2003-2004 Undergraduate Calendar-Physics

Last updated: July 22, 2003 @ 03:33PM

Physics

Chair
Bozidar Mitrovic

Professors Emeriti
John E. Black, Colin A. Plint, Ramesh C. Shukla

Professors
Shyamal K. Bose, Douglas H. Bruce, Bozidar Mitrovic, Fereidoon S. Razavi, Stuart M. Rothstein

Associate Professors
Maureen Reedyk, Kirill Samokhin, Edward Sternin, Art van der Est

Assistant Professor
David A. Crandles

Senior Laboratory Instructor
Frank A. Benko

Laboratory Demonstrator
Fulvio Boseglav

Director Co-operative Programs
Cindy Dunne

General Information

Administrative Assistant
Alice Witvoet

905-688-5550, extension 3412
Mackenzie Chown B210
http://www.physics.brocku.ca/

The department offers four-year programs of study leading to a BSc Honours in Physics, a BSc Honours Co-op option in Physics, a BSc with a Major in Physics and a three-year BSc Pass degree program. Students may take a single major in Physics or a combined major with Biological Sciences, Chemistry, Computer Science, Earth Sciences, Mathematics or Great Books/Liberal Studies.

The core of the program is designed to provide an understanding of the principles and fundamental interactions of classical and quantum physics as well as many applications of these principles in technology and everyday life. It is possible for non-Physics degree students to take advanced courses, provided they have the physics and mathematics required in the year 1 Physics program. An experimental physics path of PHYS 2P31 and 3P92 or a modern physics path of PHYS 2P50 and 3P91 are possible.

The Physics Co-op program combines academic and work terms over a four and one-half year period. Students spend two years in an academic setting, where they acquire the necessary background prior to taking the first work placement. In addition to the current fees for courses in academic study terms, Physics Co-op students are assessed an annual administrative fee (see the Schedule of Fees).

Students admitted to the Physics Co-op program must follow the Physics Co-op program schedule. Failure to adhere to the schedule may result in removal from the Physic Co-op program. Eligibility to continue is based on the student's major average and non-major average. A student with a minimum 70 percent major average and a minimum 60 percent non-major average will be permitted to continue. A student with a major average lower than 70 percent will not be permitted to continue in the Physics Co-op program, but may continue in the Physics stream.

The Physics Co-op program designation will be awarded to those students who have honours standing and who have successfully completed a minimum of twelve months of Co-op work experience.

Program Notes

Students should consult a faculty adviser when planning years 3 and 4 of the BSc programs or year 3 of the BSc (Pass) program.
In all 20 credit degree programs, at least 12 credits must be numbered 2(alpha)00 or above, six of which must be numbered 2(alpha)90 or above and of these three must be numbered 3(alpha)90 or above. In all fifteen credit degree programs, at least seven credits must be numbered 2(alpha)00 or above, three of which must be numbered 2(alpha)90 or above.

Honours Program

Year 1

·	PHYS 1P21 or 1P91 (recommended)
·	one of PHYS 1P22, 1P23, 1P92 (recommended), 1P93
·	CHEM 1F92
·	COSC 1P93
·	MATH 1P01, 1P02 and 1P12
·	one Humanities context credit or Social Science context credit

Year 2

·	PHYS 2P20, 2P31, 2P50 and 2P51
·	MATH 2F05
·	the Humanities context credit or Social Science context credit not taken in year 1
·	one elective credit

Year 3

·	PHYS 3P35, 3P36, 3P41, 3P70 and 3P91
·	MATH 3P08 and 3P09
·	one and one-half elective credits

Year 4

·	PHYS 4F50, 4F90, 4P30, 4P41 and 4P70
·	one of PHYS 2P92, 3P20, 3P92, 3P93, 4P61, 4P71
·	one elective credit

Physics Co-op (Honours only)

Students admitted to the Co-op program must follow the program schedule as listed below. Failure to adhere to the schedule may result in removal from the Physics Co-op program.

