Information found in this online edition of the 2008-09 catalog is unofficial and for informational purposes only. By authority of the dean of the College, some factual corrections to the printed version may appear here. The official document of record is the printed edition of the 2008-09 Catalog. For more information, please contact the Office of the Registrar.
Physics
Chair: Michael Broide
Physics is the inquiry into the structure and organization of the universe. It is the study of forces and matter, of motion, of cause and effect, and of the intrinsic properties of space and time. It seeks to comprehend the essences of these things at the deepest level, and to use them to synthesize models of complex phenomena. The accomplishments of physics stand out among the highest achievements of human intellect and imagination, and as the discipline continues to evolve, the mysteries with which it deals are ever more intriguing. For a person planning a career in any field, a physics course is an ideal component of a liberal arts education. For one who seeks a career as a physicist, the breadth acquired in a liberal arts education augments and enhances the special training that physics requires.
The Department of Physics offers a complete program for students planning careers in physics, astronomy, or engineering, including a thorough preparation for graduate school or for professional engineering school. (For additional information on engineering, see the Engineering listing in this catalog.) The program is also well suited for those who plan careers in science education or in the health sciences. Special courses for students not planning a science career introduce them to the basic concepts underlying modern scientific thought.
The physics faculty have diverse interests and expertise, are active in research, and engage students in their research activities. The department is particularly active in the areas of biophysics, astrophysics, and nonlinear dynamics. Laboratory and desk space are available for majors. The faculty strive to maintain an atmosphere of creative inquiry and informal interaction with students, and to provide an environment that stimulates students to learn from each other. Physics majors maintain an active chapter of the Society of Physics Students (SPS) and sponsor campus events through the Physics Club.
The Major Program
The introductory program serves students already committed to rigorous training for a professional career in physics, as well as those who are still testing their interest in physics or engineering as a profession.
The physics curriculum is highly sequential; all students contemplating the major should seek the advice of a physics faculty member as soon as possible. Transfer students and those who declare the major after the first year should consult the department chair for guidance. Upon consultation with faculty, the complete course program for a physics major can be adapted to match the goals of each student, including opportunities to participate in overseas study programs.
Major Requirements
A minimum of 38 semester credits in physics, plus courses in mathematics, distributed as follows:
- Physics 151,* 152, 251, and 252.
- Mathematics 131 and 132.
- Mathematics 225, 233, and 235.
- Physics 201 or 202 (taking both is strongly recommended).
- Physics 300, 321, 331, and 451.
- One course (2 semester credits) chosen from Physics 400, 490, and 491.
- Recommended for all majors: Computer Science 171. Mathematics 215 and 255. Two semesters of biology and/or chemistry.
- Majors planning to do graduate work should also take the following: Physics 332, 421, and 452; and Mathematics 345 and 365.
Note: All majors beyond the first year are expected to attend the physics colloquium.
* With consent of the department, Physics 141 may be substituted for 151.
Minor Requirements
A minimum of 24 semester credits (six courses), distributed as follows:
- Physics 151, 152, 251, and 252.
- One course selected from Physics 321, 331, and 451.
- Physics 201 or 202.
Honors
Physics majors in their junior year are invited to take part in the department's honors program, during the semester they are scheduled to have completed 96 semester credits, provided they have a GPA of 3.500 overall and 3.500 for all physics courses taken at Lewis & Clark. Before the end of the semester of invitation, the student selects a faculty member to supervise the research. The approved research program is completed during the senior year, and the student receives 4 semester credits in Physics 491 (Honors Research) for each of the two semesters required to carry out the research. Credit in Physics 491 may be applied to the laboratory requirement of the physics major program. The designation of honors in physics requires approval of at least three-quarters of the physics faculty.
Resources For Nonmajors
The department regularly offers courses geared for students majoring in disciplines outside of the mathematical and natural sciences division. These courses include Astronomy (Physics 105); Chance, Determinism, Complexity, and Meaning in Science (Physics 107); and Great Ideas in Physics (110), all of which fulfill General Education requirements in mathematical and quantitative reasoning (Category B). For students in other science departments, several other courses are valuable.
It is also possible for students majoring in other disciplines to gain a broad introduction to physics by taking an introductory sequence. Introductory General Physics I and II cover classical and modern physics in one year, and utilize elementary calculus. Physics I, II, III, and IV are also calculus-based and provide a two-year introduction to physics.
Chemistry, mathematics, and biology majors planning graduate study may need to take additional physics courses beyond the introductory sequence.
