2021-2022 / 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 9 chapters, which titles are listed here below.
Chapter 1 : Geometrical 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 : Microscopic phenomena Chapter 9 : 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 ex cathedra course during which experimental demonstrations are occasionally carried out, tutorial sessions (rehearsals / exercises) are organized in order to apply the theoretical concepts. Numerical simulations are also offered to the curiosity of students in order to develop their physical intuition.
In addition to the exercises solved in the presence of supervisors, students are strongly encouraged to practice solving additional problems listed in the problem sets.

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

Blended learning


Additional information:

The course is delivered in the first quadrimester accordingly to the schedule provided in the intranet. The sessions are recorded via the UniCast system and the podcasts are then made available for later viewing.
Theoretical concepts are exposed during ten sessions while three sessions are dedicated to the applications of these concepts (problem solving, numerical simulations).

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.)

Assessment methods and criteria

Exam(s) in session

Any session

- In-person

written exam ( open-ended questions )


Additional information:

The in-session evaluation consists of a written exam, closed books, focusing on the theory (open questions) and including problems for which the students will have been prepared through the training offered during the tutorial sessions.
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.
 

Work placement(s)

Organizational remarks

Contacts

Prof. Ngoc Duy Nguyen (ngocduy.nguyen@uliege.be, +32 4 366 3604)