PHYSICS 3542 - Physics III

This course develops concepts in electromagnetism, quantum mechanics and statistical mechanics such that the behaviour of the physical universe can be understood from a fundamental point of view. Electromagnetism - electric field and scalar potential, magnetic field and vector potential, Maxwell's equations, electromagnetic boundary conditions, electromagnetic wave equation, waveguides, energy in electromagnetism. Electromagnetic wave propagation in vacuum, conducting and dielectric media, and at interfaces. Quantum mechanics - review of the Schrodinger equation, operators, eigenfunctions, compatible observables, infinite well in one and three dimensions, degeneracy; Fourier methods and momentum space; Hermiticity; scalar products of wave functions, completeness relations, matrix mechanics; harmonic oscillator in one and three dimensions; sudden approximation; central potentials, quantisation of angular momentum, separation of radial and angular variables, spherical harmonics, hydrogen atom, spin. Statistical mechanics - classical laws of thermodynamics and their application, postulates of statistical mechanics, statistical interpretation of thermodynamics, microcanonical, canonical and grand canonical ensembles; the methods of statistical mechanics are used to develop the statistics for Bose-Einstein, Fermi-Dirac and photon gases; selected topics from low temperature physics and electrical and thermal properties of matter are discussed.