Facilities
The Olin Center for Physics and Chemistry has more than 40,000 square feet of classroom, laboratory, library, and study space. Facilities and equipment used by the physics department include the following:
Research astronomical observatory
Stellar photometry research laboratory
Lecture-demonstration theatre
Extensive faculty research space
Professionally staffed electronic and machine shops
Solar telescope and spectrograph
Special laboratories for spectroscopy, optics and holography, modern physics, phase transition studies in liquids, biophysics using state-of-the-art optical microscopy
Advanced physics laboratory for ongoing student projects
Student-faculty research laboratories and conference room
Faculty
Michael L. Broide, associate professor. Physics of colloids and macromolecules. Phase transitions, aggregation, pattern formation; light scattering and optical instrumentation; membrane biophysics.
Thomas Olsen, associate professor. Theoretical physics: atomic structure, laser physics, fluid dynamics, computational studies of complex phenomena.
Bethe A. Scalettar, professor. Fluorescence microscopy, biophysics, optics, thermodynamics, quantum mechanics.
Herschel B. Snodgrass, professor. Astrophysics, theoretical physics, physics of the sun.
Stephen L. Tufte, associate professor. Astrophysics, experimental physics, optics.
PHYS 105 Astronomy
Olsen, Tufte
Content: For nonmajors. Present knowledge of the sun, the planets, and other objects in the solar system; of stars, star systems, galaxies, and the universe as a whole. Focus on conceptual understanding rather than on a catalog of objects. Basic laws of physics, including Newton's laws of motion and gravitation, laws governing energy and its transformations, theories of matter and radiation. How the distance, size, mass, brightness, and composition of remote objects are determined. General theory of stellar evolution including nuclear synthesis, origins of life on earth, and origin and fate of the solar system. Regular evening observations at the Karle Observatory atop the Olin Center for Physics and Chemistry.
Prerequisite: Mathematics 055 or equivalent. Mathematics proficiency should be sufficient for entry into precalculus.
Taught: Each semester, 4 semester credits.
PHYS 107 Chance, Determinism, Complexity, And Meaning In Science
Olsen
Content: For nonmajors. The roles of chance, determinism, and complexity in science. Observation of physical systems that are best understood in terms of these concepts. Mathematical models used to further explore the utility of these concepts. Readings exploring the aptness of invocations of these concepts outside of science: LaPlace, Popper, Prigogine, Polkinghorne.
Prerequisite: Mathematics 055 or equivalent.
Taught: Annually, contingent on student interest and faculty availability, 4 semester credits.
PHYS 110 Great Ideas In Physics
Broide, Scalettar
Content: For nonmajors. Essential concepts used to describe and understand the physical universe. Conservation of energy, second law of thermodynamics, entropy, theory of relativity, wave-particle duality of matter.
Prerequisite: Mathematics 055 or equivalent.
Taught: Annually, 4 semester credits.
PHYS 141 Introductory General Physics I
Scalettar
Content: First semester of a rigorous one-year introductory physics course aimed at life science and chemistry majors. Kinematics, vectors, force, statics, work, energy, linear and angular momentum, oscillations, fluids. Students may not earn credit for both Physics 141 and 151.
Prerequisites: Mathematics 131 (may be taken concurrently). Coregistration in Physics 171 Laboratory.
Taught: Annually, 5 semester credits.
PHYS 142 Introductory General Physics II
Tufte, Staff
Content: Second semester of a rigorous one-year introductory physics course aimed at life science and chemistry majors. Electrostatics, magnetism, induced currents and fields, electrical circuits, wave motion and sound, light, optics, wave properties of matter, atomic physics, nuclear physics. Students may not earn credit for both Physics 142 and 152.
Prerequisites: Physics 141 or 151. Mathematics 131. Coregistration in Physics 172 Laboratory.
Taught: Annually, 5 semester credits.
PHYS 151 Physics I: Motion
Broide
Content: The concepts and techniques required to measure, describe, and predict the motion of objects. Kinematics; description of motion in one, two, and three dimensions. Dynamics; causes of motion, including Newton's laws of motion. Momentum, work, energy, equilibrium, gravity, rotational motion. Special relativity. Students may not earn credit for both Physics 141 and 151.
Prerequisites: Mathematics 131 (may be taken concurrently). Coregistration in Physics 171 Laboratory.
Taught: Annually, 5 semester credits.
