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Course Listing for PHYSICS - Fall 2024 (ALL: 09/03/2024 - 12/18/2024)
Class
No.		 Course ID Title Credits Type Instructor(s) Days:Times Location Permission
Required		 Dist Qtr
1027 PHYS-101-01 Prin Physics I 1.25 LEC Staff, Trinity MWF: 10:00AM-10:50AM TBA NAT  
  Enrollment limited to 36 Waitlist available: Y Mode of Instruction: In Person  
  An introduction to the fundamental ideas of physics. Beginning with kinematics—the quantitative description of motion—the course covers the Newtonian mechanics of point masses, Newton’s theory of universal gravitation, the work-energy principle, and the conservation of energy and momentum. A student taking Physics 101 cannot earn credit Physics 141.
1028 PHYS-101-20 Prin Physics I 1.25 LAB Patton, Kelly T: 1:30PM-4:10PM TBA NAT  
  Enrollment limited to 18 Waitlist available: Y Mode of Instruction: In Person  
  An introduction to the fundamental ideas of physics. Beginning with kinematics—the quantitative description of motion—the course covers the Newtonian mechanics of point masses, Newton’s theory of universal gravitation, the work-energy principle, and the conservation of energy and momentum. A student taking Physics 101 cannot earn credit Physics 141.
1029 PHYS-101-21 Prin Physics I 1.25 LAB Staff, Trinity R: 1:30PM-4:10PM TBA NAT  
  Enrollment limited to 18 Waitlist available: Y Mode of Instruction: In Person  
  An introduction to the fundamental ideas of physics. Beginning with kinematics—the quantitative description of motion—the course covers the Newtonian mechanics of point masses, Newton’s theory of universal gravitation, the work-energy principle, and the conservation of energy and momentum. A student taking Physics 101 cannot earn credit Physics 141.
1647 PHYS-141-01 Physics I - Mechanics 1.25 LEC Patton, Kelly MWF: 10:00AM-11:50AM TBA NAT  
  Enrollment limited to 36 Waitlist available: Y Mode of Instruction: In Person  
  Prerequisite: C- or better in Math 131, or concurrent enrollment. Students may not earn credit for both Physics 101 and Physics 141.
  NOTE: 20 seats are reserved for First-Year students.
  This course is the first part of a three-term calculus-based introduction to physics for students intending to major in physics or one of the physical sciences. It is taught in an interactive studio format, which emphasizes collaborative problem solving, hands-on experimentation, and data analysis. This course is designed to provide the student with a working knowledge of the language and the analytical tools of Newtonian mechanics. Topics include kinematics, forces, conservation laws, work and energy, momentum, gravity, and rigid-body motion. Time permitting, the course will conclude with the study of the first two laws of thermodynamics and their application to the prototypical thermodynamics system, the ideal gas. Three two-hour class meetings per week. The laboratory is integrated into the course.
1648 PHYS-141-02 Physics I - Mechanics 1.25 LEC Schwartz, Eyal MWF: 1:30PM-3:20PM TBA NAT  
  Enrollment limited to 36 Waitlist available: Y Mode of Instruction: In Person  
  Prerequisite: C- or better in Math 131, or concurrent enrollment. Students may not earn credit for both Physics 101 and Physics 141.
  NOTE: 20 seats are reserved for First-Year students.
  This course is the first part of a three-term calculus-based introduction to physics for students intending to major in physics or one of the physical sciences. It is taught in an interactive studio format, which emphasizes collaborative problem solving, hands-on experimentation, and data analysis. This course is designed to provide the student with a working knowledge of the language and the analytical tools of Newtonian mechanics. Topics include kinematics, forces, conservation laws, work and energy, momentum, gravity, and rigid-body motion. Time permitting, the course will conclude with the study of the first two laws of thermodynamics and their application to the prototypical thermodynamics system, the ideal gas. Three two-hour class meetings per week. The laboratory is integrated into the course.
2368 PHYS-232-01 PhysIII:Optics/Modern Phys&LAB 1.25 LEC Branning, David MWF: 11:00AM-11:50AM TBA NAT  
  Enrollment limited to 16 Waitlist available: N Mode of Instruction: In Person  
  Prerequisite: C- or better in Physics 231L and either Mathematics 132 or 142, with concurrent registration in Mathematics 231 strongly recommended.
