units

PHS3031

Faculty of Science

18 September 2017 28 April 2024

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This unit entry is for students who completed this unit in 2016 only. For students planning to study the unit, please refer to the unit indexes in the the current edition of the Handbook. If you have any queries contact the managing faculty for your course or area of study.

Monash University

6 points, SCA Band 2, 0.125 EFTSL

Undergraduate - Unit

Refer to the specific census and withdrawal dates for the semester(s) in which this unit is offered.

Faculty

Science

Organisational Unit

School of Physics and Astronomy

Coordinator(s)

Dr Alexis Bishop

Offered

Clayton

  • First semester 2016 (Day)

Synopsis

This unit provides the foundation for a theoretical and/or experimental major in physics. It consists of two 12-lecture sub-units, Quantum Mechanics, Statistical Physics and laboratory work. The key areas for each sub-unit are:

  1. Quantum Mechanics: QM states and the Dirac notation. Operators, measurement and observables. Schrodinger and Heisenberg representations, matrix mechanics. The Hydrogen atom and the quantum harmonic oscillator. Raising and lowering operators. Angular momentum and intrinsic spin. Bosons, fermions and exchange.
  2. Statistical Physics: Heat, temperature and entropy. Classical and quantum statistics. Counting states and probability. The Maxwell-Boltzmann, Fermi-Dirac and Bose-Einstein probability distributions. Applications to real systems.
  3. Laboratory work: experimental laboratory work on relevant topics.

Outcomes

On completion of this unit students will be able to:

  1. Describe concepts and perform calculations in Quantum Mechanics, using the Dirac and Schrodinger formalism, and apply this knowledge to the analytical solution of model quantum systems;
  2. Describe and perform calculations associated with fundamental concepts in Statistical Mechanics, which include both classical and quantum many-body systems;
  3. Solve new problems in physics related to the core concepts of the unit by drawing on the theoretical underpinnings that illustrate the physics;
  4. Perform measurements and analysis on experiments that demonstrate the theoretical physics described in this and other physics units;
  5. Produce experimental reports that present results, analyse and discuss the implications and outcomes of experimental work.

Assessment

Examination (three hours): 46%
Laboratory work: 34%
Assignments: 20%
Students must achieve a pass mark in the practical component to achieve an overall pass grade.

Workload requirements

  • Two 1-hour lectures and two 1-hour tutorials per week
  • An average of two hours in the laboratory per week
  • Six hours of independent study per week

See also Unit timetable information

Chief examiner(s)

Dr Alexis Bishop

This unit applies to the following area(s) of study

Astrophysics
Physics

Prerequisites

PHS2011 or PHS2061, and PHS2022 or PHS2062, and MTH2032, and either MTH2010 or MTH2015