PHYS 152 Physics II: Waves And Matter
Scalettar, Snodgrass
Content: Oscillating phenomena in nature and the building blocks of matter. Masses on springs, pendula, waves on strings, sound waves, light waves. Optics including the action of lenses, examples of diffraction, interference. Waveparticle duality of light and the electron. Quantum mechanics, behavior of electrons in atoms, atoms in molecules, protons and neutrons in nuclei, quarks in protons and neutrons. Students may not earn credit for both Physics 142 and 152.
Prerequisites: Physics 141 or 151. Mathematics 132 (may be taken concurrently). Coregistration in Physics 172 Laboratory.
Taught: Annually, 5 semester credits.
PHYS 171, 172 Physics Laboratory
Olsen, Scalettar, Snodgrass, Tufte
Content: Laboratory study of topics including kinematics, dynamics, waves, optics, modern physics. Physics 171 to be taken with Physics 141 or 151. Physics 172 to be taken with Physics 142 or 152.
PHYS 201 Experimental Methods In The Physical Sciences
Tufte
Content: Experimental methods and instrumentation in the physical sciences. Design experiments, construct instrumentation, make measurements, and analyze and interpret data in order to reach meaningful conclusions. Discussion and use of modern experimental techniques, including analog and digital electronics, many types of sensors, computerized data acquisition, and spectroscopy (atomic, fluorescence, and infrared). Final student-designed project provides opportunities for interdisciplinary investigations. This course is taught in conjunction with Chemistry 355. Credit may not be earned for both Chemistry 355 and Physics 201.
Prerequisite: Physics 141 or 151 or consent of instructor.
Corequisite: Physics 142 or 152 or consent of instructor.
Taught: Annually, 4 semester credits.
PHYS 202 Methods Of Theoretical Physics
Snodgrass
Content: Introduction to and development of mathematical tools needed for upper-level physics courses. Vector spaces and introduction to Dirac notation: concepts of linear dependence, normalization, orthogonality, and dimension Three-dimensional vectors and vector calculus, study of partial derivatives, vector valued functions, coordinate transformations, and curvilinear coordinate systems. The Dirac delta function. Abstract vectors and vector-space analysis of function theory, including an introduction to complex variables and Hilbert Spaces. Eigenvectors, eigenvalues, orthogonal polynomials, orthogonal functions, and Fourier analysis. Methods for solutions of the partial differential equations of elementary field theories.
Prerequisites: Physics 152. Mathematics 132.
Taught: Annually, 4 semester credits.
PHYS 205 Deep Space Astronomy
Snodgrass
Content: Introduction to cosmology. Cosmological models throughout history. Interplay between observations and basic principles: looking out in space and back in time. Development of modern cosmology from Newton through Einstein, including the theories of special and general relativity. Properties of light and gravitation, stars, stellar evolution, black holes, galaxies, and the large-scale structure of the universe. Present-day observations and models: Hubble space telescope, big bang, microwave background radiation, and cosmological red shift. In-depth discussion of the standard (Einstein-DeSitter) model. The ultimate fate of the universe. For majors and nonmajors.
Prerequisites: Physics 105, 110, 141 or 151, or consent of instructor. Prior introductory physics or astronomy. Comfort with mathematics at the level of elementary functions is requested.
Taught: Alternate years, 4 semester credits.
PHYS 251 Physics III: Electromagnetism
Olsen, Staff
Content: Introduction to electricity, magnetism, and their interactions. Electric fields and electric potentials. Phenomena of capacitance, currents, circuits. Forces on moving charges described in terms of the magnetic field. Effects of time-varying electric and magnetic fields, in both vacuum and matter: induction, alternating current circuits, electromagnetic waves.
Prerequisites: Physics 151. Mathematics 233 or Physics 202 (may be taken concurrently).
Taught: Annually, 4 semester credits.
PHYS 252 Physics IV: Thermodynamics And Statistical Mechanics
Broide
Content: The phenomena of heat from macroscopic and microscopic viewpoints. Temperature, equilibrium, thermal energy, internal energy, heat flow, entropy, extraction of work from engines. Phenomena described macroscopically by the laws of thermodynamics and microscopically by densities of accessible states, probabilities, ensembles, distribution functions. Application to the condensed states of matter and transport phenomena.
Prerequisites: Physics 152. Mathematics 233 or Physics 202.
Taught: Annually, 4 semester credits.
PHYS 300 Advanced Lab And Colloquium
Broide, Tufte
Content: Experiments of a significant historical nature or emphasizing important laboratory techniques. Students design and conduct two experiments per semester. Attendance at weekly physics colloquium required.
Prerequisite: Physics 201 or 202 or consent of instructor.
Taught: Each semester, 2 semester credits.
