Program Requirements
The B.Eng.; Minor in Physics focuses on thermal physics and quantum physics. This program is open to engineering students in one of the following honours programs offered by the Faculty of Engineering; Honours in Electrical Engineering and Honours in Mechanical Engineering. See the Engineering Student Centre for details on authorization needed for this program.
A maximum of 9 credits of double-counting is allowed with the major.
Required Courses
9 credits
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PHYS 253 Thermal Physics (3 credits)
Overview
Physics : Energy, work, heat; first law. Temperature, entropy; second law. Absolute zero; third law. Equilibrium, equations of state, gases, liquids, solids, magnets; phase transitions.
Terms: Fall 2024
Instructors: Grutter, Peter H (Fall)
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PHYS 357 Honours Quantum Physics 1 (3 credits)
Overview
Physics : Experimental basis for quantum mechanics; wave-packets; uncertainty principle. Hilbert space formalism. Schrodinger equation: eigenvalues and eigenvectors: applications to 1-d problems including the infinite and finite potential wells and the harmonic oscillator. Tunneling. Time independent perturbation theory.
Terms: Fall 2024
Instructors: Sievers, Jonathan Le Roy (Fall)
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PHYS 457 Honours Quantum Physics 2 (3 credits)
Overview
Physics : Angular momentum and spin operators. Operator methods in quantum mechanics. Coupling of spin and angular momenta. Variational principles and elements of time dependent perturbation theory (the Golden Rule). Solution of the Schrodinger equation in three dimensions. Applications to the hydrogen and helium atoms and to simple problems in atomic and molecular physics.
Terms: Winter 2025
Instructors: Jeon, Sang Yong (Winter)
Complementary Courses (9 credits)
9 credits from the following:
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PHYS 351 Honours Classical Mechanics 2 (3 credits)
Overview
Physics : Rigid bodies, angular momentum, gyroscope, moment of inertia, principal axes, Euler's equations. Coupled oscillations and normal modes. Lagrangian mechanics and applications. Hamiltonian mechanics. Topics in advanced analytical mechanics.
Terms: Winter 2025
Instructors: Schutz, Katelin (Winter)
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PHYS 362 Statistical Mechanics (3 credits)
Overview
Physics : Quantum states and ensemble averages. Fermi-Dirac, Bose-Einstein and Boltzmann distribution functions and their applications.
Terms: Winter 2025
Instructors: Sankey (Childress), Jack (Winter)
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PHYS 432 Physics of Fluids (3 credits)
Overview
Physics : The physical properties of fluids. The kinematics and dynamics of flow. The effects of viscosity and turbulence. Applications of fluid mechanics in biophysics, geophysics and engineering.
Terms: Winter 2025
Instructors: Jeon, Sang Yong (Winter)
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PHYS 514 General Relativity (3 credits)
Overview
Physics : Transition from special to general relativity. Non-Euclidian geometry. The basic laws of Physics in co-variant form, Einstein's equations. Gravitational waves; neutron stars; black holes; cosmology.
Terms: Winter 2025
Instructors: Cline, James M (Winter)
Winter
3 hours lectures
Restriction: U3 Honours students and graduate students, or permission of the instructor.
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PHYS 551 Quantum Theory (3 credits)
Overview
Physics : General formulation, scattering theory, WKBJ approximation, time-dependent perturbation, theory and applications, angular momentum, relativistic wave equations.
Terms: Fall 2024
Instructors: Dasgupta, Keshav (Fall)
Fall
3 hours lectures
Restriction: U3 Honours students and graduate students, or permission of the instructor
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PHYS 557 Nuclear Physics (3 credits)
Overview
Physics : General nuclear properties, nucleon-nucleon interaction and scattering theory, radioactivity, nuclear models, nuclear reactions.
Terms: Fall 2024
Instructors: Gale, Charles (Fall)
Fall
3 hours lectures
Restriction: U3 Honours students, graduate students, or permission of the instructor
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PHYS 558 Solid State Physics (3 credits)
Overview
Physics : Properties of crystals; free electron model, band structure; metals, insulators and semi-conductors; phonons; magnetism; selected additional topics in solid-state (e.g. ferroelectrics, elementary transport theory).
Terms: Fall 2024
Instructors: Hilke, Michael (Fall)
Fall
3 hours lectures
Restriction: U3 Honours students, graduate students, or permission of the instructor
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PHYS 559 Advanced Statistical Mechanics (3 credits)
Overview
Physics : Scattering and structure factors. Review of thermodynamics and statistical mechanics; correlation functions (static); mean field theory; critical phenomena; broken symmetry; fluctuations, roughening.
Terms: Winter 2025
Instructors: Reisner, Walter (Winter)
Fall
3 hours lectures
Restriction: U3 Honours students, graduate students, or permission of the instructor
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PHYS 562 Electromagnetic Theory (3 credits)
Overview
Physics : Electrostatics, dielectrics, magnetostatics, timevarying fields, relativity, radiating systems, fields of moving charges.
Terms: Winter 2025
Instructors: Rutledge, Robert (Winter)
Winter
3 hours lectures
Prerequisites (Graduate): U1 or U2 Honours Physics or permission of instructor.
Restriction: U3 Honours students, graduate students, or permission of the instructor
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PHYS 567 Particle Physics (3 credits)
Overview
Physics : Survey of elementary particles; hadrons, leptons and hadrons' constituents (quarks). Invariance principles and conservation laws. Detectors and accelerators. Phenomenology of strong, electromagnetic and weak interactions.
Terms: Winter 2025
Instructors: Cline, James M (Winter)
Winter
3 hours lectures
Restriction: U3 Honours students, graduate students, or permission of the instructor
