Physics BSc

Our group is the core component of the Applied Physics course, delivering teaching at level 4 in:

• Optics (semester 1)
• Electromagnetism (semester 2)
• Quantum mechanics (semester 2)

You will find more course-specific content on Canvas (available when the course will start, in September 2017). We will strive to deliver the Optics module as a blended e-learning experience, with video-recording of the material.

Our head of group is also the Director of Studies for Physics at the University, with responsibility for the success and well-being of all the enrolled students.

The organisation of the overall course reads as follow.

First Year (Level 4)

Semester 1

Mechanics

Mechanics is the epitome of physics: it describes and explains the behaviour of physical objects around us, from falling apples to orbiting planets. The first great achievement of Physics as a Science was Newton's understanding that the same laws describe both. The wide range of physical phenomena that can be explained from the laws of classical mechanics makes it a pillar of virtually all other scientific fields. This makes this topic one of the oldest and largest subjects in science, engineering and technology.  The module will concentrate on Newtonian mechanics as an introduction to the methods and thinking of a physicist.  It will also expand on this classical material to introduce more advanced ideas and concepts of Mechanics, including fluid mechanics, applied mechanics and Lagrangian mechanics. The other branch of mechanics, quantum mechanics, will be studied in a different module. The module will thus focus on the study of the motion of classical bodies and teach how to calculate in various reference frames their position, velocity and acceleration as a function of time under the action of applied forces, with applications to projectiles, astronomical bodies and macroscopic rigid bodies. Important concepts such as conservation laws and symmetry are introduced and studied in a plethora of variations. The dynamics of oscillators, in particular the harmonic oscillator, will be studied in great detail, with emphasis of how various terms in the equation correspond to various scenarios describing a physical object, with basic concepts such as driving and dissipation. The value and interest of exact (closed-form) solutions as compared to approximations will be highlighted.

Laboratory sessions will be conducted to develop a firm grasp of Physics as an experimental and applied science, focusing on fundamentals such as the study of pendulums and springs, and reproducing pioneering experiments such as the free-falling objects of Galileo. Along with a traditional pen-and-paper approach, an introduction to fully automatised, computer-assisted modern laboratories will be given through a dynamic wireless smart-cart system.

Optics

Optics is the Science of light. As our most privileged human contact with the surrounding world is through the eye, optics has always been a central topic in our description of the observable universe. Light is also one of the key technological resources with practical applications found in a variety of technologies and everyday objects, including mirrors, lenses, telescopes, microscopes, lasers and fibre optics. Because light is a particular type of electromagnetic waves (with frequencies close to those visible to the naked eye), optical phenomena are just a branch of classical electromagnetism. The full theory is so large however and this particular type is so important that it comes as topic of its own. The module will study two aspects of light: as rays (geometrical optics) and as waves (physical optics). The emphasis will be on geometrical optics with detailed study of optical instrumentation and their applications (magnifiers, cameras, microscope and telescopes, including human vision) in both the classroom and through laboratory sessions. The most important notions of physical optics that provide a more general framework to optical phenomena and prepare more advanced applications, such as interferometry, polarization and diffractive-optics, will be studied at a more introductory level.  The module will also survey some advanced notions of photonics in the modern applications of light: the use of lasers, optical detectors, waveguides, fibers and devices for imaging, display and storage, to complete this first outlook on light.

Mathematics

Physics is an exact science and is articulated, even in its most applied and experimental aspects, through mathematics of various types and levels. Mathematics will therefore be a topic that will be studied in all years of the BSc (Hons) Applied Physics course, to develop skills to enter employment fully armed with modern mathematical and numerical methods.  The first year will refresh previous knowledge, in particular of calculus (of real and complex numbers), and move on from there to introduce basic real analysis (functions of one variable, trigonometry) assuring a working knowledge of integration and derivation. The bulk of the module will be on i) the theory of ordinary differential equations and ii) linear algebra. Both will be studied with practical considerations in mind but algebra will also be introduced as the study of abstract mathematical structures, with the study of sets, groups and vector spaces. The emphasis will remain on vector calculus and computation with matrices and tensors. Finally, rudimentary notions of probability will be studied, with statistics being covered in laboratory sessions. The module will conclude by introducing functions of several variables & their partial derivatives, to be revisited again on next year.

