Physics

An introduction to the engineering profession for first-year students, with a focus on the engineering design process and problem-solving. Includes data collection, modeling/analysis, and Computer-Aided Design software. Emphasizes professional practices and expectations, including communication, teamwork, and ethics.

An introduction to the engineering profession for first-year students, with a focus on the engineering design process and problem-solving. Includes data collection, modeling/analysis, and Computer-Aided Design software. Emphasizes professional practices and expectations, including communication, teamwork, and ethics.

Designed to help students appreciate and understand their physical environment and the methods of physical science through the study of basic astronomy. Topics include the history of astronomy; motion of celestial objects; planets of the solar system; birth, life, and death of stars; galaxies; and cosmology. Three hours in class and two hours in laboratory per week. FILA general education: natural and physical sciences.

Physics has given humanity the ability to better understand our world as well as transform our relationship with it. This course investigates the influence of physics principles, discoveries, and applications in human endeavors, such as electricity and nuclear radiation. The role that physics plays in energy use, technology and modern society is explored along with the impacts these discoveries and applications have on global and personal scales. FILA general education: natural and physical sciences.

An introduction to the basic concepts of physics emphasizing practical applications of physical laws to common occurrences. Physical descriptions are presented on how things move, the behavior of sound and light, uses of electricity and magnetism, and the behavior of fundamental particles. Three hours in class and two hours in laboratory per week. FILA general education: natural and physical sciences.

This course is a set of lectures and active-learning activities that explore the physics of sounds and music. Topics covered include propagation and energy of sound waves, frequency and wavelength, harmonics and overtones, perception of sound intensity, how various musical instruments produce different sounds, and standing waves in different media.

An introduction to astrophysics using computational models to explore the astrophysical processes responsible for the properties and structure of stars, stellar remnants, and black holes. We will also explore the formation of stars, dynamics of clusters, and large scale structure of the Universe. This course will include an off-campus visit to a national center of astrophysical research. No previous computing experience is necessary.

A hands-on introduction to scientific computing with professional software packages. Emphasizes the graphical capabilities of software, such as Mathematica, applied to problems in physics.

An algebra-based exploration of the concepts of motion, forces, energy, waves, heat, electricity, magnetism, optics, and modern physics. Three hours in class, one hour in recitation and two hours in lab per week.

An algebra-based exploration of the concepts of motion, forces, energy, waves, heat, electricity, magnetism, optics, and modern physics. Three hours in class, one hour in recitation and two hours in lab per week.

During the first term: Kinematics, Newton's laws of motion, conservation laws, rotational motion, periodic motion, and fluid mechanics. During the second term: Thermodynamics, electricity, magnetism, optics and modern physics. A combination of lectures and learning by inquiry are employed. Computers are used for data acquisition, data analysis, and mathematical modeling. Three hours in class, one hour in recitation and two hours in lab per week.

During the first term: Kinematics, Newton's laws of motion, conservation laws, rotational motion, periodic motion, and fluid mechanics. During the second term: Thermodynamics, electricity, magnetism, optics and modern physics. A combination of lectures and learning by inquiry are employed. Computers are used for data acquisition, data analysis, and mathematical modeling. Three hours in class, one hour in recitation and two hours in lab per week. FILA general education: natural and physical sciences.

Complex exponential functions, vector and partial derivatives. Applications of integration in physics, including expectation values and line integrals. Vector and matrix operations, including dot and cross products, determinants, eigenvalues and eigenvectors. Mathematical software (eg, Mathematica) is incorporated.

Boundary value problems in physics: Ordinary differential equations with initial conditions, and partial differential equations in Cartesian and curvilinear coordinates. Includes Fourier analysis, Laplace's equation, the wave equation, and Legendre polynomials. Mathematical software (eg, Mathematica) is incorporated.

Vector analysis includes couples, resultants, free-body diagrams, friction and rigid bodies. Equilibrium mechanics with trusses, frames, centers of mass, bending and shear forces in beams, moments of inertia and parallel-axis theorem. Use of software for vector/matrix algebra (eg, MATLAB).

Analog electronics including diode and transistor operation, mathematical circuit analysis, operational amplifier applications. Two hours in class and six hours in lab per week. Offered alternate years.

Analysis and applications of digital circuits such as flip-flops, registers, counters and analog-to-digital converters leading to interfacing real-time data collection to computers. Offered alternate years.

Electrostatics, scalar potential, electric fields and energy in conductors and dielectrics, electric currents, magnetic fields and energy, leading up to Maxwell's equations and from there to electromagnetic radiation. Offered alternate years.

Thermodynamics, kinetic theory, and an introduction to statistical mechanics. Offered alternate years.

Classical and modern experiments give the student a basic understanding of experimental methods. Involves several lectures and extensive lab work. FILA general education: writing intensive. Offered alternate years.

Computational and numerical techniques for problem-solving in physics. Methods for differential equations, Monte Carlo simulations, and modeling of physical systems (e.g., fluid flows, electrostatics, waves). Topics implemented in a programming language appropriate for computational physics (e.g., Python). Students will work with professors outside BC to test and help develop computational materials as part of PICUP, the Partnership for Integration of Computation into Undergraduate Physics. FILA general education: experiential learning. Offered alternate years.

Topics include electromagnetic nature of light, geometrical optics, polarization, interference, diffraction, holography, and basics of lasers with applications. Three hours in class and three hours in laboratory per week. Offered alternate years.

Course in fluid mechanics covering fluid properties, statics, and dynamics. Topics covered include hydrodynamics, viscous flows, potential flows, turbulence, and boundary layer analysis. Use of Bernoulli, Euler, and Navier-Stokes equations. Additional topics may include airfoil theory, shock waves, instabilities, and plasmas. Offered alternate years.

Provides an opportunity for a student to gain field experience in an area related to the student's program of study or career goals. The learning objectives for internships include connecting academic knowledge and problem-solving processes to experiences and problems in professional settings. Supervision of an intern is provided by an appropriate faculty member and by a site supervisor of the agency or business in which the student is an intern. A student who wishes to engage in an internship must consult with the appropriate faculty member at least eight weeks in advance of the start of the term in which the internship is to be completed. A description of the internship, signed by the student and the faculty sponsor, must be filed with the director of internships by the first day of the semester prior to the start of the internship. Approval of each application for an internship is made by the director of internships based upon approved policies and guidelines. Internships are graded on an S or U basis. Students must complete 120 hours of internship-related work as well as weekly journal entries and a final reflective paper completed in accordance with approved requirements. A student may enroll in an internship program for 3 credits per semester, and internship credit may be earned in subsequent semesters subject to the limitations that no more than two internships may be pursued in any one agency or business and a maximum of 9 credits in internships may be applied toward graduation. FILA general education: experiential learning.

With prior permission of the Physics Department, a summer research experience in physics or a closely-related field may be used as the basis for a written thesis and oral defense. The thesis will demonstrate synthesis of previous coursework in the program and a professional level of writing and oral communication.

Students design, develop, and present a project based on a theoretical, computational, and/or experimental problem in physics or applied physics.

Students design, develop, and present a project based on a theoretical, computational, and/or experimental problem in physics or applied physics.