Introduction to the concepts and modes of thought involved in understanding the physical world around us. Verbal reasoning is emphasized. Some of the questions to be answered using the laws of physics are: What holds an airplane up? What causes the strange sensations we feel on a roller coaster? Why will a leaky boat sink? What causes the tide? What makes a structure unstable? Why are astronauts "weightless" when in orbit? What are boiling and melting?
Credit: 3 units.     (top)

Introduction to the concepts and modes of thought involved in understanding the physical world around us. Verbal reasoning will be emphasized. Some of the questions we will answer using the laws of physics are: What is the "sound barrier," and what happens when it is broken? What is the safest place to be in a lightning storm? How do electric generators and electric motors work? What are radio waves? What produces the changing colors of soap bubbles? Could one twin become younger than the other by taking a trip at nearly the speed of light? What is a black hole? Prerequisite: Does not require Physics 101
Credit: 3 units.     (top)

Why is the sky blue? How can a baseball curve? Natural and human-made phenomena can be understood by simple and basic ideas of physics. This course illustrates these underlying principles by using examples from everyday life as well as from physics and other fields. Because the phenomena are many and the principles are few, very different events sometimes have similar explanations; the class comes to understand how the changing pitch of an ambulance siren as it moves by is related to the expansion of the universe, and how the blue of the sky is related to the red of the sunset.
Credit: 3 units.     (top)

The ideas of physics that have revolutionized our perception of the world and reality. Emphasis is on understanding a selected set of crucial concepts without losing track of the numbers. Using the writings of Hawking, Feynman, and Lightman, a study is made of such topics as energy and conservation laws, the relativity of time, the wave-particle duality, the modern microscopic picture of matter at the smallest and the largest distance scales, and the history of the universe.
Credit: 3 units.     (top)

Variational calculus, a fancy generalization of ordinary calculus, is the study of functionals, which are functions of functions. In ordinary calculus, which is the study of functions of numbers, one tries to find the number that extremizes (maximizes or minimizes) a function. In variational calculus one tries to find the special function that extremizes a functional. Variational calculus dates back to the late seventeenth and eighteenth centuries when it was invented to solve the famous brachistochrone problem. The brachistochrone is the name given to the special path that a particle must follow to minimize its time of flight if it is falling from one point to another point not directly beneath it. Galileo incorrectly stated in 1638 that this path was an arc of a circle. The correct path was discovered independently by Newton, Leibniz, l'Hopital, and the brothers Johann and Jakob Bernoulli. (Newton and Leibniz argued for years about whose solution was the earliest!) The applications of variational calculus are ubiquitous in modern science. Variational calculus is the mathematical setting for describing the physical world. In all areas of classical and quantum physics, the physical world is expressed in terms of functions that extremize specific functionals. In this seminar variational calculus will be explained at an elementary level and many of its applications in science will be examined. A good understanding of elementary first-year calculus is required to take this seminar. Prerequisite: Math 131 (Calculus I)
Credit: 3 units.     (top)

Introduction to the concepts, laws, and structure of physics. Mechanics, including Newton's laws, energy, linear momentum, angular momentum, the conservation laws, gravitational force, harmonic motion, wave motion, interference of waves, sound, heat, the first and second laws of thermodynamics, kinetic theory of gases. Three class hours and a 2.5 hour laboratory session each week. Prerequisite: Previous or concurrent enrollment in Math 131 (Calculus I), or permission of instructor.
Credit: 4 units.     (top)

Continuation of Physics 117A. Introduction to the concepts, laws, and structure of physics: electricity and magnetism, electromagnetic forces, direct current circuits, capacitance and inductance, electromagnetic radiation, light, geometrical and physical optics, interference and diffraction, the structure of matter. Three class hours and a 2.5 hour laboratory session each week. Prerequisite: Physics 117, or permission of instructor.
Credit: 4 units.     (top)

