28 courses with the subject PHYS, each shown exactly as we captured it from the college's catalog, with every element we hold. Where the wording looks broken, that is our reading of the catalog, not the college's text.
PHYS 1110Energy, Environment, and the Economy (with Lab)4
Goals: To investigate, for nonscience students, availability of energy in the world, environmental concerns, and the supply-demand aspects of our nation’s economy. Content: Conceptual understanding and measurement of relevant physical quantities; the impact of fossil fuels, nuclear power, solar and other “alternative” forms of energy on air and water quality; the economy and lifestyles; the fragile world energy balance; research in energy and various models for extrapolation into the future.
Goals: To develop scientific observation and investigation skills that will help us make sense of the night sky, and in the process share amazing discoveries about the universe. Content: Ancient astronomy with the naked eye, motion of the planets, the invention of the telescope, stars and their life cycles, black holes, star clusters, galaxies and their evolution, large-scale structure, and the beginning of the universe.
The goal of this course is to get students to see how large of a role physics plays in sports and to understand some of the basic physics concepts involved. This course is intended for nonscience majors interested in learning about the physics principles that are important in many of the sports we watch and play. The relevant physics principles will be discussed both conceptually and in terms of equations and examples.
Goals: To introduce non-science students to the conceptual development and philosophical implications of some aspects of physics, allow students to gain insights into the practice of science, and give students experience with problem solving. Content: Topics will vary with instructor but may include motion, energy, solids, heat, sound, light, electricity, magnetism, atoms, the nucleus, particles, and astronomy. The laboratory will include a variety of experiences designed to allow students to practice investigative science and gain hands-on experience.
Goals: To observe, reveal and understand the “invisible” world via light microscope and electron microscope, and to utilize photomicrography to present and scientifically explain observations. Content: Principles of light microscopes, electron microscopes, and photomicrography. The student will learn how to operate both light and electron microscopes. Also, the student will learn how to utilize microscopy and microanalytical techniques to create/edit/present images and share scientific findings to different audiences in different fields, such as archaeology, forensic science, life science, environmental science, and materials science.
Goals: To introduce non-science majors to the physical description of the oscillations and resonances involved in the production and detection of sound and music. Content: Wave phenomena including propagation and interference, frequency analysis of sounds including music, theory of instruments, biological generation, and detection of sound.
This course is primarily intended for students intending to pursue careers in biology or other health-related fields. Goals: To introduce students to the basic concepts of physics to develop skills in formulating and solving both theoretical and experimental physics problems in the areas of mechanics and thermodynamics. Content: The topics of kinematics, Newton’s second law, energy, and momentum will be covered both in translation and rotation, simple harmonic motion and elasticity, fluids, gravitation, and thermodynamics. Taught: Fall term
This course is primarily intended for students intending to pursue careers in biology or other health-related fields. Goals: To introduce students to the basic concepts of physics to develop skills in formulating and solving both theoretical and experimental physics problems in the areas of waves, electricity and magnetism, electronics and optics. Content: Topics include waves and sound, electricity and magnetism, DC and AC circuits, and optics. Taught: Spring term
This course is primarily intended for students intending to pursue careers in physics, engineering, chemistry, biochemistry or mathematics. Goals: To introduce students to the basic concepts of physics to develop skills in formulating and solving both theoretical and experimental physics problems in the areas of mechanics and thermodynamics using calculus. Content: The topics of kinematics, Newton’s second law, energy, and momentum will be covered both in translation and rotation, simple harmonic motion and elasticity, fluids, gravitation, and thermodynamics. Taught: Fall term
This course is primarily intended for students intending to pursue careers in physics, engineering, chemistry, biochemistry or mathematics. Goals: To introduce students to the basic concepts of physics to develop skills in formulating and solving both theoretical and experimental physics problems in the areas of waves, electricity and magnetism, electronics and optics using calculus. Content: Topics include waves and sound, electricity and magnetism, DC and AC circuits, and optics. Taught: Spring term
PHYS 1150 or PHYS 1230, and MATH 1180 or concurrent enrollment
PHYS 3110Engineering Mechanics: Statics4
Goals: To develop the conceptual and mathematical skills to solve real-world statics problems in three dimensions that are representative of what engineers regularly experience. Content: Vector analysis, forces and moments in equilibrium, rigid body constraints, shear and bending moments, friction, moments of inertia, concentrated and distributed loads, trusses, frames and beams. Taught: Alternate years, fall term
Goals: To develop the conceptual and mathematical skills to solve real-world dynamics problems in three dimensions that are representative of what engineers regularly experience. Content: Rectilinear and curvilinear kinematics, forces and moments, work and energy, impulse and momentum, general and relative motion, and kinetics of rigid bodies in two and three dimensions. Taught: Alternate years, spring term
Goals: To prepare the student with a scientific understanding of global, national, and local energy resources and their effects on the environment. Content: This course will examine current fossil fuel (coal, oil, natural gas) use by the world and anthropogenic climate forcing. Also included is an introduction to carbon-free energy sources that include nuclear power and a multitude of sustainable energy resources such as conservation, solar, and wind. Taught: Every other year
PHYS 1160 or 1240 or concurrent enrollment Credits: 4
PHYS 3520Physical Optics (with Lab)4
Goals: To introduce students to the study of optical phenomena interpreted in terms of a wave theory of light. Content: Mathematical description of waves and how these waves interact with matter. Theories are developed to explain interference, diffraction, and polarization and are used as a basis for measurements in the laboratory. Taught: Alternate years, spring term
