Physics 1021 and the former Physics 1201 will be considered equivalent for prerequisite purposes. Physics 1054 and the former Physics 1052 and 2050 will be considered equivalent for prerequisite purposes.
NOT ALL COURSES ARE OFFERED EVERY YEAR. STUDENTS SHOULD CHECK WITH THE DEPARTMENT PRIOR TO REGISTRATION TO PLAN PROGRAMS.
COURSE LIST
In accordance with Senate's Policy Regarding Inactive Courses, courses which have not been offered in the previous three academic years and which are not scheduled to be offered in the current academic year have been removed from the following listing. For information about any of these inactive courses, please contact the Head of the Department.
1020. Introductory Physics I (F) & (W). A non-calculus
based introduction to mechanics.
Prerequisite: Level III Advanced Mathematics or Mathematics 1090. Mathematics
1090 may be taken concurrently. It is recommended that students have completed
at least one of level II and level III high school physics courses, however
this course may be completed by someone who has no physics background provided
some extra effort is made.
Lectures: Three hours per week.
Laboratories: Normally six three-hour sessions per semester.
Tutorials: Optional tutorials will be available, on average one hour per
week.
1021. Introductory Physics II (W). A non-calculus based
introduction to fluids, wave motion, light, optics, electricity and magnetism.
Prerequisites: Physics 1020 or 1050 and Mathematics 1000. Mathematics 1000
may be taken concurrently.
Lectures: Three hours per week.
Laboratories: Normally six three-hour sessions per semester.
Tutorials: Optional tutorials will be available, on average one hour per
week.
1050. General Physics I: Mechanics (F). A calculus based
introduction to mechanics. The course will emphasize problem solving.
Prerequisite: Mathematics 1000, which may be taken concurrently.
Lectures: Three hours per week.
Laboratories: Normally six three-hour sessions per semester.
Tutorials: Optional tutorials will be available, on average one hour per
week.
1054. General Physics II: Computational Physics and Data Analysis
(F) & (W). An introduction to computer-based data acquisition
and analysis, numerical analysis, and problem solving. These processes are
combined with introductions to probability and statistics, complex numbers,
with particular application to oscillations and waves.
Prerequisites: Physics 1050 or 1020 and Mathematics 1001. Math 1001 may
be taken concurrently.
Lectures and Laboratories: Up to 5 hours per week
2053. General Physics III: Fluids and Thermal Physics (F).
Elasticity, fluid mechanics, thermodynamics, kinetic theory and statistical
mechanics.
Prerequisites: Mathematics 1001 and Physics 1054 which may be taken concurrently.
Lectures: Three hours per week.
Laboratory: Three hours per week.
2054. General Physics IV: Electromagnetism, Light and Optics (F)
& (W). Electrostatics, currents and Ohm's law, magnetism, electromagnetic
induction, electromagnetic waves, geometric optics, interference and diffraction.
Prerequisites: Mathematics 1001 and Physics 1054 which may be taken concurrently.
Lectures: Three hours per week.
Laboratory: Three hours per week.
2055. General Physics V: Electricity and Magnetism (W).
Gauss' Law, the electrostatic potential, capacitance, magnetic forces and
the magnetic field, electromagnetic induction, magnetic materials, ac circuits,
superconductivity, the displacement current and Maxwell's equations.
Prerequisites: Math 2000 and Physics 2054. Math 2000 may be taken concurrently.
Lectures: Three hours per week.
Laboratory: Three hours per week.
2056. General Physics VI: Modern Physics (W). Special
relativity, quanta of light, atomic structure and spectral lines, quantum
structure of atoms and molecules, nuclei and elementary particles.
Prerequisites: Mathematics 1001 and Physics 1054 which may be taken concurrently.
Lectures: Three hours per week.
Laboratory: Three hours per week.
2151. Stellar Astronomy and Astrophysics (F) & (W).
Atomic structure and spectra. The sun: radiation, energetics, magnetic field.
Stars: distance, velocity, size, atmospheres, interiors. Variable stars,
multiple stars, clusters and stellar associations. Stellar evolution, interstellar
matter, structure of the Milky Way Galaxy. Exterior galaxies, quasi-stellar
objects, pulsars. Cosmology.