Year 1

·	PHYS 1P21 or 1P91 (recommended)
·	one of PHYS 1P22, 1P23, 1P92 (recommended), 1P93
·	CHEM 1F92
·	COSC 1P93
·	MATH 1P01, 1P02 and 1P12
·	one Humanities context credit or Social Science context credit

Year 2

·	PHYS 2P20, 2P31, 2P50, 2P51 and 2P92
·	MATH 1P98 and 2F05
·	SCIE 0N90
·	the Humanities context credit or Social Science context credit not taken in Year 1

Spring/Summer Sessions:

PHYS 0N01

Year 3
Fall Term:

·	PHYS 3P35, 3P70 and 3P91
·	MATH 3P08
·	one-half elective credit

Winter Term:

PHYS 0N02

Spring/Summer Sessions:

·	PHYS 0N00 (optional)

Year 4
Fall Term:

PHYS 0N03

Winter Term:

·	PHYS 3P36 and 3P41
·	MATH 3P09
·	one elective credit

Spring/Summer Sessions:

·	PHYS 4F90 and 4F91
·	one-half elective credit

Year 5
Fall Term:

·	PHYS 3P92 or one-half elective credit
·	PHYS 4P51 and 4P70
·	PHYS 4P30 or 4P41
·	one half elective credit

BSc with a Major Program

Year 1

·	PHYS 1P21 or 1P91 (recommended)
·	one of PHYS 1P22, 1P23, 1P92 (recommended), 1P93
·	CHEM 1F92
·	COSC 1P93
·	MATH 1P01, 1P02 and 1P12
·	one Humanities context credit or Social Science context credit

Year 2

·	PHYS 2P20, 2P31, 2P50 and 2P51
·	MATH 2F05
·	the Humanities context credit or Social Science context credit not taken in year 1
·	one elective credit

Year 3

·	PHYS 3P35, 3P36, 3P41, 3P70 and 3P91
·	MATH 3P08 and 3P09
·	one and one-half elective credits

Year 4

·	PHYS 4P30, 4P41 and 4P70
·	two PHYS credits numbered 2(alpha)00 or above
·	one of PHYS 2P92, 3P20, 3P92, 3P93, 4P61, 4P71
·	one elective credit

Pass Program

Satisfactory completion of the first three years of the Honours program entitles a student to apply for a Pass degree.

Concurrent BSc/BEd

The Department of Physics and the Faculty of Education co-operate in offering two Concurrent BSc (Honours)/BEd programs and a BSc (Pass)/BEd programs. The Physics BSc (Honours)/BEd programs combines the BA Honours program or BA Integrated Studies Honours program with the teacher education program for students interested in teaching at the Intermediate/Senior level (grades 7-12) and at the Junior/Intermediate level (grades 4-10). The BSc Integrated (Pass)/BEd combines the BSc Integrated Pass program with the teacher education program for students interested in teaching at the Junior/Intermediate level (grades 4-10). Refer to the Education-Concurrent BSc (Honours)/BEd (Intermediate/Senior), Education-Concurrent BSc Integrated Studies (Honours)/BEd (Junior/Intermediate) or Education-Concurrent BSc Integrated Studies (Pass)/BEd (Junior/Intermediate) program listings for further information.

Combined Major Programs

Physics and Biological Sciences

Honours

Year 1

·	PHYS 1P21 or 1P91 (recommended)
·	one of PHYS 1P22, 1P23, 1P92 (recommended), 1P93
·	BIOL 1F90
·	MATH 1P01 and 1P02
·	one Humanities context credit
·	one Social Science context credit

Year 2

·	PHYS 2P20 and 2P50
·	BIOL 2F01
·	one credit from BIOL 2P05, 2P92, 2P93, 2P96, 2P98, 2Q04
·	CHEM 1F92
·	MATH 2F05

Year 3

·	PHYS 2P31 and 2P51
·	one of PHYS 3P20, 3P35, 3P70
·	one BIOL credit
·	one BIOL credit numbered 2(alpha)00 to 3(alpha)99 or one PHYS credit numbered 2(alpha)90 to 3(alpha)99
·	one and one-half elective credits

Year 4

·	PHYS 4F90 and 4F91 or BIOL 4F90 and 4F91 or PHYS 4F90 and one elective credit or BIOL 4F92 and one elective credit
·	one PHYS credit numbered 2(alpha)99 or above
·	one BIOL credit numbered 2(alpha)99 or above
·	one PHYS or BIOL credit numbered 2(alpha)90 or above

Pass

Satisfactory completion of the first three years of the Honours program entitles a student to apply for a Pass degree.