Goals: To understand the developments of the late 19th and early 20th century in the field of physics. Content: Relativity, the discovery of the electron, the quantum nature of light, the wave nature of particles, the Heisenberg uncertainty principle, and Schrödinger wave mechanics. The lab will introduce the computer control of instrumentation, computer data acquisition, and computer modeling of data. Students will perform several famous Modern Physics experiments and will do a semester-long project to plan a modernized version of one of the seminal experiments in Modern Physics. Taught: Fall term
PHYS 3600Mathematical and Computational Methods in Physics and Engineering (with Lab)4
Goals: To introduce and demonstrate the use of mathematical and computational methods important in physics and engineering. Content: Physics and engineering applications associated with ordinary and partial differential equations, Laplace transforms, linear algebra, vector calculus, Fourier analysis, complex analysis, numeric analysis, probability & statistics. Taught: Spring term
Goals: To introduce students to the concepts of condensed matter physics. Content: The study of crystalline and noncrystalline structures; the free electron gas; Fermi surfaces; energy bands; semiconductors; superconductors; magnetism; dielectrics; surfaces and nanostructures. Taught: Alternate years, fall term
PHYS 3750Thermodynamics and Statistical Mechanics4
Goals: To develop a fundamental understanding of the principles of thermodynamics and statistical mechanics that allows a variety of applications to be surveyed in the latter part of the course. Content: The laws of thermodynamics and other conventional thermodynamic concepts such as heat, work, entropy, enthalpy, heat capacity, and the equipartition theorem are introduced. Adiabatic, isothermal, isobaric, and nonequilibrium processes are studied. Topics include the equations of state for non-ideal gases, Maxwell’s relations, kinetic theory, the Maxwell distribution of molecular velocities, magnetic materials, blackbody radiation, phase transitions, phase diagrams, ensembles, and the partition function. Classical and quantum statistics are studied; the Maxwell-Boltzmann, Bose-Einstein, and Fermi-Dirac distributions are examined. Taught: Alternate years, fall term
PHYS 3800Electronics and Instrumentation (with Lab)4
Goals: To explore the fundamentals of analog and digital electronics, to explore their applications in designs used in interfacing and controlling experiments, and to gain experience with common and advanced instrumentation. Content: Design, predict behavior, and build analog and digital control circuits. Circuit elements will include passive and active components including transistors; op-amps; digital logic and interfacial components such as temperature, ADC, and DAC circuits. Emphasis will be placed on building practical circuits needed to control and measure experimental parameters. Taught: Alternate years, spring term
Goals: To investigate renewable energy collection, conversion, transport, and storage systems and technology. Content: Principles, designs, and economics of renewable energy: photovoltaics, photocatalysis, solar thermal conversion, wind power, fuel cells, batteries, capacitors, electrical energy transport and storage, and smart grid. Taught: Alternate years
Goals: To introduce current topics in physics and related fields. To develop communications skills including writing, reading, listening, and speaking. Content: Reviews of current research by junior and senior physics majors, guest lecturers, and department members. Taught: Fall and spring, full year sequence
PHYS 1240 or concurrent registration Credits: 1 per term
PHYS 5910Senior Seminar1
Goals: To introduce current topics in physics and related fields. To develop communications skills including writing, reading, listening, and speaking. Content: Reviews of current research by junior and senior physics majors, guest lecturers, and department members. Taught: Fall and spring, full year sequence
Goals: To allow students to expand and build upon their current laboratory skill set and problem solving ability by planning and executing a year-long research project. Content: This full year course is the culmination of all the core laboratory experiences within the physics curriculum. Students will choose a project, based on a search of research literature. These projects will require many skills, such as equipment interfacing, computer programming, basic and advanced circuit design and analysis, experience with optics, using the machine shop to build experimental apparatuses, planning, ordering, and scheduling tasks, preparing a professional report and presentation, and applying for external grants. Successful completion of this course should fulfill the Independent Critical Inquiry and Information Literacy (Q) requirement of the Hamline Plan. Taught: Fall and spring, full year sequence
Goals: To develop an understanding of Newtonian mechanics with emphasis on conservation principles. Content: Particle dynamics, central force problems, the simple harmonic oscillator, kinematics and dynamics of a system of particles, wave motion, generalized coordinates, and the Lagrangian and Hamiltonian formulations of mechanics. Taught: Alternate years, spring term
Goals: To develop an understanding of the classical theory of electric and magnetic fields. Content: Vector analysis, electric and magnetic forces and fields, the equations of Laplace and Poisson, multipole expansion, dielectric and magnetic materials, Maxwell’s equations in vacuum and in matter. Taught: Alternate years, fall term
Goals: To further the understanding of and expand beyond the quantum mechanical wave concepts introduced in Modern Physics from a more mathematically advanced formalism. Content: Schrödinger’s equation, probability and statistics, wave functions, operators, commutation relations, the square well and other potentials, the harmonic oscillator, scattering, function spaces, the uncertainty principle, the hydrogen atom, angular momentum, perturbation theory, and extensive use of advanced mathematical symbolism. Taught: Alternate years, fall term
Goals: To explore advanced topics in physics that go beyond our other 5000-level courses and to expose students to new developments in physics. Content: Topics may include electromagnetic cavities including optical fibers, scattering theory (electromagnetic and quantum), analysis of modern instrumentation, nuclear physics, high energy physics, elementary particles, astrophysics, general relativity. Taught: Periodically, as interest and resources allow
Goals: To provide an opportunity to explore independent research and to develop the skills needed to complete a research program. Content: Each student will develop an independent research project and timeline for completion, conduct a review of pertinent literature, construct needed equipment, and write an extensive paper summarizing the theory and results of the project. Taught: Periodically, as interest and resources allow