Semester 2

Electromagnetism 1

Physics is a Science of "unification", striving to find general fundamental principles that explain the largest possible extent of observed phenomena with the simplest set of physical laws.  In this respect, electromagnetism is the standard theory that led to the unification of two important branches of physics: electricity and magnetism. Its further extension led to the "standard model" of particle physics. This level 4 module will bring us toward the culmination of the theory, namely Maxwell's equations, through preparatory study of vector calculus and in-depth separate analyses of the electric and magnetic fields. This will create familiarity with the respective phenomenology that are of considerable importance for the subject of applied physics. These phenomenon fall under the denomination of electrostatic (the science of electric charges) and magnetostatic (the science of magnets). Special emphasis will be given to electronic circuits as an applied illustration of important concepts of electrodynamics, and to support the laboratory sessions that will focus on these aspects.

Quantum Mechanics

Quantum mechanics describes objects at small scales and low energies. Since our technology relies heavily on miniaturisation, quantum effects become increasingly important in the applied and engineering branches of physics.  Every field of physics has its "quantum counterpart". Furthermore, quantum physics is so counter-intuitive that it makes a complete break with so-called "classical physics", even though the latter includes modern developments such as relativity that revolutionised our understanding of the nature of time and space. Being familiar with quantum concepts is not only important from the scientific viewpoint but also from cultural and philosophical point of views: from the quantum Zeno effect to Schrödinger's cat. Quantum physics is so pivotal in modern physics that some aspects of it will be studied in at all three levels of study in the BSc (Hons) Applied Physics course.

This level 4 module will introduce the problems with classical physics and the need for a paradigm change, how this was made through the concept of a wavefunction and its associated Schrödinger equation. Solving the latter on elementary cases with time-independent Hamiltonian will allow to delve into the interpretation and meaning of the theory. Its axiomatic formulation in an Hilbert space will introduce the formal and abstract aspects. The concept of quantum correlations will be introduced and contrasted to classical physics, with an introduction to the concepts leading to Bell's inequalities. Special emphasis will be given to applications of quantum physics and how it promises another technology revolution for the coming decades.  The module will conclude on the two-body problem in quantum mechanics, introducing the notion of bosons and fermions.

Scientific Computing

With the advent and generalisation of computers, Science has taken a new turn. It is now possible to make breakthrough discoveries or reach record-breaking calculations with a standard home computer. Whilst this influences all of the Sciences, Physics is particularly affected since a physical problem is often reduced to solving an equation, which can usually be done numerically. The unique skillsets of Physicists in adapting computer resources to the wide variety of their problems make them highly sought in numerous areas extraneous to their speciality, such as in finance and banking, where they have proven to be the most versatile, resourceful and able users of computer simulations. Since numerical methods are a considerable resource, that will prove useful whatever the future occupation of any physicist will be, the topic will be studied throughout the course. 

This module will first introduce the use of computer resources in networking systems.  The unix/linux-based scientific computing environment will be introduced for its scripting features, data processing tools as well as for the standard scientific document typesetting system (LaTeX). This environment will contribute to applications for the Enterprise and Employability Award through content-based rather than look-focused approach in setting up a resume, motivation letter and writting an application, and later for the preparation of Research-level scientific reports for the laboratory experiments.   The module will then introduce basic algorithms and teach elementary numerical methods such as solving sets of linear equations, methods of interpolation, finding roots of nonlinear equations, evaluating integrals and will introduce direct methods for solving ordinary differential equations.  The modules will be intensively based on laboratory sessions and practical work and will also teach the necessary programming skills. To endow the student with modern and powerful tools, the course will be taught in the Python programming language, which is a high-level language fairly easy to learn and affording great code readability. This will form a good starting point for development of other programming languages that will be needed on the professional market (where Python is also highly sought). It allows for interacting programming through ipython and Jupyter that is of great pedagogical value. All of these resources are open sources so students can study and apply their knowledge outside of the university.

