2011-12 Academic Year

All courses are 4 credits except as noted. Additional course descriptions are found in the UW Course Catalog.

Phys 600 (Independent Study) is offered every quarter, by arrangement with individual faculty supervisors. Examples of previous projects are found at Prof. Sorensen's 600 home page.

Autumn 2011

• Principal concepts of electromagnetism. Static electric and magnetic fields. Boundary-value problems. Electric and magnetic properties of materials. Electromagnetic waves and radiation.

• Physics underlying laser design and operation in the context of common laboratory systems. Topics may include continuous and pulsed lasers; solid, liquid, and gas gain media; Q-switching, mode-locking, resonator theory, nonlinear optics, and others.

• Laboratory giving specific instruction and experience in interfacing laboratory equipment to computers.

Winter 2012

• Introduction to concepts and methods of quantum physics: wave mechanics (de Broglie wavelength, uncertainty principle, Schrodinger equation), one-dimensional examples (tunneling, harmonic oscillator), formalism of quantum physics, angular momentum and the hydrogen atom.

• Physics of Renewable Energy Sources (new course!): review of thermodynamics for electrical generation, direct solar energy conversion, fluid mechanics for wind and wave energy devices, new ideas in nuclear power.

Spring 2012

• Techniques of quantum mechanics applied to lasers, quantum electronics, solids, and surfaces. Emphasis on approximation methods and interaction of electromagnetic radiation with matter.

• Coordinated lecture and laboratory treatment of topics in contemporary optics. Subjects include Fourier optics, lens systems, interferometry, laser optics, holography, polarization, crystal optics, birefringence, laser and conventional light sources, optical detectors.

* Subject to change, we may offer a new course instead