2023-2024 / PHYS2022-2

Physics 3 : Waves and quanta

Duration

20h Th, 10h Pr

Number of credits

 Bachelor of Science (BSc) in Engineering3 crédits 

Lecturer

Ngoc Duy Nguyen

Language(s) of instruction

French language

Organisation and examination

Teaching in the first semester, review in January

Schedule

Schedule online

Units courses prerequisite and corequisite

Prerequisite or corequisite units are presented within each program

Learning unit contents

The course is divided into 8 chapters, which titles are listed here below.

  • Chapter 1 : Ray optics
  • Chapter 2 : Harmonic motion
  • Chapter 3 : Driven oscillations and coupled oscillations
  • Chapter 4 : Matter waves
  • Chapter 5 : Stationary waves
  • Chapter 6 : Electromagnetic waves
  • Chapter 7 : Wave optics
  • Chapter 8 : Waves and quanta

Learning outcomes of the learning unit

This course pursues three objectives :



  • Describe and explain, in a general context, the wide variety of wave phenomena encountered in most engineering disciplines

  • Introduce fundamental concepts (principle of superposition, interference, energy, ...) by illustrating them in various fields

  • Introduce the students to the description of physics on a microscopic scale, emphasizing the complementarity between the corpuscular aspects and the wave aspects
This course contributes to the learning outcomes I.1, I.2, II.1, III.1, III.2, IV.2 of the BSc in engineering.

Prerequisite knowledge and skills

Basics of the mechanics of material point and of rigid solids. Basics of electricity and magnetism.
General mathematics as taught to first-year students of the bachelor degree in engineering.

Planned learning activities and teaching methods

In addition to the theoretical concepts that are occasionally illustrated by experimental demonstrations if the lecture room infrastructure allows it, the course will also integrate numerous application examples leading to a selection of problems to be solved in session. Numerical simulations are also offered to the curiosity of the students in order to develop their physical intuition.

The students will also have to take on, in small groups, two 'Challenges' that will encourage them to think more deeply on the experimental aspects of the physics of waves.

Mode of delivery (face to face, distance learning, hybrid learning)

Face-to-face course


Additional information:

The course is delivered in the first quadrimester accordingly to the schedule provided in the intranet. If the lecture room infrastructure is available, the sessions are recorded via the UniCast system and the podcasts are then made available for later viewing.

Recommended or required readings

The theoretical course slideshows, as well as the resources associated with the tutorials, are available on the eCampus platform of the course. Videos of experimental demonstrations are also included in the available resources.

The reference textbooks are:



  • Serway and Jewett, Physics for Scientists and Engineers (9th ed.)
  • Pain, The Physics of Vibrations and Waves (6th ed.)
  • French, Vibrations and Waves
  • Crawford, Waves

Exam(s) in session

Any session

- In-person

written exam ( open-ended questions )

Written work / report


Additional information:

The in-session evaluation consists of a written exam, closed books, focusing on the content covered during the ex cathedra lectures (open questions). A form, communicated at least four weeks before the end of the term, will be distributed with the examination questionnaire. The use of a simple, non-graphic and non-programmable calculator is authorized during the examination.

The final grade will also incorporate the evaluation of the deliverables produced during the activity of the 'Challenges'. The nature of these deliverables as well as the precise modus operandi will be detailed during the lectures.
 

Work placement(s)

Organisational remarks and main changes to the course

Contacts

Ngoc Duy Nguyen, Professor

Association of one or more MOOCs

There is no MOOC associated with this course.