then allows us to describe the properties of semiconductors and insulators. The standard model of particle physics is a quantum field theory and beyond simple quantum mechanics. However, using ideas you have already met, we will be able to discuss a number of aspects of the standard model such as antiparticles and particle oscillations.
LECTURERS: Gavin Bell (term 1) and Nicholas d'Ambrumenil (term 2)
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The aim of this introductory module is to present an understanding of the behaviour of the solid Earth in terms of simple physical principles. The topics which will be covered to some extent include: the age of the Earth, plate tectonics, seismology, gravity and the shape of the Earth, oceanic and continental heat, the Earth's core and magnetic field.
LECTURER: Nicholas Hine
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This module introduces the Hamiltonian formulation of classical mechanics. This elegant theory has provided the natural framework for several important developments in theoretical physics including quantum mechanics.
The module will start by covering the general "spirit" of the theory and then go on to introduce the details. The module will use a lot of examples. Many of these will be familiar from earlier studies of mechanics while others, which would be much harder to deal with using traditional techniques, can be dealt with quite easily using the language and methods of Hamiltonian mechanics.
LECTURER: James Lloyd-Hughes
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This module provides you with the opportunity to further develop your experimental skills in a range of areas and includes the design and testing of a functional electronic circuit. The module also introduces you to the concepts involved in controlling an experiment using a microcomputer. In addition the module will explore information retrieval and evaluation, and the oral and written presentation of scientific matter.
ORGANISER: Martin Lees
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Power generation is a very topical issue. This module introduces this topic from a physicist's perspective. It will consider the conventional (coal/oil/gas) generation process in detail, before moving on to look at fission reactors. Various forms of renewable power will then be explored and the final part of the module will look at the potential of fusion.
LECTURER: Vasily Kantsler
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TERM 1: This module reviews the techniques of ordinary and partial differentiation and ordinary and multiple integration, discusses the partial differential equations of physics and the methods used to solve them and develops vector calculus.
TERM 2: The theory of Fourier transforms and the Dirac delta function will be covered. Fourier transforms are used to represent functions on the whole real line using linear combinations of sines and cosines. Fourier transforms are a powerful tool in physics and applied mathematics. The examples used to illustrate the module will be drawn mainly from interference and diffraction phenomena in optics.
The module also introduces Lagrange multipliers, co-ordinate transformations and cartesian tensors illustrating them briefly with examples of their use in various areas of physics.
LECTURERS: Jon Duffy (Term 1) and Matthew Turner (Term 2).
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This module will develop your facility with the Python programming language which you obtained in PX150 Physics Programming Workshop.
LECTURER: Michal Kreps
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You do not need to be told that global warming (climate change) is a serious issue. This module will look at the challenges posed by the measurement and attempted prediction of climate change and the economics and politics associated with any actions (or inaction).
LECTURERS: Michael Pounds (Physics) and David Mond (Mathematics)
Term 2
Physics Skills, Quantum Mechanics and Its Applications, and Mathematical Methods for Physicists all continue from Term 1.
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This module develops the ideas of first year electricity and magnetism into Maxwell's theory of electromagnetism. Maxwell's equations pulled the various laws of electricity and magnetism (Faraday's law, Ampere's law, Lenz's law, Gauss's law) into one unified and elegant theory. Establishing a complete theory of electromagnetism has proved to be one the greatest achievements of physics. It was the principal motivation for Einstein to develop special relativity, it has served as the model for subsequent theories of the forces of nature and it has been the basis for all of electronics (radios, telephones, computers, the lot...).
The module will also show that Maxwell's equations in free space have time-dependent solutions, which turn out to be the familiar electromagnetic waves (light, radio waves, X-rays etc), and will study their behaviour at material boundaries (Fresnel Equations).
Finally the module will focus on the basic physics of optical instruments and light sources.
LECTURER: Yorck Ramachers
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The field of fluids is one of the richest and most easily appreciated in physics. Tidal waves, cloud formation and the weather generally are some of the more spectacular phenomena encountered in fluids. We will establish the basic equations of motion for a fluid - the Navier-Stokes equations - and show that in many cases they can yield simple and intuitively appealing explanations of fluid flows. We will concentrate on incompressible fluids.
LECTURER: Julie Staunton
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People have been studying stars for as long as anything else in science. Yet the subject is advancing faster now than almost every other branch of physics. With the arrival of space-based instruments, the prospects are that the field will continue to advance and that some of the most exciting discoveries reported in physics during your lifetime will be in astrophysics.
The module deals with the physics of the observation of stars and with the understanding of their behaviour and properties that the observations lead to. The module will cover the main classifications of stars by size, age and distance from the earth and the relationships between them. We will also look at how the observations of stars' behaviour allows us to study the evolutionary history of galaxies and of the universe as a whole.
LECTURER: Don Pollacco
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Particle physics experiments are designed to study sub-atomic particles and to test their behaviour against the predictions of the Standard Model (SM). After revising the basics of the SM and Feynman diagrams, we will look at the various sources for elementary particles and the methods for detecting them. These include sources we can build (accelerators) and natural sources such as radioactive nuclei and cosmic rays. The quantities we aim to measure, or infer from measurements, are the particles' velocities, their charge, their lifetimes and their decay modes. A major part of any experiment is the extraction of these quantities from large data sets. As the data relating to the events, that we want to analyse, can be scarce and obscured by other data and noise, the module will also explain the statistical methods used in the study of such data sets.
LECTURER: Bill Murray
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Any macroscopic object we meet contains a large number of particles, each of which moves according to the laws of mechanics (which can be classical or quantum). Yet we can usually ignore the details of this microscopic motion and use just a few average quantities such as temperature and pressure to describe and predict the behaviour of the object. Why we can do this, when we can do this and how to do it are the subject of this module.
The most important idea in the field is due to Boltzmann, who identified the connection between entropy and disorder. (It had been known that entropy had to exist if the empirical laws of thermodynamics were to be consistent with observation, but there was no microscopic definition for it.) The module will show how the whole structure of equilibrium thermodynamics follows from Boltzmann's definition of the entropy and will show how, in principle, any observable equilibrium quantity can be computed. We will see that this microscopic theory (now called statistical mechanics) provides the basis for predicting and explaining all thermodynamic properties of matter.
LECTURER: Paul Goddard
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All students taking this module are expected to have access to sustained experience of working with teachers of physics and their pupils in a secondary school. The module is intended for students who participate in the Warwick in Schools programme. The module provides an opportunity for students to undertake academic study in science education, and to relate their studies directly to their experiences of observing teachers and working with pupils in secondary school science classes. Commitment: 2 hour per week for 7 weeks plus school experience. Content: The module will focus on a number of themes relating to teaching of science in secondary schools. The taught sessions will include workshop activities in many of which you will work together in small groups to consider issues raised. For each theme there will be one or two required readings from relevant academic texts or from research papers in education.
Lecturer: tba (Institute of Education)
Term 3
PX265 Thermal Physics II continues from Term 2.
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