Designed for the nonscience major, his course deals with the planets, their moons and rings, comets, meteorites, and interplanetary dust particles. To understand both classical astronomy and the results obtained from modern telescopes and the space program, basic scientific ideas (including optics and the laws of motion) are reviewed first. There is also some discussion of astronomical history to show how we have arrived at our present ideas of the structure and evolution of the solar system. Prerequisite: High school algebra and trigonometry, or concurrent enrollment in Math 131
Credit: 3 units.     (top)

Intended as a general survey for the nonscience major. Topics include the structure and evolution of stars, such as red giants, white dwarfs, neutron stars, pulsars, and black holes. Features of galaxies and quasars, cosmology and the big bang theory. Prerequisite: High school algebra and trigonometry, or concurrent enrollment in Math 131
Credit: 3 units.     (top)

Topics of special interest (e.g., superconductivity, quasicrystals, neural networks, chaos, etc.) may be studied under the supervision of a faculty member, variously by lectures, seminars, or individual study or research. A student hoping to arrange such a course must prepare a proposal and secure consent to undertake direction of the course from a faculty member and finally secure approval of the chair of the department.
Credit: Credit variable, maximum 3 units a semester.     (top)

Topics of special interest (e.g., superconductivity, quasicrystals, neural networks, chaos, etc.) may be studied under the supervision of a faculty member, variously by lectures, seminars, or individual study or research. A student hoping to arrange such a course must prepare a proposal and secure consent to undertake direction of the course from a faculty member and finally secure approval of the chair of the department.
Credit: Credit variable, maximum 3 units a semester.     (top)

Introduction to physics: its goals, methods, and relevance for society. Topics include energy as a unifying principle of physics and society's use of energy: resources and costs. Nuclear energy: history, technology, radiation, waste, weapons. Global climate change: the greenhouse effect, the hole in the ozone layer. Science and government. Bad science, pseudoscience, and antiscience.
Credit: 3 units.     (top)

An advanced introduction to central concepts in physics for students who desire to major in physics or another physical science, or who have a special interest in physics. The course is structured around three themes that are treated in depth: conservation laws, newtonian physics, and special relativity. The course structure emphasizes active learning and problem solving by the student. Three class hours and a 2.5 hour laboratory session each week. Prerequisite: Co-req: Math 132 (Calculus II) or permission of the instructor. Concurrent registration in a Physics 117 lab section is required. Students who are enrolled in or have already taken Physics 117 are ineligible for enrollment in this course.
Credit: 4 units.     (top)

Continuation of Physics 197. An advanced introduction to central concepts in physics for students who desire to major in physics or another physical science, or who have a special interest in physics. The course is structured around three themes that are treated in depth: electricity and magnetism, quantum physics, and statistical and thermal physics. The course structure emphasizes active learning and problem solving by the student. Three class hours and a 2.5 hour laboratory session each week. Prerequisite: Physics 197 and Calculus II, or permission of the instructor. Concurrent registration in a Physics 118 lab section is required. Students who are enrolled in or have already taken Physics 118 are ineligible for enrollment in this course.
Credit: 4 units.     (top)

The evolution of the universe, the Earth, and life, woven together. Themes of complexity, scale, chaos and entropy applied to the Big Bang, origin of matter, formation of the Earth, geological history, origin of life and evolution of species. The discussions are designed to deepen your scientific understanding as well as to explore the implications of the scientific epic upon philosophy, religion, literature, history, art, and ethics.
Credit: 3 units.     (top)

Introduction to the concepts, laws, and structure of physics. Mechanics, including Newton's laws, energy, linear momentum, angular momentum, the conservation laws, gravitational force, harmonic motion, wave motion, interference of waves, sound, heat, the first and second laws of thermodynamics, kinetic theory of gases. Three class hours and a 2.5 hour laboratory session each week. Prerequisite: Previous or concurrent enrollment in Math 131 (Calculus I), or permission of instructor.
Credit: 4 units.     (top)

