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Physics Course Descriptions
PHYS 1100 The Fun of Physics (1
semester hour) An introductory course in physics in the modern world.
Focuses on the work of a physicist. What does a physicist do? What are
some of the exciting topics on which physicists are working today? The
faculty discusses their favorite concepts and the opportunities for
student participation in research. Must be taken on a Credit/No Credit
basis only. (1-0) Y
PHYS 1101 College Physics Laboratory I
(1 semester hour) A laboratory to accompany PHYS 1301. Cannot be used
to satisfy degree requirements for majors in the School of Engineering
and Computer Science. Corequisite: PHYS 1301. (0-3) Y
PHYS 1102 College Physics Laboratory II
(1 semester hour) A laboratory to accompany PHYS 1302. Cannot be used
to satisfy degree requirements for majors in the School of Engineering
and Computer Science. Corequisite: PHYS 1302. (0-3) Y
PHYS 1301 College Physics I (3 semester
hours) Algebra and trigonometry based basic physics. Topics include
mechanics, heat and thermodynamics. Cannot be used to satisfy degree
requirements for majors in the School of Engineering and Computer Science.
Prerequisite: MATH 1314. (3-0) Y
PHYS 1302 College Physics II (3
semester hours) Continuation of PHYS 1301. Topics include electricity
and magnetism and optics. Cannot be used to satisfy degree requirements
for majors in the School of Engineering and Computer Science. Prerequisite:
PHYS 1301. (3-0) Y
PHYS 2125 Physics Laboratory I (1
semester hour) Laboratory course to accompany PHYS 2325. Personal computer
based data presentation and curve fitting. Basic measurement concepts
such as experimental uncertainty, mean, standard deviation, standard
error, and error propagation will be covered. Corequisite: PHYS 2325.
(0-3) Y
PHYS 2126 Physics Laboratory II
(1 semester hour) Laboratory course to accompany PHYS 2326. Experiments
investigate Coulomb’s Law, electric fields, Ohm’s and Kirchoff’s
laws, RC circuits, magnetic forces between conductors, motors and transformers.
Corequisite: PHYS 2326. (0-3) Y
PHYS 2303 Contemporary Physics (3
semester hours) Topics include the fundamentals of geometric optics,
basic relativity and preliminary quantum concepts. (3-0) Y
PHYS 2325 Mechanics and Heat (3
semester hours) Calculus based. Basic physics including a study of space
and time, kinematics, forces, energy and momentum, conservation laws,
rotational motion, torques, and harmonic oscillation.. Two lectures
and one recitation session per week. Prerequisite: MATH 2417. Corequisite:
PHYS 2125. (3-0) Y
PHYS 2326 Electromagnetism and Waves
(3 semester hours) Continuation of PHYS 2325. Topics include electrostatics
and electromagnetics, electric field and potential, electric currents,
magnetic fields, laws of Coulomb, Ampere, and Faraday, Maxwell’s
theory of propagation. Two lectures and one recitation session per week.
Prerequisites: PHYS 2325 and MATH 2419. Corequisite: PHYS 2126. (3-0)
Y
PHYS 3125 Electronics Laboratory
(1 semester hour) Laboratory to accompany PHYS 3325. Students will be
required to purchase a breadboard and battery to power simple circuits
they design, build, and demonstrate. Corequisite: PHYS 3325. (0-3) Y
PHYS 3311 Theoretical Physics (3
semester hours) Vector spaces, linear operators, and eigenvectors; ordinary
differential equations and eigenfunctions; complex functions and contour
integration; Fourier series; integral transforms. Prerequisites: Differential
Equations (MATH 2420 or equivalent), Multivariable Calculus with Applications
(MATH 2451 or equivalent), and PHYS 2326. (3-0) Y
PHYS 3312 Classical Mechanics (3
semester hours) Newton’s laws and conservation of momentum; collisions;
two body problems and trajectories; rotating coordinate systems; Lagrangian
formulation; rotational dynamics and the inertia tensor; gravitation.