Prerequisites: Six credit hours in Mathematics courses at the first year
level.
Lectures: Three hours per week.
3150. Astrophysics I (F). Review of macroscopic and microscopic
physics. The sun: luminosity, mass, spectrum, photosphere, corona, interior.
Principles of stellar structure; radiative and convective transport of energy.
The virial theorem. Thermonuclear fusion; temperature dependence; the solar
neutrino problem. Nucleosynthesis; the curve of binding energy; the synthesis
of heavy elements. White dwarfs, neutron stars, and black holes; degenerate
electron and neutron gases; Chandrasekhar's Limit. Population I and Population
II stars; the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram; relationships among luminosity,
mass, and effective temperature for main sequence dwarfs. Evolution of post
main sequence stars.
Prerequisites: Physics 2053, 2054 and 2056.
Lectures: Three hours per week.
3151. Astrophysics II. Stellar spectra and classification
of stars. Hertzsprung-Russell diagram; equations of stellar structure for
a star in equilibrium; temperature and density dependencies of nuclear processes.
Formation and classification of binary stars; mass and energy transfer in
binary star systems; semidetached binaries; cataclysmic variables, pulsars,
etc. Galaxies and galactic structure; active galactic nuclei; cosmological
redshift. Cosmology.
Prerequisites: Physics 3150 and 3220.
Lectures: Three hours per week.
3220. Classical Mechanics I (F). Kinematics and dynamics
of a particle. Moving reference systems. Celestial mechanics. Systems of
particles.
Prerequisites: Physics 1054 and AM/PM 3260. AM/PM 3260 may be taken concurrently.
Lectures: Three hours per week.
3230. Classical Mechanics II (W). Rigid body motion.
Lagrange's equations. Hamilton's equations. Vibrations. Special theory of
relativity.
Prerequisites: Physics 3220 and 3810 (or AM/PM 3202) and AM/PM 3260.
Lectures: Three hours per week.
3300. Introduction to Physical Oceanography (F). The
course deals with the physics of processes in the ocean, but provides an
integrated view of the whole field of oceanography. The importance of physical
processes to other aspects of oceanography is treated.
Prerequisites: Physics 2053 and Mathematics 2000.
Lectures: Three hours per week.
3340. Principles of Environmental Physics. The course will explore
the basic physical principles of light, heat, energy and sound in the natural
environment. Several key aspects of physics in the environment will be covered
including climate and the physical evolution of the planet and the present
role of the atmosphere and ocean spectroscopy in the atmosphere and measurement
and observation of the atmosphere; principles of energy generation and pollution
transport in the atmosphere and ocean.
Lectures: Three hours per week.
Prerequisites: Mathematics 2000 and Physics 2053.
3400. Thermodynamics (F). The first and second laws of
thermodynamics. Entropy. Thermodynamics of real substances. Kinetic theory
of matter. Introduction to statistical mechanics.
Prerequisites: Mathematics 2000, Physics 2053 and Physics 2056.
Lectures: Three hours per week.
3410. Statistical Mechanics (W). Ensembles. Classical
and quantum statistical mechanics. Statistical mechanics of phase transitions.
Advanced topics in statistical mechanics.
Prerequisites: Physics 3400 and 3750. Physics 3750 may be taken concurrently.
Lectures: Three hours per week.
3500. Electromagnetic Fields I (F). Electrostatic Field:
field, potential, Poisson's equation, Laplace's equation, capacitance, dielectrics,
polarization, electric displacement, boundary conditions. Magnetic Field:
electric current and magnetic field, vector potential, Lorentz force and
relativity, changing magnetic field, inductance, magnetic materials, magnetization.
Maxwell's equations.
Prerequisites: Physics 2055 and 3810 (or AM/PM 3202).
Lectures: Three hours per week.
3550. Electric Circuits (F). Circuit elements. Simple
resistive circuits. Techniques of circuit analysis. Topology in circuit analysis.
Operational amplifiers. Reactive circuit elements. Natural response and step
response of RL, RC and RLC circuits. Circuits driven by sinusoidal sources.
Mutual inductance. Series and parallel resonance. Laplace transforms in the
analysis of frequency response.