Physics and Computer Science

Honours

Year 1

·	PHYS 1P21 or 1P91 (recommended)
·	one of PHYS 1P22, 1P23, 1P92 (recommended), 1P93
·	COSC 1P02 and 1P03
·	MATH 1P01, 1P02, 1P66, and 1P67
·	one Social Science context credit

Year 2

·	PHYS 2P20, 2P31, 2P50 and 2P51
·	COSC 1P12 and 2P03
·	MATH 2F05
·	one Humanities context credit

Year 3

·	Two credits from MATH 3P08, 3P09, PHYS 3P20, 3P35, 3P36, 3P41, 3P70
·	COSC 2P13, 2P32, 2P50, 2P90
·	MATH 1P12
·	one-half elective credit

Year 4

·	Two credits from PHYS 4F50, 4F90, 4P41, 4P70
·	COSC 3F00
·	two COSC credits numbered 3(alpha)90 or above

Physics and Mathematics

Honours

Year 1

·	PHYS 1P21 or 1P91 (recommended)
·	one of PHYS 1P22, 1P23, 1P92 (recommended), 1P93
·	MATH 1P01, 1P02, 1P12 and 1P40
·	one Humanities context credit
·	one Social Science context credit

Year 2

·	PHYS 2P20, 2P31, 2P50 and 2P51
·	MATH 2P12, 2P81 and 2P82
·	MATH 2F05 or MATH 2P03 and 2P08
·	one-half elective credit

Year 3

·	Two credits from PHYS 3P20, 3P35, 3P36, 3P41, 3P70
·	MATH 2F40, 3P08 and 3P09
·	one elective credit

Year 4

·	PHYS 4F50
·	one credit from PHYS 4P30, 4P41, 4P70
·	PHYS 4F90 and 4F91 or MATH 3P04, 3P12 and one MATH credit numbered 3(alpha)90 or above
·	one elective credit

Physics and Chemistry

Consult the Chemistry entry for a listing of program requirements.

Physics and Great Books/Liberal Studies (Honours only)

Consult the Great Books/Liberal Studies entry for listing of program requirements.

Master of Science (MSc) Program

The department offers an MSc program in condensed matter physics. Experimental and theoretical studies are provided. Current research interests and activities involve experimental, theoretical and computational studies in materials science and condensed matter.

For details, see the Graduate Calendar or contact the Chair of the Department.

Course Descriptions

Note that not all courses are offered in every session. Refer to the applicable term timetable for details.

Prerequisites and Restrictions

Students must check to ensure that prerequisites are met. Students may be deregistered, at the request of the instructor, from any course for which prerequisites and/or restrictions have not been met.

Astronomy
ASTR 1F00
Introduction to Astronomy
Topics include a description of the appearance of the night sky, the properties of the sun and stars and a discussion of the planets of the solar system, galaxies, history of astronomy and the properties of some unusual astronomical objects such as pulsars and black holes.
Lectures, 3 hours per week.

Physics
PHYS 1P21
Mechanics and Waves
Kinematics, Newton's laws and their applications to equilibrium and dynamics with examples from biomechanics; waves and sound.
Lectures, 3 hours per week; tutorial, 2 hours per week.
Completion of this course will replace previously assigned grade in PHYS 1F20, 1F25 and 1F90.

PHYS 1P22
Electromagnetism, Optics and Modern Physics
Charges and fields, electric currents and circuits, optics and elements of modern physics.
Lectures, 3 hours per week; tutorial, 2 hours per week.
Prerequisite: PHYS 1P21.
Completion of this course will replace previously assigned grade in PHYS 1F20, 1F25 and 1F90.

PHYS 1P23
Fluids, Heat and Light
Fluids in equilibrium, surface tension and capillary action; fluids in motion, viscosity and turbulent flow. Heat and temperature, elements of kinetic theory and the laws of thermodynamics. Electromagnetic waves and wave nature of light.
Lectures, 3 hours per week; tutorial, 2 hours per week.
Completion of this course will replace previously assigned grade in PHYS 1P10.

