Professor Stanley T. Jones, Chairperson 206 Gallalee Hall

The Department of Physics and Astronomy offers major and minor programs in physics and a minor in astronomy.

Requirements for the Physics Major: The major in physics (PH) requires 36 hours in physics including either of the introductory sequences PH105, PH106 or PH101, PH102; and PH253, PH255, PH301, PH331, PH332, PH441, PH442, PH471, and PH491. A minimum of 12 hours at the 300 or 400 level must be earned on this campus.

Requirements for the Physics Minor: The minor in physics requires 18 hours of physics including 6 hours of physics courses numbered 300 or above. A minimum of 6 hours at the 300 or 400 level must be earned on this campus.

Requirements for the Astronomy Minor: The minor in astronomy (AY) requires 18 hours including AY203, AY204, AY206, PH253, PH255, and 6 hours in astronomy courses numbered above 300. A minimum of 6 hours at the 300 or 400 level must be earned on this campus.

A Suggested Sequence of Courses for the Physics Major

Overall total: at least 128 hours.

1. A maximum of 6 hours in any one department may be applied to the social science and humanities requirements.

2. Six hours in courses designated W must be included in the junior or senior year. A minimum of 33 hours in 300- and 400-level courses must be completed, including 12 hours in the major and 6 hours in the minor.

PHYSICS (PH)

Professor Stanley T. Jones, Chairperson

PH101 General Physics I. Four hours. Prerequisite: MATH 100. Three lectures and one three-hour laboratory. An introductory course including classical mechanics and thermodynamics.
PH102 General Physics II. Four hours. Prerequisite: PH 101. Three lectures and one three-hour laboratory. An introductory course including electricity and magnetism, optics, and modern physics.
PH103 General Physics Laboratory I. One hour. Prerequisite: PH 101 (3 hours). General physics lab to be taken by students who have previously received credit for PH101 as a 3-hour lecture course and who only need the associated lab. Students wishing to take both the lecture and lab should only enroll in PH101 (4 hours).
PH104 General Physics Laboratory II. One hour. Prerequisite: Ph102 (3 hours). General physics lab to be taken by students who have previously received credit for PH102 as a 3-hour lecture course and who only need the associated lab. Students wishing to take both the lecture and lab should only enroll in PH102 (4 hours).
PH105 General Physics with Calculus I. Four hours. Prerequisite: MATH 125. Three lecture and one three-hour laboratory. Introductory calculus-based course in classical mechanics.
PH106 General Physics with Calculus II. Four hours. Prerequisites: MATH 126 and PH105. Three lectures and one three-hour laboratory. Introductory calculus-based course in classical physics, including electricity, magnetism, and optics.
PH108 General Physics with Calculus Laboratory I. One Hour. Prerequisite: PH105 (3 hours). General physics lab to be taken by students who have previously received credit for PH105 as a 3-hour lecture course and who only need the associated lab. Students wishing to take both the lecture and lab should only enroll in PH105 (4 hours). PH109 General Physics with Calculus Laboratory II. One hour. Prerequisite: PH106 (3 hours). General physics lab to be taken by students who have previously received credit for PH106 as a 3-hour lecture course and who only need the associated lab. Students wishing to take both the lecture and lab should only enroll in Ph106 (4 hours). PH115 Descriptive Physics for Non-Science Majors. Four Hours. Credit earned in this course may not be counted toward fulfillment of the requirements for the major or minor in physics. Credit will not be granted for both Ph101 and PH115. Three hours lecture and one laboratory period. Demonstration lectures on the chief topics of classical and modern physics. Designed for non-science majors who want an introductory course with no math prerequisites.
PH125 Honors General Physics with Calculus I. Three hours. Prerequisites: Membership in the University Honors Program or permission of the department, and MATH 125. Three lecture hours and one hour of discussion. Introductory calculus-based course in classical mechanics. A student must take both PH125 and PH128 before either one of the courses can be used to satisfy a portion of the N core curriculum.
PH126 Honors General Physics with Calculus II. Three hours. Prerequisites: Membership in the University Honors Program or permission of the department, MATH 125 and PH125 or PH105. Three lecture hours and one hour of discussion. Introductory calculus-based course in classical physics, including electricity, magnetism, and optics. A student must take both PH126 and PH129 before either one of the courses can be used to satisfy a portion of the N core curriculum.
PH128 Honors General Physics with Calculus Laboratory I. One hour. Prerequisite or co-requisite: PH125. General physics lab to be taken with PH125, unless the student's department does not require it. A student must take both PH125 and PH128 before either one of the courses can be used to satisfy a portion of the N core curriculum.
PH129 Honors General Physics with Calculus Laboratory II. One hour. Prerequisite or co-requisite: PH126. General physics lab to be taken with PH126, unless the student's department does not require it. A student must take both PH126 and PH129 before either one of the courses can be used to satisfy a portion of the N core curriculum.