  Concluding the three-term calculus-based introductory physics sequence, this course begins with the study of interference and diffraction, which provide compelling evidence for the wave nature of light. We then turn to geometrical optics to understand the properties of lenses, mirrors, and optical instruments. The remainder of the course is devoted to the treatment of phenomena at the atomic and subatomic levels using the ideas of quantum physics. From the introduction of the photon, the Bohr atom, and de Broglie’s matter waves, we proceed to the unified description provided by Schrodinger’s wave mechanics. This is used to understand basic properties of atoms, beginning with hydrogen, and to describe the interaction between electromagnetic radiation and matter. As time permits, the course will include a brief introduction to the theory of special relativity and to nuclear physics. Three class meetings and one laboratory per week.
2369 PHYS-232-20 PhysIII:Optics/Modern Phys&LAB 1.25 LAB Palandage, Kalum W: 1:30PM-4:10PM TBA NAT  
  Enrollment limited to 16 Waitlist available: N Mode of Instruction: In Person  
  Prerequisite: C- or better in Physics 231L and either Mathematics 132 or 142, with concurrent registration in Mathematics 231 strongly recommended.
  Concluding the three-term calculus-based introductory physics sequence, this course begins with the study of interference and diffraction, which provide compelling evidence for the wave nature of light. We then turn to geometrical optics to understand the properties of lenses, mirrors, and optical instruments. The remainder of the course is devoted to the treatment of phenomena at the atomic and subatomic levels using the ideas of quantum physics. From the introduction of the photon, the Bohr atom, and de Broglie’s matter waves, we proceed to the unified description provided by Schrodinger’s wave mechanics. This is used to understand basic properties of atoms, beginning with hydrogen, and to describe the interaction between electromagnetic radiation and matter. As time permits, the course will include a brief introduction to the theory of special relativity and to nuclear physics. Three class meetings and one laboratory per week.
3238 PHYS-304-01 Statistical & Thermal Physics 1.00 LEC Palandage, Kalum MWF: 10:00AM-10:50AM TBA NAT  
  Enrollment limited to 15 Waitlist available: N Mode of Instruction: In Person  
  Prerequisite: C- or better in Physics 131L or Physics 141L and Mathematics 132.
  This course provides an intermediate-level presentation of basic principles of statistical physics with applications to scientific inference, stochastic phenomena, and thermodynamics. Classical thermodynamics describes the equilibrium properties and phase transformations of macroscopic physical systems in terms of relations independent of any atomic model of matter. Statistical physics, by contrast, provides a fundamental theoretical foundation for the thermodynamic relations in terms of the specific statistical laws obeyed by the elementary particles of matter and general considerations of probability theory. Together, thermodynamics and statistical physics provide the tools for studying the behavior of aggregates of particles far too numerous to be analyzed by solving directly the equations of motion of either classical or quantum mechanics. Among the concepts, systems, and processes to be discussed are heat, work, temperature, pressure, energy, entropy, chemical potential, chemical equilibria, gases, liquids, solids, solutions, neutron stars, and fluctuation phenomena (not necessarily in that order and subject to time constraints).
3239 PHYS-313-01 Quantum Mechanics 1.00 LEC Branning, David MWF: 12:00PM-12:50PM TBA NAT  
  Enrollment limited to 15 Waitlist available: N Mode of Instruction: In Person  
  Prerequisite: C- or better in Physics 232L.
  A thorough study of the general formalism of quantum mechanics together with some illustrative applications, including the postulates of quantum mechanics; states, observables, and operators; measurements in quantum mechanics; the Dirac notation; simple systems: the square well, the harmonic oscillator, the hydrogen atom; approximation techniques and perturbation theory; and elements of the quantum theory of angular momentum.
1425 PHYS-399-01 Independent Study 1.00 - 2.00 IND TBA TBA TBA Y NAT  
  Enrollment limited to 15 Waitlist available: N Mode of Instruction: In Person  
  Submission of the special form, available in the Registrar’s Office, and the approval of the instructor and chairperson are required for enrollment.
1408 PHYS-405-01 Senior Exercise 0.50 IND TBA TBA TBA Y NAT  
  Enrollment limited to 15 Waitlist available: N Mode of Instruction: In Person  
  This course is open only to senior Physics majors.
  This exercise is intended to familiarize students with a problem of current interest in physics, and to develop their ability to gather and interpret the information relevant to the problem. During the fall semester each senior student will meet with an assigned faculty adviser to plan an essay or research project to be completed during the year. Topics may involve any aspects of physics, including its various applications. While students may write on original research they have undertaken, they are not required to do so. This exercise is required for the physics major.
1498 PHYS-490-01 Research Assistantship 0.50 - 1.00 IND TBA TBA TBA Y  
  Enrollment limited to 15 Waitlist available: N Mode of Instruction: In Person  
  This course is designed to provide students with the opportunity to undertake substantial research work with a faculty member. Students need to complete a special registration form, available online, and have it signed by the supervising instructor.