101 Introduction to the Physical Sciences‑‑3 hours. A conceptual introduction to the physical sciences and the process of scientific inquiry. Open to all students except those majoring in a physical science. This course is designed to be taken concurrently with 101L. General Education Credits [GE89: A3; GE 2000: Scientific and Mathematical Studies-Foundational]
101L Introduction to the Physical Sciences‑‑Laboratory‑‑1 hour. Selected experiments involving concepts developed in 101. Discussion of these experiments forms the foundation of the course. Corequisite: concurrent enrollment in 101. General Education Credits [GE89 A1; GE 2000: Scientific and Mathematical Studies-Foundational]
105 General Physics I‑‑3 hours. The topics to be studied include motion, force, energy, heat, and wave motion. Prerequisites: concurrent enrollment in 105L, and a working knowledge of algebra. General Education Credits [GE89: A3; GE 2000: Scientific and Mathematical Studies-Elective]
105L General Physics I Laboratory--1 hour. The laboratory component of 105. Students will enroll in a 2 hour laboratory class. Prerequisite: must be taken concurrently with 105. General Education Credits [GE89: A1; GE 2000: Scientific and Mathematical Studies-Elective]
106 General Physics II‑‑3 hours. The sequential continuation of 105, this course includes the topics of light, electricity and magnetism, and atomic and nuclear physics. Corequisite: 105, and concurrent enrollment in 106L. General Education Credits [GE89: A3; GE 2000: Scientific and Mathematical Studies-Elective]
106L General Physics II Laboratory--1 hour. The laboratory component of 106. Students will enroll in a two hour laboratory class. Corequisite: 106 taken concurrently. General Education Credits [GE89: A1; GE 2000: Scientific and Mathematical Studies-Elective]
205 University Physics I‑‑4 hours. Mechanics, heat, wave motion, and sound, with applications involving elementary calculus. Required of physics majors and minors and of pre‑engineering students. Prerequisites: concurrent enrollment in 205L; successful completion of or concurrent enrollment in Math 131. General Education Credits [GE89: General Education Credits assigned if taken in sequence with 206 A4]
205L University Physics I Laboratory--1 hour. The laboratory component of 205. Students will enroll in a two hour laboratory class. Corequisite: concurrent enrollment in 205.
206 University Physics II‑‑4 hours. A continuation of 205 in the areas of optics, electricity, magnetism, and modern physics. Required of physics majors and minors and of pre‑engineering students. Prerequisites: 205; concurrent enrollment in 206L; successful completion of or concurrent enrollment in Math 132. General Education Credits [GE89: General Education Credits assigned if taken in sequence with 206 A4]
206L University Physics II Laboratory--1 hour. The laboratory component of 206. Students will enroll in a two hour laboratory class. Corequisite: concurrent enrollment in 206.
215 Modern Physics I‑‑3 hours. An introduction to twentieth century physics, including the special theory of relativity, quantum mechanics, and atomic physics. Prerequisite: 206.
215L Modern Physics Laboratory‑‑1 hour. In this course students will conduct laboratory investigations in relativity, atomic physics, nuclear physics, solid state physics, and optics. Corequisite: 215.
216 Modern Physics II‑‑3 hours. The study of modern physics is continued in this course with introductions to statistical, solid state, laser, and nuclear physics. Prerequisite: 215.
310 Analytical Mechanics‑‑3 hours. Newtonian mechanics, involving selected topics in particle and rigid-body dynamics. Vector calculus is used, where applicable, for conciseness and clarity. Problem applications are stressed. Prerequisites: 206; Mathematics 132.
311 Analytical Mechanics II‑‑2 hours. A continuation of 310. This course will culminate in the Lagrangian and Hamiltonian methods of mechanics. Prerequisite: 310.
341 Electricity and Magnetism‑‑3 hours. Topics covered are electrostatics, electrical potential, electric fields around conductors, fields of moving charges, magnetic fields, electromagnetic induction, and Maxwell's equations. Vector calculus is used. Prerequisites: 206; Mathematics 132.
342 Electricity and Magnetism II‑‑2 hours. A continuation of 341 that takes up Maxwell's equations, the propagation of electromagnetic waves, and elementary radiation. Prerequisite: 341.