Courses numbered 253-334 have as prerequisites PH101 and PH102, or PH105 and PH106.

PH253 Introduction to Modern Physics. Three hours. Prerequisites: MATH 126 and either PH102 or PH106. Study of topics in modern physics, including special relativity, quantum physics, atomic and nuclear structure, solid-state physics, and thermodynamics.
PH255 Introduction to Modern Physics Laboratory. One hour. Prerequisite or co-requisite: PH253. Experimental work in the topics that form the subject matter of PH253
PH301 Mechanics. Three hours. Prerequisite or co-requisite: MATH 238. Vector analysis and treatment of Newtonian mechanics at the intermediate level. Offered in the spring semester.
PH331 Electricity and Magnetism I. Three hours. Prerequisite or co-requisite: MATH 238. Electrostatics, Ampere's and Faraday's laws, vector potential, displacement current, and Maxwell's equations. Offered in the fall semester.
PH332 Electricity and Magnetism II. Three hours. Prerequisite: PH331. Continuation of electricity and magnetism, beginning with Maxwell's equations. Offered in the spring semester.
PH333 Optics. Four hours. Prerequisite: MATH 126. Three hours lecture and one laboratory period. Geometric optics, including matrix method, thin and thick lenses and mirrors, aberrations, stops, and optical instruments. Physical optics, including interference, diffraction, coherence, transfer functions, optical filtering, holography, and lasers. Normally offered in the spring semester.
PH334 Analog Electronics. Four hours. Prerequisites: PH102 or PH106 and MATH 125. Three hours lecture and one laboratory period. Theory and practical applications of electronic devices and circuits. Specific topics include DC and AC circuits, semiconductor diode circuits, bipolar and field effect transistor circuits, simple amplifiers and oscillators, and an introduction to operational amplifiers. Offered in the fall semester.

Courses numbered 434-496 have as prerequisites 14 hours of physics, or 11 hours of physics and senior standing.

PH434 Digital Electronics and Computer Interfacing. Three hours. Prerequisite: PH334 or permission of the instructor. Two laboratory periods. Theory and practical application of digital integrated circuits, including gates, flip-flops, counters, latches, and displays. Computer data acquisition and control using LabView and A/D and D/A fundamentals. Offered in the spring semester.
PH441 Quantum Structure of Matter I. Three hours. Prerequisites: PH253, PH301, and PH331, or permission of the instructor. No graduate credit will be awarded for PH441. Introduction to quantum mechanics, including solutions to the Schroedinger equation. Offered in the fall semester.
PH442 Quantum Structure of Matter II. Three hours. Prerequisite: PH441. No graduate credit will be awarded for PH441. Continuation of quantum mechanics with applications in atomic, molecular, solid-state, and nuclear physics. Offered in the spring semester.
PH451 Atomic and Molecular Physics. Three hours. Prerequisite: PH441. Detailed study of the structure of simple atomic and molecular systems, perturbation theory, the hydrogen and helium atoms, the hydrogen molecular ion, the hydrogen molecule, and introduction to mathematical methods of molecular physics. Offered according to demand.
PH461 Nuclear and Particle Physics. Three hours. Prerequisite: PH441. Stable nuclei, isotopes, nuclidic masses, alpha decay, phase space, gamma ray transitions, Yukawa forces, isotopic spin, scattering, resonance behavior, the quark model, heavy flavors, Higgs bosons, and the electroweak theory. Offered according to demand.
PH471 Thermal Physics. Three hours. Prerequisite: MATH 227. Introduction to thermal phenomena on a macroscopic and a statistical basis, and principles and laws governing them. Offered in the spring semester.
PH481 Solid State Physics. Three hours. Prerequisite: PH441. Phenomenological treatment of mechanical, thermal, electrical, and magnetic properties and fluorescence, phosphorescence, photoconductivity, and work function; the free-electron model and the band approximation; structures of simple crystals. Offered according to demand.
PH491 Advanced Laboratory. Three hours. Prerequisite: 15 hours of physics including PH255. Two laboratory periods and one hour of seminar. Experimental work in modern physics at an advanced level. Normally offered in the fall semester.
PH493 Introduction to Research. Not to exceed three hours. Prerequisites: Permission of supervising faculty member and approval of the department chairperson. Credit is by arrangement, but no graduate credit will be awarded for PH493. Student performs research under supervision of a faculty member.
PH495 Independent Study I. Not to exceed three hours. Prerequisites: Permission of supervising faculty member and approval of the department chairperson. No graduate credit.
PH496 Independent Study II. Credit to be arranged, not to exceed three hours. Prerequisites: Permission of supervising faculty member and approval of the department chairperson. Credit is by arrangement, but no graduate credit will be awarded for PH496.