Prerequisite: PHYS 3311 or equivalent. (3-0) Y
PHYS 3324 Scientific Computing (3
semester hours) Introduction to modern programming languages like C++
and Fortran. Applications of programming for scientific analysis, manipulation,
and graphical display. (3-0)
PHYS 3325 Electronics (3 semester
hours) Direct and alternating current circuits; characteristics of semiconductor
devices, typical electronic circuits, power supplies, amplifiers, oscillators;
feedback transients and pulse circuits. Prerequisite: PHYS 2326. Corequisite:
PHYS 3125. (3-0) Y
PHYS 3330 Numerical Methods in Physics and
Computational Techniques (3 semester hours) The course covers
concepts and computational techniques in numerical methods for solving
physics problems. Topics typically include probability, statistics,
data analysis, fits, numerical solutions, and interpretation of the
experimental data. Prerequisite: CS 1337 or equivalent experience with
a computer programming language. (3-0) Y
PHYS 3341 Physics for Bio Science I
(3 semester hours) Calculus based. Basic physics for pre-health science
students. Topics include space and time, kinematics, forces, energy
and momentum, conservation laws, rotation, thermodynamics, and kinetic
theory. Focus is on biological applications. Two lectures and one recitation
session per week. Prerequisite: MATH 2417. Must register for Physics
Lab I (PHYS 2125). (3-0) Y
PHYS 3342 Physics for Bio Science II
(3 semester hours) Continuation of PHYS 3341. Topics include electrostatics
and electromagnetics, electric field and potential, electric currents,
magnetic fields, laws of Coulomb, Ampere, and Faraday; Maxwell’s
theory of propagation.. Focus is on biological applications. Two lectures
and one recitation session per week. Prerequisites: PHYS 3341 and MATH
2419. Must register for Physics Lab II (PHYS 2126). (3-0) Y
PHYS 3352 Modern Physics I (3 semester
hours) Wave particle duality, atomic structure, one and three dimensional
elementary quantum mechanics, and energy levels of single and multi
electron atoms. Fine structure splitting and momenta coupling. Prerequisite
PHYS 2303; co-requisite: PHYS 3311. (3-0) Y
PHYS 3380 Astronomy (3 semester
hours) An essentially descriptive course outlining the current views
of the universe and the sources of data supporting those views. The
solar system and its origin, stars, galaxies, pulsars, quasars, black
holes, nebulae and the evolution of the universe. Opportunity to use
a U.T. Dallas telescope is provided. Prerequisite: PHYS 2326. (3-0)
Y
PHYS 3416 Electricity and Magnetism
(4 semester hours) Coulomb’s and Gauss’s laws; two dimensional
representations of the electric field on a computer; graphing the electric
field; electrostatics; potential theory; field energy; fields of moving
charges and electric currents; the magnetic field; electromagnetic induction;
Kirchhoff’s laws and computer analysis of RLC circuits including
resonance; Maxwell’s equations; plane waves; guided waves; dielectrics,
magnetic media. Prerequisite: PHYS 3311 or equivalent. (3-0) Y
PHYS 4301 Quantum Mechanics I (3
semester hours) Fundamental concepts: the Stern Gerlach experiment;
the Dirac formalism; kets; bras and operators; base kets and matrix
representations. Measurements, observables and the uncertainty relations.