Continuation of Physics 211. Introduction to the concepts, laws, and structure of physics: electricity and magnetism, electromagnetic forces, direct current circuits, capacitance and inductance, electromagnetic radiation, light, geometrical and physical optics, interference and diffraction, the structure of matter. Three class hours and a 2.5 hour laboratory session each week. Prerequisite: Physics 211, or permission of instructor.
Credit: 4 units.     (top)

Introduction to the special and general theories of relativity. Simple kinematics and dynamics, the twin paradox, the derivation and use of E=mc². Curved space-time, black holes, gravitational waves. Prerequisite: Physics 117 or 197, or permission of instructor
Credit: 1 unit.     (top)

Theoretical and experimental basis for quantum mechanics, following the historical development of 20th-century physics. Failure of classical physics; the Bohr theory of the atom; the Heisenberg uncertainty principle; the Schroedinger equation; atomic and molecular structure. Prerequisite: Physics 117, 118 or 197, 198, and Math 233 (may be taken concurrently)
Credit: 3 units.     (top)

Topics of special interest (e.g., superconductivity, quasicrystals, neural networks, chaos, etc.) may be studied under the supervision of a faculty member, variously by lectures, seminars, or individual study or research. Students hoping to arrange such a course must prepare a proposal and secure consent to undertake direction of the course from a faculty member and finally secure approval of the Department Chair.
Credit: Credit variable, maximum 3 units a semester.     (top)

Topics of special interest (e.g., superconductivity, quasicrystals, neural networks, chaos, etc.) may be studied under the supervision of a faculty member, variously by lectures, seminars, or individual study or research. A student hoping to arrange such a course must prepare a proposal and secure consent to undertake direction of the course from a faculty member and finally secure approval of the chair of the department.
Credit: Credit variable, maximum 3 units a semester.     (top)

Designed specifically for students who are not physics majors. This is a course emphasizing a variety of topics in modern physics such as the special and general theories of relativity, the big-bang theory, quantum physics, the wave-particle duality for light and matter, lasers and superconductivity, and elementary particle physics. This course does not count toward a major in physics. Prerequisite: High school algebra and trigonometry and sophomore standing
Credit: 3 units.     (top)

A focus on the controversies surrounding these scientists, as their effects on society became apparent. For each, there is an introduction to the basic science so that the social implications of the work can be understood in context. No prior knowledge of physics is assumed. Prerequisite: High school algebra and sophomore standing. Must be taken for a letter grade.
Credit: 3 units.     (top)

Introduction to modern astronomy and astrophysics: stellar structure and evolution, nucleosynthesis, galactic structure, cosmology. Prerequisite: Physics 117, 118 or 197, 198, or permission of instructor
Credit: 3 units.     (top)

Lecture and demonstration course of particular interest to premedical and life-sciences students. Physics of the human cardiovascular system. Energetics of the circulation. Electrocardiograms, phonocardiograms, echocardiograms (ultrasound). Prerequisite: Previous or concurrent registration in Physics 118 or 198, or permission of instructor
Credit: 3 units.     (top)

Experiments and lectures on refraction, interference, diffraction, polarization, and coherence properties of waves with emphasis on light. Two 4-hour lab sessions a week. Prerequisite: Physics 117, 118 or 197, 198
Credit: 3 units.     (top)

Application of elementary quantum principles to atomic and molecular physics, solid-state physics, and nuclear and particle physics. Prerequisite: Physics 217
Credit: 3 units.     (top)

Elements of linear and nonlinear circuits, amplifiers, feedback, with applications in experimental physics. Two 1-hour lectures and two 3-hour lab sessions a week. Prerequisite: Physics 118 or 198, or permission of instructor
Credit: 3 units.     (top)

Experiments in classical and modern physics; use of computers in experiment control and in data acquisition and analysis; practice in written and oral reporting of results. Two laboratories and one discussion period each week. Prerequisite: Physics 218 and 321, or permission of instructor
Credit: 3 units.     (top)

