ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVES, OPTICS & MODERN PHYSICS.

PREREQUISITES

• PHYS273 and PHYS276.

TEXT & REFERENCE MATERIAL

• Introduction to Optics, 3^rd Ed., F. L. Pedrotti, L. S., Pedrotti & L. M. Pedrotti
• Lab Manual (Download the labs from the course schedule.)
• Equipment Manuals and Special Notes
• Logger Pro Quick Reference

ADDITIONAL REFERENCES

• An Introduction to Error Analysis by J. R. Taylor.
• Data Reduction and Error Analysis for the Physical Sciences (Second Edition) by P. R. Bevington and D. K. Robinson

Web Sites

• Table of Neutral Atom Ionization Energies (http://physics.nist.gov/PhysRefData/IonEnergy/ionEnergy.html)
• Table of Fundamental Physical Constants (http://physics.nist.gov/cuu/Constants/)
• Chemical Properties (http://physics.nist.gov/cuu/Constants/)
• Error and Uncertainty (http://physics.nist.gov/cuu/Uncertainty/)
• Notes on Error Analysis
• Notes on Mathematica

REQUIRED TOOLS

SCHEDULE

• One meeting weekly: M (Sec. 0201) or Tu (Sec. 0301) 14:00 - 17:50.
• Lectures convene at 14:00 in Rm. 31??
• Labs convene after lectures in Rm. 3104.
• Click here for the full schedule.

OVERVIEW

PHYS375  is a three (3) credit lecture and laboratory course that meets  four hours a week.  Its primary objective consists of (1) learning physics through  experimental investigation and (2) learning how to keep a scientific record of your investigation.  The topics of study are related to optics and the interaction of electromagnetic radiation with matter.  Specifically, you will study the nature of light -- its ray, wave and quantum  character.  This course wil help you to develop practical laboratroy skills associated with keeping a journal or lab notebook, designing a "good" experiment and handling experimental error or uncertainty that is inherent in all measurement. The course consists of about twelve lectures and six experiments (plus an introductory experiment). In most cases, you willhave two weeks to complete your experiment. You turn in your journal and a report for each of the six experiments. In addition, there will be six homework assignments that will be due approximately every other week.

This is one of the few opportunities in our undergraduate curriculum to learn some geometrical and wave optics. Exploit it and ask question frequently. Regular communication is essential in this course. Besides face-to-face discussions during the required attendance on your scheduled lab day, email is the next easiest way to stay in touch. You are expected to check your email and the course WEB page regularly for announcements and schedule changes.

LECTURES

GRADING

LAB NOTEBOOKS AND REPORTS

One emphasis in this course is how to keep a record. This should be a record of what you did in the lab (including mistakes -- THUS, RECORD YOUR NOTES IN INK AND NEVER ERASE!). This record will consist of your procedure (how you acquired the data), notes on the appratus, estimates of your uncertainties and how those estimates were made, and the raw data. Be sure to include sketches and sample data, plots, etc. You are required to purchase a carbon copy notebook so that you can turn in a copy of your lab notes at the end of each class period. These notes will be graded along with your lab report. If you are a light writer, then you must take care to make sure that your notes are being transferred to the second copy. Your grade will suffer if the grader cannot read your notes!

The second emphasis in the course is extracting quantitative information from measurement and presenting a coherent summary of measured values. Your report will include the data analysis (including plots, tables, etc.), the extraction of the actual quantities to be measured and the uncertainty analysis (i.e., propagation of errors, etc.). The report should also contain a discussion of ways to improve the measurement. When time permits, and the insturmentiontation is suitable, you should explore these ideas in the lab. Your report should focus on what you did and the conclusions you have drawn, not the theoretical background of the problem.

You will usually turn in a lab report every other week. Each report, including the journal record turned in separately, will be graded according the following metric:

You have one week to turn in your lab report after completion in the lab. The reports will be due at the beginning of class. Any report submitted after the deadline will suffer automatic reductions: 50% if turned up to one week late, and 100% reduction thereafter. If you should miss any lab for any reason, you should contact the instructor as soon as possible to make arrangements for a makeup. All labs must be done to pass the course. A single missing lab will result in failing the course! A cmpleted lab consists of doing the lab and turning in both the journal notes and the report. Please note, if you have a report due that is more than one week late, you still must turn it to avoid failing the class!

HOMEWORK

Homework will be assigned on the weeks that lab reports are not due (~ seven assignments). This material is designed to complement the lecture and laboratory activities. Late homework will not be accepted, yielding a 0 for that assignment. Your lowest score will be dropped.