PHYS 1P91
Mechanics and Waves with Laboratory
Combination of lectures and tutorials in PHYS 1P21 with a laboratory session.
Lectures, 3 hours per week; tutorial, 2 hours per week; lab, alternating weeks, 3 hours per week.
Completion of this course will replace previously assigned grade in PHYS 1F20, 1F25 and 1F90.

PHYS 1P92
Electromagnetism, Optics and Modern Physics with Laboratory
Combination of lectures and tutorials in PHYS 1P22 with a laboratory session.
Lectures, 3 hours per week; tutorial, 2 hours per week; lab, alternating weeks, 3 hours per week.
Prerequisite: PHYS 1P91.
Completion of this course will replace previously assigned grade in PHYS 1F20, 1F25 and 1F90.

PHYS 1P93
Fluids, Heat and Light with Laboratory
Combination of lectures and tutorials in PHYS 1P23 with a laboratory session.
Lectures, 3 hours per week; tutorial, 2 hours per week; lab, alternating weeks, 3 hours per week.
Prerequisite: PHYS 1P91 or permission of the instructor.
Completion of this course will replace previously assigned grade in PHYS 1P10.

PHYS 2P20
Introductory Mechanics
Mechanics of particles and systems of particles by the Newtonian method; conservation of linear momentum, angular momentum and energy; elementary dynamics of rigid bodies; oscillators; motion under central forces; selected applications.
Lectures, problem sessions, 3 hours per week; lab, tutorial, 3 hours per week.
Prerequisites: PHYS 1P21 or 1P91 (recommended); one of PHYS 1P22, 1P23, 1P92 (recommended), 1P93 (one of PHYS 1F20, 1F25, 1F90); MATH 1P01 (1P93) and 1P02 (1P94).

PHYS 2P31
Electronics
Conduction in metals and semi-conductors; circuit analysis; semi-conductor junction, diode and transistor; rectification, switching and amplification; digital and linear integrated circuits; electrical measurement instruments.
Lectures, lab, 6 hours per week.
Prerequisites: PHYS 1P21 or 1P91 (recommended); one of PHYS 1P22, 1P23, 1P92 (recommended), 1P93 (one of PHYS 1F20, 1F25, 1F90); one MATH credit or permission of the instructor.
Note: laboratory will include student exercises and instructor demonstration. No previous course in electricity/magnetism/electronics is required. Secondary school algebra and some basic calculus will be used in the quantitative sections.

PHYS 2P50
Modern Physics
Special relativity, photons, the wave-particle aspects of electromagnetic radiation and matter; introduction to wave mechanics; the hydrogen atom and atomic line spectra; orbital and spin angular momenta; lasers.
Lectures, tutorial, 4 hours per week.
Prerequisites: PHYS 1P21 or 1P91 (recommended); one of PHYS 1P22, 1P23, 1P92 (recommended), 1P93 (one of PHYS 1F20, 1F25, 1F90); MATH 1P01 (1P93) and 1P02 (1P94).

PHYS 2P51
Introduction to Classical and Modern Optics
Geometrical and wave optics, reflection, refraction, lenses, matrix methods, aberrations, gradient index phenomena including fibre optics, interference, coherence, holography, Fraunhofer and Fresnel diffraction, polarization.
Lectures, lab, 6 hours per week.
Prerequisites: PHYS 1P21 or 1P91 (recommended); one of PHYS 1P22, 1P23, 1P92 (recommended), 1P93 (one of PHYS 1F20, 1F25, 1F90); MATH 1P01(1P93) and 1P02 (1P94).

PHYS 2P92
Introductory Electronics and Solid-State Devices Laboratory
Laboratory instruments, noise and cross-talk; passive filters; Thevenin equivalents; time and frequency response; Bode plots; junction diodes and rectification; operational amplifiers; active filters; lock-in amplifiers; combinatorial logic gates; sequential logic counters.
Lab, 3 hours per week.
Prerequisites: PHYS 1P21 or 1P91 (recommended); one of PHYS 1P22, 1P23, 1P92 (recommended), 1P93 (one of PHYS 1F20, 1F25, 1F90); one MATH credit or permission of the instructor.
Note: normally taken concurrently with PHYS 2P31.