Topics of special interest (e.g., superconductivity, quasicrystals, neural networks, chaos, etc.) may be studied under the supervision of a faculty member, variously by lectures, seminars, or individual study or research. A student hoping to arrange such a course must prepare a proposal and secure consent to undertake direction of the course from a faculty member and finally secure approval of the chair of the department.
Credit: Credit variable, maximum 3 units a semester.     (top)

Topics of special interest (e.g., superconductivity, quasicrystals, neural networks, chaos, etc.) may be studied under the supervision of a faculty member, variously by lectures, seminars, or individual study or research. A student hoping to arrange such a course must prepare a proposal and secure consent to undertake direction of the course from a faculty member and finally secure approval of the chair of the department.
Credit: Credit variable, maximum 3 units a semester.     (top)

Concepts and techniques of physics are applied to study the functioning of neurons and neuronal circuits in the brain. Neurons and neural systems are modeled at two levels: (1) at the physical level, in terms of the electrical and chemical signals that are generated and transmitted and (2) at the information-processing level, in terms of the computational tasks performed. Specific topics include: neuronal electrophysiology, neural codes, neural plasticity, sensory processing, neural network architectures and learning algorithms, and neural networks as dynamical and statistical systems. Prerequisite: Physics 117, 118 or 197, 198 or permission of instructor
Credit: 3 units.     (top)

Principles and application of key physical methods used in the diagnosis and treatment of diseases, and in biomedical research. Topics include interaction of radiation with living systems; electrical properties of organs and cells; imaging via X-rays, nuclear medicine, magnetic resonance (MRI), and ultrasound; computed tomography (CT); positron emission tomography (PET). Prerequisite: Physics 117, 118 or 197,198
Credit: 3 units.     (top)

This course emphasizes the application of physical laws and concepts in understanding biomolecules and their interactions, and in developing tools to investigate their biological properties and functionalities. Topics include (1) a general introduction to biomolecules and cells, (2) physics of biopolymers as modeled by stochastic analyses, (3) transport processes in biological systems including diffusion, reaction kinetics, and "Life at low Reynolds number," and (4) the physics of fluorescence and its contemporary applications to dynamics of biomolecules, such as optical tweezers. Prerequisite: Physics 117-118, or 197-198. Some familiarity with thermodynamics; chemistry 111A recommended.
Credit: 3 units.     (top)

Physical principles applied to key phenomena of life. Topics include, but not limited to sensing and responding to the external environment, motion of bacteria, and the spontaneous development of biological rhythms. The course proceeds by explication of key research papers, with background filled in as needed. Prerequisite: Physics 117, 118 or 197, 198 and Chem 111 and 112
Credit: 3 units.     (top)

How do the eyes capture an image and convert it to neural messages that ultimately result in visual experience? This lecture and demonstration course will cover the physics of how we see. The course is addressed to physics, premedical, and life-science students with an interest in biophysics. Topics include physical properties of light, evolution of the eyes, image formation in the eyes, image sampling with an array of photoreceptors, transducing light into electrical signals, color coding, retinal organization, computing with nerve cells, compressing the 3-D world into optic nerve signals, inferring the 3-D world from optic nerve signals, biomechanics of eye movement, and engineered vision in machines. The functional impact of biophysical mechanisms for visual experience will be illustrated with psychophysical demonstrations. Prerequisite: Physics 117, 118 or 197, 198 or permission of instructor
Credit: 3 units.     (top)

This laboratory course consists of table-top experiments in biological physics that are designed to introduce the student to concepts, methods, and biological model systems in biophysics. Most experiments combine experimentation with computer simulations. The list of available experiments includes electrophysiology, human bioelectricity, optical tweezers, ultrasonic imaging, mass spectrometer, and viscosity measurements. Prerequisite: Prior completion of Phys 117A, 118A, or permission of instructor.
Credit: 3 units.     (top)

