This course aims to:

a. build understanding of experimentation in key topics of physics.

b. provide foundation knowledge for experimental physics

c. begin building observational skills of physical phenomena.

d. show how experiments further knowledge in physics.​

1. Stimulated emission of radiation – quantum transitions in atoms; stimulated emission and amplification; rate equations; saturation.
2. Laser oscillation – feedback mechanisms; coherent optical oscillations; laser resonators; design principles for laser devices.

1. Crystal symmetry – lattice, basis, unit cell of a crystal; Miller indices; lattice planes and spacings; the reciprocal lattice and Brillouin zones; Bragg and Laue diffraction; structure factor; atomic form factor; neutron and x-ray diffraction; powder and single crystal diffraction.
2. Sound propagation in solids – normal mode dispersion for linear atomic chains; acoustic and optical phonon modes; Born von Karman boundary conditions; density of states; lattice quantization and phonons; Einstein and Debye models of heat capacity.
3. Electronic properties – free electron theory; density of states; the Fermi energy; Fermi surfaces; conductivity and heat capacity; the nearly-free electron model; band gaps; the Bloch theorem; the Kronig-Penny model.
4. Distinctions between metals, semiconductors and insulators; aspects of condensed matter physics.

1. Basic postulates of statistical mechanics – macrostates and microstates; distinguishable and indistinguishable particles; distribution functions.
2. Temperature and entropy – state probabilities; the Boltzmann relation; the canonical ensemble; the partition function; Gibbs' entropy formula; the Third Law of thermodynamics; information theory; irreversible processes and the arrow of time.
3. Density of states and heat capacity in black body radiation.
4. Ideal classical gases – the Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution; rotational and vibrational heat.
5. Free electron gases – the Fermi energy and distribution function; Pauli paramagnetism; electronic contributions to heat capacity.
6. Phonons – phonon contributions to heat capacity; the Debye approximation; the phonon gas; thermal conductivity of insulators.
7. Phase transitions – the Weiss model of ferromagnetism; order-disorder transitions.

1. Equations of flow.
2. Compressible and incompressible fluids.
3. Dynamical phenomena.

1. Semiconductor-based device fabrication – ion implantation; diffusion and oxidation processes; epitaxy; thin film deposition; material and device characterization; lithography; etching and cleaning.
2. Magnetic, organic and bioMEMS devices – fabrication and characterization techniques.

1. Basic theories and models for condensed-matter physics – approaches to the many-body problem; collective phenomena.
2. Structure and bonding - order and disorder; types of bonding and structure; electrons in periodic potentials; the Bloch theorem; tight-binding models; 1D chain models; band structures of real materials; optical transitions and photoemission.
3. Interactions – effective medium approximations for electron-electron interactions; Hartree-Fock theory; exchange and correlation energy; electron fluids and electrostatic screening; the exclusion principle and quasiparticles.
4. Transport and scattering – crystal momentum; neutron scattering; electron-phonon scattering; optical conductivity; Drude theory, plasmons; transport in electric and magnetic fields; quantization of orbits, cyclotron resonance; the de Haas-van Alphen effect; Fermi surfaces; magnetoresistance oscillation; the quantum Hall effect.
5. Semiconductors – thermal equilibrium of quasiparticles; field effect transistor; p-n junctions, LED; excitons; semiconductor heterostrutures; quantum wells; semiconductor lasers.
6. Magnetism – origin of magnetic moments and interactions; ferromagnetism; itinerant magnetism; the Stoner model; strongly interacting systems; Mott insulators.

1. Classical linear and nonlinear optics; statistical optics.
2. Quantum optics – physics of photoncs; semiclassical and quantum models of light-matter interaction; lasers; generation of short laser pulses.

1. Common models of nuclear and high energy particle physics – the Standard Model of quarks, leptons and the fundamental interactions; tests of conservation laws; indications of physics beyond the Standard Model.
2. Experimental techniques in particle physics – operating principles of particle accelerators and particle detectors; accelerators; transverse and longitudinal beam dynamics; RF and plasma acceleration; electron dynamics and synchrotron radiation; detector types, including sensitivity, response, energy/space/time resolution, efficiency and dead time; covering devices for position and momentum measurements; particle identification systems; calorimeters and multipurpose systems.
3. Current and future experimental challenges – data volume and computing problems; online collision selection; data analysis.

1. Thermodynamic systems in equilibrium – Boltzmann and Gibbs entropy; configurational entropy and defects; mcrocanonical, canonical and grand canonical ensembles; paramagnetic salts; negative temperatures; fluctuations in energy, particle number and volume; critical opalescence.
2. Classical and quantum models – indistinguishability; the equipartition theorem; the grand partition function; Fermi-Dirac and Bose-Einstein statistics; the quantum to classical crossover; chemical equilibrium and Langmuir isotherms.
3. Quantum fluids – the Ideal Bose gas and Bose-Einstein condensation; quantum liquids; black-body radiation; phonons and the Debye model; ideal Fermi gases; normal modes and elementary excitations of quantum fluids.
4. Classical liquids – radial distribution function; internal energy and equation of state; virial expansion.

1. Semiconductor physics – electronic band structures of semiconductors; electronic properties of defects; charge carrier concentrations; drift of carriers in electric and magnetic fields; diffusion and recombination of excess carriers; p-n junction physics; junction diodes; tunnel diodes; bipolar junction transistors; metal-semiconductor contacts; metal-insulator-semiconductor interfaces; MOSFET and advanced FinFET.
2. Magnetic materials and devices – origins of magnetism; ferromagnetism; magnetisation-reversal processes; magnetic domain walls; soft and hard magnetic materials; giant magnetoresistance; tunnelling magnetoresistance; magnetic random access memory (MRAM); magnetic recording media.

1. The wave equation; reflection processes; equivalent network modes; pistons; the Rayleigh integral.
2. Solutions to the wave equation – sound speed profiles; 2D parabolic wave equation; underwater acoustic modelling; sound propagation in the ocean.
3. Sonar equations – reflection, scattering, and backscattering processes; sonar systems and their applications in target detection and ranging.
4. Bioacoustics – sound generation and sound perception in human beings; frequency resolution of the cochlea; sound propagation; transmission losses; sound exposure levels and impacts on marine environments; technological applications.
5. Medical ultrasound – introduction to diagnostic ultrasound; sound emission from bubbles; therapeutic ultrasound.

1. Electricity and magnetism.
2. Optics.
3. Modern physics.