ASTRONOMY

Professor Stanley T. Jones, Chairperson

         A student must take both AY101 and AY102 in order to use either of these courses to satisfy part of the N requirement of the University Core Curriculum. The sequence of courses AY101:102 and AY203:204 (or AY203:206) may be used to satisfy all 8 hours of the N requirement.

AY101 Introduction to Astronomy. Three hours. History of astronomy, the solar system, stars, galaxies, and the universe; recent discoveries about pulsars, black holes, and quasars will be discussed. Three lectures. NOTE: If the student plans to apply AY101 toward satisfaction of the N requirement of the University Core Curriculum, AY102 must also be taken.
AY102 Introduction to Astronomy Laboratory. One Hour. Prerequisite or co-requisite: AY101. Observation of the sun, moon, and daytime astronomical activity. Indoor exercises include stellar spectra, H-R diagram, celestial sphere, and astronomical photographic analysis. NOTE: If the student plans to apply AY102 toward satisfaction of the N requirement of the University Core Curriculum, AY101 must also be taken.
AY203 Observational Astronomy. Two hours. Prerequisites: MATH 113 or MATH 115 (or equivalent); concurrent enrollment in AY204 or AY206, or permission of the instructor. Students learn to observe and photograph planets, stars, and galaxies using several kings of telescopes. On cloudy nights, astronomical photographs and material obtained at other observatories are studied. One lecture and one laboratory. Offered fall semester. NOTE: AY203 may not be applied with AY101 to satisfy part of the N requirement of the University Core Curriculum (see AY101 and AY102 above).
AY204 Solar System Astronomy. Three hours. Prerequisite: MATH 113 or MATH 115 or equivalent. Discussion of orbital mechanics and of the interior structure, surface features, atmosphere, and origin of the sun, planets, and solar system.
AY206 Astronomy beyond the Solar System. Three hours. Prerequisite: MATH 113 or MATH 115 or equivalent. Study of the evolution of stars, relativity and black holes, the structure of galaxies, and the formation and evolution of the universe.
AY401 Celestial Mechanics. Three hours. Prerequisite: PH301. Review of the two-body problem, Kepler's equation, planetary orbits, gravitational potential, perturbations, and motions of rockets; discussion of the three-body and n-body problems. Star cluster and galaxy dynamics. Offered according to demand.
AY421 Theoretical Astrophysics. Three hours. Prerequisite: PH253. Prerequisite or co-requisite: PH332. Three lectures. Introduction to astrophysical processes in stellar atmospheres, stellar structure, stellar evolution, galactic structure, the interstellar medium, active galaxies, and quasars. Offered according to demand.
AY433 Astronomical Techniques. Three hours. Prerequisite: PH333. Survey of current experimental problems in astronomy and the methods used in solving them. Techniques discussed include photography, photometry, and spectroscopy. Offered according to demand.
AY491 Independent Study I. One to three hours.
AY492 Independent Study II. One to three hours.

Students who minor in astronomy and who are not physics majors may earn credit toward the minor for the following physics (PH) courses:

PH253 Introduction to Modern Physics. Three hours.
PH255 Modern Physics Laboratory. One hour.
PH301 Mechanics. Three hours.
PH333 Intermediate Optics. Four hours.