Exercises related to general chemistry, classical mechanics, quantum mechanics, statistical mechanics, thermodynamics, and kinetics, will be solved with numerical software. Each exercise will be accompanied by a lecture, a software template solving a problem and a related take-home problem. The software will allow us to focus on, and treat in a transparent fashion, physical problems without the unworldly idealizations and contrivances found in textbooks. A computer-assisted help session, at which attendance is encouraged, will take place on Th from 12:00 to 3:00 p.m. in Lab Sciences 460. Students should try to schedule their classes to have at least one hour in the 12-3 p.m. window available for computer help. Prerequisite: General Chemistry or General Physics and Calculus III
Credit: 1 unit.     (top)

Motion of a point particle, rotational motion, oscillation, gravitation and central forces, Lagrangian and Hamiltonian formulation. Prerequisite: Physics 117, 118 or 197, 198 and Math 217, or permission of instructor
Credit: 3 units.     (top)

Starting from Coulomb's law, the Blot-Savart law, and Faraday's law, the electric and magnetic fields are defined and applied. Maxwell's equations are derived and their consequences, such as electromagnetic waves and relativity, are explored. Prerequisite: Physics 117, 118 or 197, 198 and Math 217, or permission of instructor
Credit: 3 units.     (top)

Applications of Maxwell's equations: dielectric and magnetic materials, potential theory, generation and propagation of electromagnetic waves, reflection, refraction, waveguides, antennas. Prerequisite: Physics 421 or permission of instructor
Credit: 3 units.     (top)

Lectures and hands-on experience in computational physics combining topics in numerical analysis, algorithms, statistics, visualization, and computer algebra with projects in contemporary areas of physics. Prerequisite: Physics 217 or equivalent and familiarity with a programming language such as BASIC
Credit: 3 units.     (top)

Topics of special interest (e.g., superconductivity, quasicrystals, neural networks, chaos, etc.) may be studied under the supervision of a faculty member, variously by lectures, seminars, or individual study or research. A student hoping to arrange such a course must prepare a proposal and secure consent to undertake direction of the course from a faculty member and finally secure approval of the chair of the department.
Credit: Credit variable, maximum 3 units a semester.     (top)

Topics of special interest (e.g., holography, relativity, nuclear power, computer applications in physics, etc.) may be studied under the supervision of a faculty member, variously by lectures, seminars, or individual study or research. Students hoping to arrange such a course must prepare a proposal and secure the instructor´s consent to undertake direction of the course from a faculty member and finally secure approval of the Department Chair.
Credit: Credit variable, maximum 3 units a semester.     (top)

Concepts and techniques of physics are applied to study the functioning of neurons and neuronal circuits in the brain. Neurons and neural systems are modeled at two levels: (1) at the physical level, in terms of the electrical and chemical signals that are generated and transmitted and (2) at the information-processing level, in terms of the computational tasks performed. Specific topics include: neuronal electrophysiology, neural codes, neural plasticity, sensory processing, neural network architectures and learning algorithms, and neural networks as dynamical and statistical systems. Prerequisite: Physics 117, 118 or 197, 198 or permission of instructor
Credit: 3 units.     (top)

Applications of analog and digital electronics and computer techniques, followed by projects in modern physics with concurrent lectures on methods of experimental physics. Two 4-hour lab sessions a week. Prerequisite: Physics 322, or permission of instructor
Credit: 3 units.     (top)

Applications of analog and digital electronics and computer techniques, followed by projects in modern physics with concurrent lectures on methods of experimental physics. Two 4-hour lab sessions a week. Prerequisite: Physics 322, or permission of instructor
Credit: 3 units.     (top)

Contents are the same as Physics 354. Also intended for graduate students. Includes a more sophisticated term project than Physics 354. Prerequisite: Physics 117, 118 or 197, 198 and Chem 111A and 112A
Credit: 3 units.     (top)