Second Year (Level 5)

Semester 1

Electromagnetism 2

This module builds upon the material studied in the 4AP004-Electromagnetism I, which concluded with the presentation of Maxwell's equations, brought together by separate studies of electric and magnetic phenomena. This level 5 module combines the equations, adding the one final piece brought by Maxwell, and show how this complete description of the time-and-space varying electromagnetic field opens a whole new realm of physical phenomena and applications. The module will show in particular how light emerges out of the equations and, remarkably, how the speed of light in a vacuum arises as a universal constant that is dependent only on the electrical permittivity and magnetic permeability of free space. It will study light's propagation subsequent to its radiation by a source, a problem known as "electrodynamics". The study of light's interaction with matter will allow to revisit one's knowledge of optics from a more fundamental point of view and better appreciate the hierarchy of the subfields of physics. Intensive laboratory sessions will provide insights through a variety of microwave experiments.

Solid State Physics

Solid state physics is an introduction to condensed matter physics, within which you will study the particular topic of widest interest: that of rigid matter. This topic is both better understood and of greatest practical use for technology and industry, the bulk of which relies on a particular types of solids—semiconductors—that provide the bulk material for electronic devices. Solid state physics considers how large-scale properties of solids arise from fundamental phenomena taking place in crystalline ordering of densely packed atoms. It is a rich and fruitful field that illustrates how simple ideas lead to extremely complex behaviours when involving many-body physics. It also brings together various subfields of physics, from classical to quantum mechanics, electromagnetism and statistics, to this playground and considers how various phenomena have different origins or, in contrast, stem from a combination of several disciplines. This develops the ability to explain something out of a simple model.  Solid state physics focuses on the mechanical (e.g., hardness and elasticity), thermal, electrical, magnetic and optical properties of crystals. This module will describe all these aspects in details with a joint theoretical description in class and laboratory experimentation, contrasting different types of solids as probed through these various characteristics.

Mathematical Methods

This module will strengthen the mathematical apparatus required to support the increasing knowledge and depth of description of the physical phenomena, now extending to functions of several variables and their associated partial differential equations. Calculus of vector field will also be covered in parallel through the Electromagnism II module. Complex analysis will extend calculus to the case of complex functions of complex variables, showing the stronger notion of derivatives through the Cauchy­Riemann's theorem and the notion of analycity. The module will then starts a paradigm shift towards providing the "Mathematical Methods" which are useful in physics, that consist of specialized techniques and tools from a given Mathematical discipline, that the physicist does not usually need to know in its entirety. Finally, the study of dynamical systems will be studied with some emphasis on applications for applied Physics (bi­stability and hysteresis of nonlinear oscillators, laser thresholds, Liénard systems, relaxation oscillations, etc.)

Semester 2

Thermodynamics and Statistics

The unit to measure the "number of things", the mole, is unfathomably large, of the order of $10^{23}$ objects. In such conditions, describing a mole of, say, a gas, seems a daunting task, given the sheer amount of underlying constituents that interact between each other. It is one insight of thermodynamics and statistical physics that such complex objects can however be described, essentially completely and exactly with only a few variables. In fact, the larger the number of objects, the more accurate the description. An important illustration is the case of thermodynamics, the science of heat-flow and its relation to work, that is such a macroscopic consequence of statistical (and quantum) mechanics.  An understanding of thermal physics is crucial, not only to modern physics, but also to chemistry, biology, computer science and, of course, several subfields of engineering. The module introduces key notions of statistical mechanics, with a strong emphasis on thermodynamics, but surveying also the other fields of interest for applied Physics, namely, solid state physics, optics and also complex systems.

Year 1 — 2017/2018

This is the academic calendar:

And these are the weekly-calendars for Applied Physics:

• Semester 1
• Semester 2