Modern and Thermal Physics

6 credits · Undergraduate

(3 hrs Lecture | 3 hrs Lab) This course contains a series of topics which provide students with a broad understanding of the physics that appears in our daily lives and beyond. Topics covered are thermal physics (temperature, entropy, and the laws of thermodynamics, the ideal gas, work and Carnot cycles, kinetic theory, probability, statistical distribution functions), special relativity (including Lorentz transformations, velocity addition, the Doppler effect, relativistic energy and momentum), and quantum physics (early indications of quantum physics, the Bohr model of hydrogen, uncertainty principles, the Schrodinger equation and simple solutions, atomic, nuclear, and subatomic physics). Requisite Courses: PHYS-1101 and either the former MATH-1101 or both MATH-1103 and MATH-1104 [prerequisite(s)]; PHYS-2302L (lab) (must be taken previously or at the same time as this course); PHYS-2105 and PHYS-2106 (must be taken concurrently).