Prerequisites: Mathematics 2050, Physics 2055 and AM/PM 3260. AM/PM 3260
may be taken concurrently.
Lectures and Laboratory: Not more than six hours per week.
3551. Analogue Electronics (S). Review of network analysis.
Feedback. Electron tubes. Semiconductor diodes. Introduction to transistors.
Introduction to amplifiers. Small signal models. Small signal analysis of
amplifiers. Operational amplifiers. Selected topics in circuit design such
as biasing, voltage regulators and power circuits, noise.
Prerequisites: Physics 3550 and AM/PM 3260.
Lectures and Laboratory: Not more than six hours per week.
This course is recommended for students with an interest in experimental
Physics.
3600. Optics and Photonics I. Geometrical Optics: thin
lenses, mirrors, optical systems. Two-beam and multiple-beam interference
phenomena. Fraunhofer Diffraction. Introduction to Maxwell's Theory: reflection,
transmission, and polarization. Modulation of light waves. Fibre-optical
light guides: intermodal dispersion, index profiles, loss mechanisms, single
mode fibres. Optical communication systems: free space and fibre systems,
emitters, detectors, amplifers, wavelength-division multiplexing, integrated
optics.
Prerequisites: Mathematics 2000 and Physics 2054.
Lectures: Three hours per week.
3750. Quantum Physics I (F). Wave-particle duality of
nature. Introduction to Quantum Mechanics. Schrödinger equation. One
electron atoms. Quantum statistics.
Prerequisites: Physics 2054, 2056, 3220 and 3810 (or AM/PM 3202). Physics
3220 and 3810 (or AM/PM 3202) may be taken concurrently.
Lectures: Three hours per week.
3751. Quantum Physics II (W). Multielectron atoms. Molecules.
Solids - conductors and semiconductors. Superconductors. Magnetic properties.
Nuclear models. Nuclear decay and nuclear reactions. Properties and interactions
of elementary particles.
Prerequisite: Physics 3750.
Lectures: Three hours per week.
3820. Mathematical Physics II (F). Functions of a complex
variable; residue calculus. Introduction to Cartesian tensor analysis. Matrix
eigenvalues and eigenvectors. Diagonalization of tensors. Matrix formulation
of quantum mechanics. Quantum mechanical spin. Vector differential operators
in curvilinear coordinate systems. Partial differential equations of Mathematical
Physics and boundary value problems; derivation of the classical equations,
separation of variables; Helmholtz equation in spherical polar coordinates.
Prerequisites: AM/PM 3260, and Physics 3810 (or AM/PM 3202).
Lectures: Three hours per week.
3821. Mathematical Physics III (F). Further topics on
partial differential equations of Mathematical Physics and boundary value
problems; Sturm-Liouville theory, Fourier series, generalized Fourier series,
introduction to the theory of distributions, Dirac delta function, Green's
functions, Bessel functions, functions, Legendre functions, spherical
harmonics.
Prerequisite: Physics 3820.
Lectures: Three hours per week.
3900. Physics Laboratory I (W). A selection of experiments
based primarily on material covered in the third year courses.
Prerequisites: At least two of Physics 2053, 2054, 2055, and 2056. Physics
3550 is recommended.
Laboratory: Six hours per week.
3920. Physics Laboratory II (F). A selection of experiments
based primarily on Modern Physics at the intermediate level.
Prerequisite: Physics 3900.
Laboratory: Six hours per week.
NOTE: Prerequisite requirements for Physics courses numbered 4000 and higher may be waived by the instructor.
4000. Solid State Physics. Crystal structure and binding,
phonons and lattice vibrations, thermal properties of solids. Electrons in
solids, energy bands, semi-conductors, superconductivity, dielectric properties.
Magnetic properties of solids.
Prerequisites: Physics 3400 and 3750.
Lectures: Three hours per week.
4200. Classical Mechanics III. Review of Lagrange's equations.
Hamilton's canonical equations. Variational principles. Nöther's theorem
for particles. Special relativity of particles and the electromagnetic field.
Special topics at an advanced level.
Prerequisites: Physics 3230 and 3820.
Lectures: Three hours per week.