Position, momentum, and translation. Wave functions in position and
momentum space. Time evolution and Schrödinger’s equation,
Heisenberg picture. Applications include simple harmonic oscillator
and the H atom. Prerequisites: PHYS 3311, PHYS 3312, and PHYS 3352 or
equivalent. (3-0) Y
PHYS 4302 Quantum Mechanics II (3
semester hours) An extension of Quantum Mechanics I including relativistic
topics. Prerequisite: PHYS 4301. (3-0) T
PHYS 4311 Thermodynamics and Statistical
Mechanics (3 semester hours) Study of the elements of thermodynamics,
kinetic theory, and statistical mechanics; the concepts of temperature,
entropy, phase transitions, transport phenomena, partial functions,
statistical ensembles; the Maxwell Boltzmann, Fermi Dirac, and Bose
Einstein distributions; and the equipartition theorem. Applications
considered will include the thermodynamic description of chemical and
phase equilibria, magnetism, superconductivity, and superfluidity. Prerequisites:
PHYS 2325, PHYS 2326, and PHYS 3311. (3-0) Y
PHYS 4324 Computer Interfacing and Data Acquisition
(3 semester hours) Hardware and software techniques to utilize computers
in data acquisition and control of physics experiments. Operation of
digital input and output devices, analog to digital converters, digital
to analog converters, and intercomputer communication. Hands-on operation
of several devices. (3-0) T
PHYS 4328 Optics (3 semester hours)
Topics include electromagnetic waves and radiation, the interaction
of light and matter, geometric optics, polarization, interference, and
diffraction. Prerequisite: PHYS 3416. (3-0) Y
PHYS 4352 Modern Physics II (3 semester
hours) Topics in this advanced continuation of PHYS 3352 include the
application of quantum mechanics and statistical physics concepts to
an understanding of the operation of laser and solid state devices;
to elucidating molecular and solid state structure; to an appreciation
of nuclear structure, models and forces; and to explaining low temperature
phenomena. Introductory discussion of subnuclear particles, their properties
and interactions. Prerequisite: PHYS 3352. (3-0) Y
PHYS 4372 Solid State Devices (3
semester hours) This course is an introduction to the basic concepts
of solid state devices. Topics covered include semiconductor homojunctions
and heterojunctions, low dimensional physics, hot electron systems,
semiconductor lasers, field effect and heterojunction transistors, microwave
diodes, and infrared and solar devices. Prerequisite: PHYS 4371. (3-0)
T
PHYS 4373 Physical Measurements Laboratory
(3 semester hours) Thermodynamics and physical properties of
matter, vacuum technology, gas phase kinetics, spectroscopy, basic operations
in electronics, literature skills, and use of computers. Prerequisites:
PHYS 3352 and 3416. (0 6) Y
PHYS 4381 Space Science (3 semester
hours) A survey of the structure and dynamics of the atmospheres of
planets, including ionospheres and magnetospheres, as influenced by
the sun’s radiation and the solar wind. Topics include aurora
and airglow, photochemistry and atmospheric electricity. Prerequisite:
PHYS 2322, or PHYS 2326, or equivalent. (3-0) T
PHYS 4383 Plasma Physics (3 semester
hours) Plasmas are the 4th state of matter, in which some or all of
the neutral particles in a gas are ionized. A working knowledge of plasma
physics is important in nuclear physics, semiconductor processing, space
science, astronomy, and many other areas. This course will examine the
fundamental treatment of plasmas as embodied in the fluid equations,
magneto-hydrodynamics, and simple kinetic theory. Specific topics include
plasma waves and instabilities, diffusion, guiding center motion and
drifts, currents in plasmas, and particle collisions. Prerequisite:
PHYS 3311. Prerequisite or corequisite: PHYS 3416. (3-0) R
PHYS 4384 Astrophotography (3 semester
hours + 1 lab) Finding and photographing the moon, stars, meteors, and
planets with a telescope. Theoretical and practical aspects of telescope
optics, mounting, and star tracking. Developing film and digital manipulation
of images. Students supply 35mm SLR film, film, and printing supplies.
Prerequisites: PHYS 1302 or 2303 or 2325. No prior observational astronomy
experience required. (3-0) R
PHYS 4399 Senior Honors in Physics
(3 semester hours) For students conducting independent research for
honors theses or projects. Must be done under faculty supervision. (3-0)
S
PHYS 4V07 Senior Projects Laboratory
(1-3 semester hours) Intended as an introduction to research, this course
involves independent reading and/or laboratory work on advanced topics
or experiments. Prerequisite: consent of instructor. ([1-3] 0) R
PHYS 4V10 Special Topics in Physics
(1-9 semester hours) Subject matter will vary from semester to semester.
May be repeated for credit (9 hours maximum). Prerequisite: consent
of instructor. ([1-9] 0) S
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