PHYS 3P20
Classical Mechanics
Advanced treatment of the mechanics of particles and of rigid bodies; Lagrangian and Hamiltonian methods; Poisson brackets, applications to the theory of small oscillators and central force motions, elements of chaotic motions.
Lectures, 3 hours per week.
Prerequisites: PHYS 2P20; MATH 2F05 (2F95) or MATH 2P03 and 2P08.

PHYS 3P35
Electromagnetism I
Electric field, divergence and curl of electrostatic field; relation between electric work and energy; conductors; application of Laplace's and Poisson's equation in electrostatics; electrostatic field in matter; field in polarized object and linear dielectric.
Lectures, 3 hours per week.
Prerequisite: MATH 2F05 (2F00 or 2F95) or MATH 2P03 and 2P08.
Completion of this course will replace previous assigned grade in PHYS 2P30.

PHYS 3P36
Electromagnetism II
Magnetostatics, divergence and curl of magnetic field; magnetic vector potential; magnetic field in matter; magnetization; field of magnetic object; magnetic field inside of linear and non-linear media; electrodynamics; Ohm's law; Faraday's law and Maxwell equations; energy and momentum in electrodynamics; electromagnetic waves.
Lectures, 3 hours per week.
Prerequisite: PHYS 3P35.
Completion of this course will replace previous assigned grade in PHYS 3P30.

PHYS 3P41
Statistical Physics I
Introduction to probability distribution functions, accessible states, entropy, temperature, partition functions and relations to thermodynamic functions.
Lectures, 3 hours per week; tutorial, 1 hour per week.
Prerequisite: PHYS 2P50.

PHYS 3P70
Introduction to Quantum Mechanics
Wave particle dualism, Schrodinger equation, solution of simple one-dimensional barrier problems and the harmonic oscillator, hydrogen atom, angular momentum theory, introduction to perturbation theory and variational methods.
Lectures, lab/problem sessions, 4 hours per week.
Prerequisites: PHYS 2P50 and MATH 2F05 (2F95) or MATH 2P03 and 2P08.

PHYS 3P91
Experimental Physics I
Laboratory experiments to be selected from atomic physics, nuclear physics, solid state physics.
Lab, 1 day per week.
Prerequisites: PHYS 2P50 or permission of the instructor.

PHYS 3P92
Experimental Physics (Electronics) II
Operational amplifiers, converters, switches, microcomputers and their application to physical measurements.
Lab, 1 day per week.
Prerequisite: PHYS 2P31 or permission of the instructor.

PHYS 3P93
Solid-State Devices
Principles of operation of solid-state devices, from the point of view of the quantum theory; electronic bands and conduction in semiconductors; operation and manufacture of silicon and germanium diodes, junction and field effect transistors; thin-film deposition technology; special topics.
Lectures, lab, 6 hours per week.
Prerequisite: PHYS 3P70.

PHYS 4F50
Quantum Mechanics
Operator formalism, Hilbert space, Dirac's transformation theory, matrix mechanics, creation and annihilation operators, second quantization, variational method, perturbation theory, scattering theory.
Lectures, 4 hours per week.
Prerequisites: PHYS 3P70, MATH 3P08 and 3P09 (3F94).
Completion of this course will replace previous assigned grade in PHYS 4P51.

PHYS 4F90
Research Project I
Small experimental, theoretical or applied physics research project to be carried out under the supervision of a member of the department.
Restriction: open to PHYS (single or combined) and CAST majors with either a minimum of 14.0 overall credits, a minimum70 percent major average and a minimum 60 percent non-major average or approval to year 4 (honours).
Note: the project may, under special circumstances, be started in the summer months. Students must consult with the Department Chair regarding their proposed program during the first week of lectures.

