 | Use this page to view syllabus information, learning objectives, required materials, and technical requirements for the module.
As a result of College adapting your modules to combine face-to-face on campus and online teaching and learning support, the breakdown of notional learning hours set out under the heading “Technical Requirements” below may not necessarily reflect how each module will be delivered this year. Further details relating to this will be made available by your department and will be updated as part of the student timetable. |
| PH 1920 - Physics of the Universe |
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Associated Term:
2024/25 Academic Session
Learning Objectives:
The aim of the module is to introduce students to fundamental ideas of special relativity, quantum mechanics and astrophysics. All material is essential for more advanced modules in these areas.
Module Content:
Special Relativity:
Michelson-Morley experiment; Einstein postulates; co-ordinate Lorentz transformations; Lorentz contraction; time dilation; Addition law of velocities; Transformation of energy and momentum under Lorentz transformations; Conservation of four momentum; Invariant mass; Simple kinematics: e.g. Threshold energy for pair production, decays in different frames of reference; Relativistic Doppler effect for photons.
Quantum Ideas:
Black body radiation and Planck's law; Photoelectric effect; Energy and momentum of the photon; Compton effect, Wave particle duality, de Broglie relation, Davisson-Germer; Simple model of atom: nucleus, atomic spectra, quantum numbers; Bohr model: success and limitations; Heisenberg uncertainty principles – application to simple problems; Time independent Schrödinger equation in 1D: wavefunction, probability, mean, solution in simple potentials; particle in a box; scattering at potential steps, tunnelling at a barrier, (applications e.g. Scanning Tunnelling Microscope); radioactive decay. Elementary particles, fundamental forces, Standard model.
Astrophysics:
Simple observational ideas: Luminosity, flux, colour; Distance scales (distance modulus, apparent and absolute magnitudes), structure of our universe (solar, local group, galaxies, groups of galaxies etc.); H-R diagram (qualitative basic ideas), spectra, red-shift; Hubble expansion and Hubble’s Law; Big bang theory, evidence. Friedmann equation and associated cosmological parameters; Composition of the Universe, Dark matter (evidence for, e.g. rotational velocity curves); observable universe and horizons; Thermal History of the Universe (qualitative description only).
Learning Outcomes:
1. Describe the basic principles underpinning special relativity; apply, from memory, the Lorentz transformations on co-ordinate space vectors and momentum space vectors to a range of phenomena (e.g. time dilation and Lorentz contraction), use relativistic kinematics to describe particle collisions and decays;
2. Describe the breakdown of classical mechanics and the resulting need for quantum mechanics; understand the quantum mechanical picture of light and matter; qualitatively and, where appropriate, quantitatively describe the structure of atoms; solve the Schrödinger equation in 1D for simple potentials; use wavefunctions to construct observables; describe qualitatively and quantitatively radioactive decay;
3. Understand simple observational ideas in astrophysics; describe the basics of the formation, growth and death of stars; describe qualitatively and quantitatively, under simple assumptions, the evolution and composition of the Universe.
Required Materials: Click here for the reading list system Technical Requirements: The total number of notional learning hours associated with this module are 150. These will normally be broken down as follows: 40 hours of contact time including lectures, feedback session, tutorials and revision lectures 110 hours self-study, including answering coursework problems, consolidating lecture material, reading around the subject, learning the material and revision. Formative Assessment and Feedback: Fortnightly assessed course work including online and handwritten problems. Students will receive instant feedback for online exercises. Hand written problems will be marked with comments and discussed during feedback lectures. Problems will also be discussed in weekly tutorials. Summative Assessment: Exam (2 hours) - 70% Active Tutorial Participation - 10% Problem Sets - 20% |
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