355 Introduction to Mathematical Physics‑‑3 hours. An introduction to the algebra and calculus of vectors in three dimensions, including products, differential operations, integral theorems, and special coordinates. Some methods of data analysis are included. Prerequisites: 206; successful completion of or concurrent enrollment in Mathematics 231.
356 Introduction to Computational Physics‑‑2 hours. Numerical analysis techniques used in physics, with special emphasis on digital electronics, computers, and microprocessors. Computer methods of solving the equations of physics. Simulation laboratory is included.
360 General Astronomy‑‑3 hours. Introduction to the basic concepts in astronomy. Both the solar system and stellar astronomy are covered. (Also listed as Geography/Geology 360.) General Education Credits [GE89: A3; GE2000: Scientific and Mathematical Studies-Elective]
385 Topics in Physics‑‑1‑3 hours. Topics and hours to be arranged with members of the physics faculty. Specific course title will be listed when course is scheduled.
392 The Teaching of Physics in the Secondary School‑‑2 hours. The techniques of instruction and instructional materials in physics for secondary school teachers.
*420 Thermodynamics and Statistical Mechanics‑‑3 hours. The laws of thermodynamics and their practical applications; work, heat, entropy, enthalpy, partition function; heat engines and refrigerators; Planck's radiation law. Prerequisite: 310.
423 Fundamentals of Light and its Applications to Photography‑‑3 hours. A lecture course emphasizing fundamental optical principles of photography such as reflection, absorption, refraction, polarization, color, interference, and photochemical effects. (Also listed as Science Education 423.) General Education Credits [GE89: A3; GE2000: Scientific and Mathematical Studies-Elective]
*440 Musical Acoustics‑‑3 hours. Primarily for music majors and others with a strong interest in music. The physical basis of the characteristics of the various musical instruments and the human voice. A consideration of electronics in sound amplification, recording, reproduction, and synthesis. General Education Credits [GE89: A3; GE2000: Scientific and Mathematical Studies-Elective]
*460 Optics‑‑3 hours. The theory of geometrical, wave, and quantum optics with selected applications, such as ray tracing, interferometry, spectrometry, lasers, and holograms. Prerequisites: 206; Mathematics 132.
*461 Laser Physics‑‑3 hours. Fundamentals of the interaction of electromagnetic radiation with matter, with special emphasis on problems relating to lasers. Topics include: atom‑field interaction, stimulated emission, laser theory, specific laser systems, and laser applications. Prerequisite: 216.
*465 Selected Topics in Astronomy and Astrophysics‑‑3 hours. Selected topics to cover specialized areas in astronomy and astrophysics. Topics may vary based on current targets of opportunity of interest and will include, but will not be limited to: comets, synthetic light curves of binary stars, celestial mechanics, optics, and stellar physics. Prerequisites: 310; 355.
*473 Nuclear Physics Laboratory‑‑1‑2 hours. Selected experiments in the characterization of nuclear radiations; beta‑ and gamma‑ray spectroscopy; neutron physics. Prerequisite: successful completion of or concurrent enrollment in 493.
475 Independent Study in Physics‑‑1‑3 hours. A course in which special problems in physics are solved. Prerequisites: arrangement of topics and hours with a member of the Department of Physics faculty. May be repeated once for credit.
476H Honors in Physics‑‑1‑3 hours. The department encourages students in the University Honors Program and students whose physics grade index is 3.50 or above to engage in independent research. The object of this research is to develop the student's initiative and creativity. Prerequisite: consent of the Department of Physics Chairperson.
*493 Nuclear Physics‑‑3 hours. Nuclear reactions, quantum properties, nuclear radiations, radiation detection, instrumentation, statistics in nuclear processes, neutron physics, nuclear structure, and elementary particles. Prerequisites: 396 and concurrent enrollment in 216.
*497 Introduction to Quantum Mechanics‑‑3 hours. An introduction to measurements, the uncertainty principle, solutions to Schrodinger's equation, operators, perturbation theory, the harmonic oscillator, angular momentum, and the hydrogen atom. Prerequisites: 216; Mathematics 333.
*Open to graduate students. Graduate students are required to do additional work.