PHYS 4F91
Research Project II
Small experimental, theoretical or applied physics research project to be carried out under the supervision of a member of the department.
Restriction: open to PHYS (single or combined) majors with either a minimum of 14.0 overall credits, a minimum 70 percent major average and a minimum 60 percent non-major average or approval to year 4 (honours) and permission of the department.
Prerequisite: PHYS 4F90.
Note: the project may, under special circumstances, be started in the summer months. Students must consult with the Department Chair regarding their proposed program during the first week of lectures. PHYS 4F90 and 4F91 may be taken concurrently.

PHYS 4P30
Electromagnetic Waves
Electromagnetic wave propagation in vacuum, dielectrics, conductors and ionized gases; reflection, refraction, polarization at the plane boundary between two media; wave guide and transmission line propagation; dipole and quadrupole radiation fields; antenna systems; electromagnetic radiation pressure; transformation of the electromagnetic fields.
Lectures, problem sessions, 3 hours per week.
Prerequisites: PHYS 3P35, 3P36, MATH 3P08 and 3P09 (3F94).

PHYS 4P41
Statistical Physics II
Fundamental postulates, equilibrium statistical mechanics and its relation to thermodynamics. Maxwell-Boltzmann, Bose-Einstein and Fermi-Dirac statistics are derived and applied in appropriate physical situations of non-interacting and interacting particles; fluctuations; elementary treatment of transport theory.
Lectures, 3 hours per week; tutorial, 1 hour per week.
Prerequisites: PHYS 3P41, 3P70, MATH 3P08 and 3P09 (3F94).

PHYS 4P51
Quantum Mechanics I
Postulates about states, observables, probabilities, change of state in a measurement, and time evolution. Dirac's bra and ket notation; representation and transformation theory. Two-level systems. Complete set of commuting observables and classification of states. Symmetries and their usage in classification of states.
Lectures, 3 hours per week.
Restriction: open to PHYS Co-op students with a minimum of 14.5 overall credits.
Prerequisites: PHYS 3P70, MATH 3P08 and 3P09.
Completion of this course will replace previous assigned grade in PHYS 4F50.

PHYS 4P61
Nuclear Physics
Intrinsic properties of nuclei, nuclear binding energy; qualitative treatment of shell model; alpha, beta and gamma radioactivities, nuclear fission, characteristics of nuclear reactions.
Lectures, problem sessions, 3 hours per week.
Prerequisites: PHYS 2P50 and 3P70.

PHYS 4P70
Condensed Matter Physics I
Crystal structures and crystal binding; the vibration of atoms in solids and the thermodynamics of solids; introduction to transport properties of solids.
Lectures, 3 hours per week; tutorial, 1 hour per week.
Prerequisite: PHYS 3P70.

PHYS 4P71
Condensed Matter Physics II
Energy bands in metals and semiconductors, lattice vibrations, transport properties of solids, magnetism, defects in solids.
Lectures, 3 hours per week; tutorial, 1 hour per week.
Prerequisite: PHYS 4P70.

PHYS 4P92
Advanced Electronics Laboratory
Families of logic devices, selection and implementation techniques; synchronous and asynchronous sequential circuits; safety and physical constraints; programmable array logic designs; digital signal processing, optoelectronics; CAD; circuit layout.
Lab, 1 day per week.
Prerequisite: PHYS 3P92.
Note: completion of a project from design to a working device is required.

PHYS 4V80-4V89
Special Topics
Examples of topics are relativity and cosmology; surface physics and electronic states in ordered and disordered systems.
Lectures, problem sessions, 4 hours per week.
Completion of this course will replace previous assigned grade in PHYS 4P80.

CO-OP COURSES
PHYS 0N00
Co-op Work Placement
Optional Co-op placement (4 months) with an approved employer.
Restriction: open to PHYS Co-op students.

PHYS 0N01
Co-op Work Placement I
First co-op placement (4 months) with an approved employer.
Restriction: open to PHYS Co-op students.

PHYS 0N02
Co-op Work Placement II
Second co-op placement (4 months) with an approved employer.
Restriction: open to PHYS Co-op students.

PHYS 0N03
Co-op Work Placement III
Third co-op placement (4 months) with an approved employer.
Restriction: open to PHYS Co-op students.

Note: a night of observing the stars and some seminars may be offered. Designed for both non-science and science students.