8 courses with the subject PHYS BC, 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 BC2001MECHANICS - LECTURE LAB4.50
Corequisites: Calculus I or the equivalent Fundamental laws of mechanics. Kinematics, Newtons laws, work and energy, conservation laws, collisions, rotational motion, oscillations, gravitation. PLEASE NOTE: Students who take PHYS BC2001 may not get credit for PHYS BC2009 or PHYS BC2010
Charge, electric field, and potential. Gausss law. Circuits: capacitors and resistors. Magnetism and electromagnetism. Induction and inductance. Alternating currents. Maxwells equations. This is a calculus-based class. Familiarity with derivatives and integrals is needed. PLEASE NOTE: Students who take PHYS BC2002 may not get credit for PHYS BC2019 or PHYS BC2020
Prerequisites: BC3001 or C2601 or the equivalent. Wave-particle duality and the Uncertainty Principle. The Schrodinger equation. Basic principles of the quantum theory. Energy levels in one-dimensional potential wells. The harmonic oscillator, photons, and phonons. Reflection and transmission by one-dimensional potential barriers. Applications to atomic, molecular, and nuclear physics
Barnard College physics laboratory has available a variety of experiments meant to complement 3000-level lecture courses. Each experiment requires substantial preparation, as well as written and oral presentations. Elementary particle experiments: detectors, cosmic ray triggers, muon lifetime.
Experiments illustrating phenomenological aspects of the early quantum theory: (i) Hydrogenic Spectra: Balmer Series - Bohr-Sommerfeld Model; (ii) Photoelectric Effect: Millikans Determination of h/e; (iii) Franck-Hertz Experiment; and (iv) Electron Diffraction Phenomena. Substantial preparation required, including written and oral presentations, as well as an interest in developing the knack and intuition of an experimental physicist. This course is best taken concurrently with PHYS BC3006 Quantum Physics
Classical electromagnetic wave phenomena via Maxwells equations, including: (i) Michaelson and Fabry-Perot Interferometry, as well as a thin-film interference and elementary dispersion theory; (ii) Fraunhofer Diffraction (and a bit of Fresnel); (iii) Wireless Telegraphy I: AM Radio Receivers; and (iv) Wireless Telegraphy II: AM Transmitters. Last two labs pay homage to relevant scientific developments in the period 1875-1925, from the discovery of Hertzian waves to the Golden Age of Radio. Complements PHYS W3008 Electromagnetic Waves and Optics
Prerequisites: Permission of the departmental representative required. For specially selected students, the opportunity to do a research problem in contemporary physics under the supervision of a faculty member. Each year several juniors are chosen in the spring to carry out such a project beginning in the autumn term. A detailed report on the research is presented by the student when the project is complete
