This course is the first half of a two-semester introductory, calculus-based, physics course for all students planning to enter one of the scientific professions. It covers the fundamental principles of mechanics, oscillations, and fluid mechanics.

Offered fall semester. Prerequisites: M149 or M151 (M151 may be concurrent) and concurrent with P202.

One three-hour laboratory is held each week covering topics studied in the lectures.

Offered fall semester. Concurrent with P201.

This course is the second half of a two-semester introductory, calculus-based, physics course for all students planning to enter one of the scientific professions. It covers the fundamental principles of waves, physical and geometrical optics, and electricity and magnetism.

Offered spring semester. Prerequisites: P201/202; concurrent with P212.

One three-hour laboratory is held each week covering topics studied in the lectures.

Offered spring semester. Concurrent with P211.

This course considers atomic and nuclear physics and studies the experimental evidence that led to the development of the theories of quantum mechanics. The special theory of relativity, wave particle duality, and atomic structure are also examined. Students meet for three lectures and one three-hour lab per week.

Offered in alternate fall semesters. Prerequisites: M152 and P211/212.

This course is a study of classical and modern optics including geometrical optics, wave properties of light, the interaction of light and matter, and quantum optics. Modern experimental techniques involving optical phenomena is covered.

This general-education level course focuses on three broad topics in astronomy: the tools of astronomy (the celestial sphere and the motion of objects in the sky; scientific method; light, spectra, and atomic structure; the astronomical distance scale; gravity and celestial mechanics); stars and stellar evolution (the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram, the main sequence, and stellar lifecycles); and galaxies and cosmology (Hubble's Law, dark matter, evidence for the Big Bang, and theories of the early universe). The course meets for two hours of lecture and a two-hour laboratory each week, and will include some use of the telescope.

Mathematics competency required. This course is offered every fall.

This is a course on digital electronics and its applications in modern electronic instrumentation. Emphasis is placed on gaining experience with the use of individual digital integrated circuits and programmable arrays. The course covers Boolean algebra, simple gates, combinational and sequential logic circuits, counters, shift registers, state machines, astable multivibrators, encoding, decoding, multiplexing, and conversion between analog and digital representations. Coursework involves both circuit simulation and actual hardware implementations. The course targets applications in the natural sciences, mathematics, and computer science. Three hours of lecture and one three-hour laboratory per week.

Offered in alternate fall semesters. Prerequisites: P211/212.

This course is taken at Winona State University. Please consult with the chair of SMU's Physics Department for more information.

This course is an analytical study of Newtonian mechanics, including the harmonic oscillator, central force motion, non-linear oscillators, and an introduction to the Lagrangian formulation.

Offered in alternate spring semesters. Prerequisites: M152 and P201/202.

This course serves physics majors as well as those mathematics majors whose area of interest is analysis. Topics include: Fourier series, complex numbers, analytic functions, and derivatives and integrals of complex functions. Other topics may include Laurent series and residues, partial differential equations, and boundary value problems.

Offered in alternate spring semesters. Prerequisites: M251 and M252.

The course includes the study of radioactive decay (the interactions of ionizing radiation with matter), characteristics of alpha, beta, and gamma radiation, modern nuclear instrumentation, dose calculations and dosimetry, production and use of x-rays, nuclear statistics, radiation safety, fission, fusion and nuclear power, activation analysis, and environmental application of radiotracers. Two one hour lectures and one three hour laboratory each week.

May be taken concurrent with P211/212. This course is offered every spring semester.

Prerequisites:

P211 Introductory Physics II

P212 Introductory Physics II Laboratory

A course designed to provide undergraduates students with the basic computational tools and techniques needed for their study in science and mathematics. Students learn by doing projects that solve problems in physical sciences and mathematics using symbolic and compiled languages with visualization. By use of the Sage problem-solving environment and the Python programming language, the students learn programming and numerical analysis in parallel with scientific problem solving.

Also offered as CS356 and M356. Prerequisites: CS106, M251, M252 and ST232.

This course is an introduction to the physics of electricity and magnetism at the intermediate undergraduate level. It examines the experimental evidence that led to the development of the theories of electromagnetism (electrostatics, polarization and dielectrics, magnetostatics and magnetization, electrodynamics, electromagnetic waves, potentials and fields, and radiation) and the development of Maxwell's laws. The mathematical analysis of electromagnetic situations uses vector calculus to a great degree, so students also are exposed to working with a variety of vector operators.

Offered in alternate spring semesters. Prerequisites: M251 and P211/212.

The course covers the PIC18F4520 and Arduino microcontrollers as a paradigmatic microprocessor; other devices may be used as well. A brief survey of number systems, logic gates and Boolean algebra are followed by a study of the structure of microprocessors and the architecture of microprocessor systems. Programming microprocessors and the use of an assembler and a higher-level language (C) is covered. Peripheral interface devices are studied along with some wired logic circuits. Students gain experience through the use of microprocessor simulators and hardware implementations.

Offered in alternate spring semesters. Prerequisites: CS106 and P314.

This course expands on the ideas of quantum mechanics introduced in P304, and develops the necessary formalisms and tools for further work. Topics include the Schrödinger equation in its time-independent and time-dependent forms, an introduction to operators, square-well and harmonic oscillator potentials, scattering, the hydrogen atom, angular momentum, and perturbation theory.

Offered in alternate fall semesters. Prerequisites: M252 and P304.

This course is generally taken during the senior year, although it may be taken earlier. Students either submit a project to be explored or constructed, perform a series of measurements and subsequent data analysis on an already-existing apparatus, or undertake a computational or theoretical project under the guidance of the laboratory instructor. The project must include a significant writing component.

Prerequisites: minimum junior standing and P304.

This course is intended for all physics majors; it is recommended for majors in physics science education. It may be taken in addition to or in place of P390 Advanced Laboratory. Its purpose is to provide students an opportunity to explore a topic in physics in depth over a period of at least one semester under the guidance of a member of the physics faculty, and thereby demonstrate understanding of a particular concept or focused set of concepts at the advanced undergraduate level. It is also intended to give students project-based experience in experimental design, record-keeping, and scientific writing.

Prerequisites: minimum junior standing and P304.

Selected topics in physics offered when faculty and student interest warrant.

This course is required for all Scientific Computing minors. Its purpose is to provide students the opportunity to develop a research project or participate in an ongoing research project under direction of a faculty advisor. The project must combine scientific computing tools and techniques with a substantive scientific or engineering problem. It is also intended to give students experience in experimental design, recordkeeping, and scientific writing.

Also offered as CS456 and M456. Prerequisites: consent of both the faculty advisor and the minor supervisor, and CS/M/P 356.