4205. Introduction to Fluid Dynamics. (Same as Applied
Mathematics 4180). Basic observations, mass conservation, vorticity, stress,
hydrostatics, rate of strain, momentum conservation (Navier-Stokes equation),
simple viscous and inviscid flows, Reynolds number, boundary layers, Bernoulli's
and Kelvin's theorems, potential flows, water waves, thermodynamics.
Prerequisites: Physics 3220 and either AM 4160 or Physics 3821.
Lectures: Three hours per week.
4300. Advanced Physical Oceanography (W). Fundamental
properties of seawater and techniques of oceanographic measurement. The dynamical
equations of oceanography are derived and solutions explored by comparison
with oceanic observations. Properties of waves in rotating and non-rotating
fluids. Linear and non-linear wave theory are developed.
Prerequisites: Physics 3300 and 3820 or Engineering 7033 or the permission
of the Instructor.
4330. Topics in Physical Oceanography. Advanced topics
in Physical Oceanography will be covered.
Prerequisite: Permission of the instructor.
Corequisite: Physics 4300.
4340. Modelling in Environmental Physics. The basic principles underlying
environmental modelling will be developed and techniques for modelling presented
and applied. Techniques for numerical modelling will be developed and simple
numerical models will be developed for use in terrestrial, atmospheric and
oceanic environments. Free and forced systems will be discussed and the transition
to chaos and some aspects of chaotic dynamics.
Lectures: Three hours per week.
Prerequisites: Physics 3340 and Physics 3820 (or the permission of the instructor).
4500. Electromagnetic Fields II. Multipole expansions,
electrostatic fields as boundary value problems, polarizability of molecules
in dielectric media, Clausius-Mossotti relation, gauges. Electromagnetic
Waves: Poynting's theorem, reflection and transmission of electromagnetic
waves, cavity resonators, wave guides. Electromagnetic Radiation: dipoles,
antennas, quantum mechanics and electro-magnetic interactions. Selected topics
in electrodynamics and applied electromagnetism.
Prerequisites: Physics 3500 and 3820.
Lectures: Three hours per week.
4600. Optics and Photonics II. Review of basic topics
in wave optics. Phase sensitive imaging. Electromagnetic waves in anisotropic
media. Scattering of electromagnetic waves. The physics of light sources
and applications. Non-linear optics and applications.
Prerequisites: Physics 3500, 3600, and Physics 3751 (Physics 3751 may be
taken concurrently).
Lectures: Three hours per week.
4850. Quantum Mechanics (F). Postulates of quantum mechanics.
Operators and operator algebra. Matrix representations. Spin and magnetic
fields. Approximation methods: WKB method, time independent perturbation
theory, time dependent perturbation theory, variational methods. Elementary
scattering theory.
Prerequisites: Physics 3230, 3750, 3820.
Lectures: Three hours per week.
4851. Advanced Quantum Mechanics (W). General formulation
of quantum mechanics, measurement theory and operators. Hilbert spaces. Advanced
topics selected from: electron in a strong magnetic field and the Aharonov-Bohm
effect; advanced scattering theory; systems of identical particles; Feynman
path integral formulation of quantum mechanics; relativistic quantum mechanics;
second quantization; symmetry and group theory; density matrix and mixtures.
Prerequisite: Physics 4850 and 3821.
Lectures: Three hours per week.
490A/B. Honours Physics Thesis.
6317. Underwater Acoustics. Basic theory of sound, sound
in the ocean environment, wave equation, ray tracing, sonar system operation,
transducers, applications.
Prerequisites: Physics 3810 (or AM/PM 3220) and 3220, or the permission
of the instructor.
Lectures: Three hours per week.
6318. Ocean Climate Modelling. Numerical techniques,
finite difference, finite element and spectral methods. Introduction to the
climate system. Ocean climate models. Box models. Variability on interdecadal,
centennial and geological scales. Zonally averaged models. 3-D ocean modelling.
Thermohaline circulation. General circulation models. Climate modelling and
global warming.
Prerequisites: P3810 (or AM/PM 3202), P3300 and the completion of any 15
credit hours in core courses at the 3000 or 4000 level in the Faculty of
Science, or the permission of the instructor.
Lectures: Three hours per week.
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