Contents are the same as Phys 355. Also intended for graduate students. Includes a more sophisticated project than Physics. 355 Prerequisite: Physics 117, 118 or 197, 198 or permission of instructor
Credit: 3 units.     (top)

Basic methods of classical and quantum statistical mechanics, thermodynamics, and transport theory. Prerequisite: Physics 217, or permission of instructor
Credit: 3 units.     (top)

Fundamentals of fluid dynamics. Generation, propagation, and detection of acoustic waves in fluids and solids. Elastic, thermal, and piezoelectric properties of isotropic and anisotropic solids. Prerequisite: Vector calculus and intermediate thermodynamics, or permission of instructor
Credit: 3 units.     (top)

Origins of quantum theory, wave packets and uncertainty relations, Schroedinger's equation in one dimension, step potentials and harmonic oscillators, eigenfunctions and eigenvalues, Schroedinger's equation in three dimensions, the hydrogen atom, symmetry, spin and the periodic table, approximation methods for time-independent problems, quantum statistics. Prerequisite: Math 217 and Physics 217 and 421, or permission of instructor
Credit: 3 units.     (top)

Crystal structures, binding energies, thermal properties, dielectrics, magnetism, free electron theory of metals, band theory, semiconductors, defects in solids. Prerequisite: Physics 471
Credit: 3 units.     (top)

Fundamental ideas of quantum mechanics, two-state systems and spin, angular momentum and the Clebsch-Gordan coefficients, time-dependent perturbation theory, interaction of quantum systems with radiation, identical particles, atomic and molecular structure, quantum collision theory. Prerequisite: Physics 471 and 421, or permission of instructor
Credit: 3 units.     (top)

Introduction to the standard model of particle physics, including symmetries, conservation laws, the weak interaction, the strong interaction, quark confinement, and basic nuclear physics. Prerequisite: Physics 471
Credit: 3 units.     (top)

Physical processes in stars; stellar populations; birth, evolution, and death of stars; energy generation; nucleosynthesis; variable stars; supernovae; collapsed objects; selected topics in galactic astrophysics, cosmology, and exobiology. Prerequisite: Physics 411, 421, and 463, or permission of instructor
Credit: 3 units.     (top)

Quantum mechanics of finite and infinite systems of protons and neutrons. Interaction between nucleons. Independent-particle model of nuclei and shell structure. Contrast with atomic shell model. Isospin symmetry. Information from weakly and strongly interacting probes of nuclei. Nuclear decay properties and some historical context. Many-particle description of nuclear systems. Single-particle versus collective phenomena. Properties of excited states. Bulk properties of nuclei. Nuclear and neutron matter. Role of different energy scales in determining nuclear properties: influence of long-range, short-range, and medium-induced interactions. Pairing correlations in nuclear systems. Relevance of nuclear phenomena and experiments for astrosphysics and particle physics. Prerequisite: Physics 318 or Phys 471 or permission of instructor
Credit: 3 units.     (top)

An introduction to general relativity. The goal will be to illustrate important features of general relativity without the full-blown mathematics of Einstein's equations, by restricting attention to spherically symmetric spacetimes. Topics will include: principle of equivalence; curved spacetime; spherical stars and black holes; the Big Bang model, observational cosmology. Prerequisite: Physics 411 or permission of instructor
Credit: 3 units.     (top)

Designed to introduce students to current developments in physics and to research carried out by faculty. Topics vary each year. Each member of the department addresses research issues in their particular specialty.
Credit: 1 unit.     (top)

Program and credits to be determined. Prerequisite: Junior standing, an average grade of B or better, and permission of the chair of the department.
Credit: Credit variable, maximum 6 units.     (top)

Program and credit to be determined Prerequisite: Senior standing and permission of the chair of the department
Credit: Credit variables maximum 6 units.     (top)