PHYS 321 Quantum Physics I
Snodgrass, Tufte
Content: First semester of an upper-division modern physics and quantum mechanics course. Bohr atom, DeBroglie waves, orbitals, Zeeman effect, spectroscopy, wave packets, Schrodinger equation in one dimension, eigenfunctions and eigenvalues, operators, harmonic oscillator, Schrodinger equation in three dimensions, angular momentum, hydrogen atom.
Prerequisites: Mathematics 225 and 235. Physics 152.
Taught: Annually, 4 semester credits.
PHYS 331 Advanced Electricity And Magnetism I
Olsen
Content: Mathematical theory of static electromagnetic fields in vacuum. The forces due to electric charges and currents in terms of electric and magnetic vector fields. The derivation of electric and magnetic fields from scalar and vector potential fields. Boundary-value techniques for the solution of the equations of LaPlace and Poisson: potential fields in the presence of various configurations of charges and currents. The summary of all aspects of electromagnetism in terms of Maxwell's equations.
Prerequisites: Physics 202 or Mathematics 233. Physics 251. Mathematics 235.
Taught: Annually, 4 semester credits.
PHYS 332 Advanced Electricity And Magnetism II
Olsen, Snodgrass
Content: Mathematical theory of static and dynamic electromagnetic fields, including electromagnetic fields in matter. The contribution of induced charges and currents to the electric and magnetic fields in matter. The prediction of electromagnetic waves from Maxwell's equations. The propagation of these waves in vacuum, bulk matter, and waveguides. The radiation of accelerated charges.
Prerequisite: Physics 331.
Taught: alternate years, 4 semester credits.
PHYS 380 Topics In Physics
Staff
Content: Application of physics concepts and techniques to the understanding of specific systems. Topic chosen from the following: astrophysics, atomic physics, molecular spectroscopy, solid state physics, optics, fluids, particle physics, cosmology.
Prerequisite: Physics 252 or consent of instructor.
Taught: Alternate years, contingent on student interest and faculty availability, 4 semester credits.
PHYS 400 Advanced Lab And Colloquium
Broide, Tufte
Content: Experiments of a significant historical nature or emphasizing important laboratory techniques. Students design and conduct two experiments per semester. Attendance at weekly physics colloquium required.
Prerequisite: Physics 300.
Taught: Each semester, 2 semester credits.
PHYS 421 Quantum Physics II
Snodgrass
Content: Continuation of Physics 321. Interactions of electrons with electromagnetic fields, matrices, spin, addition of angular momenta, time-independent perturbation theory, helium spectra, fine structure of atoms, molecules, timedependent perturbation theory, radiation.
Prerequisite: Physics 321.
Taught: Alternate years, 4 semester credits.
PHYS 451 Theoretical Dynamics I
Scalettar
Content: Precise mathematical formulations of the idealized physical systems of classical mechanics and the physical interpretation of mathematical solutions. Linear oscillating systems, the two-body problem, rotating and accelerated reference frames, rotation of extended bodies, theory of scattering. Newtonian methods, methods of Lagrange and Hamilton, phase space analysis.
Prerequisites: Mathematics 235. Physics 151.
Taught: Annually, 4 semester credits.
PHYS 452 Theoretical Dynamics II
Olsen, Staff
Content: The calculus of variations, Lagrangian and Hamiltonian mechanics, canonical transformations, Poisson brackets, nonlinear dynamics, introduction to the theory of chaos. Development of physics through minimum principles and generalized systems of coordinates, conjugate relationships between positions and momenta, and between energy and time, as these relate to the connections between the classical and quantum mechanical descriptions of the world. Phase-space notion of an attractor, characterization of strange attractors. Time series and dimensional analyses for describing chaotic systems.
Prerequisite: Physics 451.
Taught: Alternate years, 4 semester credits.
PHYS 490 Undergraduate Research And Colloquium
Staff
Content: Advanced research supervised by a sponsoring faculty member. Students conduct a preliminary literature survey; demonstrate thoughtful planning; and develop a tractable research plan, stating objectives, possible methodology, and realistic time schedule. Attendance at weekly physics colloquium required.
Prerequisites: Physics 201 or 202. Consent of department.
Taught: Annually, 4 semester credits.
PHYS 491 Honors Research
Staff
Content: Supervised research toward completing a project and a research-quality paper to qualify for honors in physics on graduation. Students conduct an exhaustive literature search of a research problem, perform an extensive experimental or theoretical investigation, and prepare a comprehensive report of the findings.
Prerequisite: By invitation only.
Taught: Each semester, 4 semester credits.