Foundations of Physics

Thermodynamics
Dr G.P. Swift
12 lectures + 3 workshops in Michaelmas Term
Textbooks:
Required: Concepts in Thermal Physics, S. J. Blundell and K.M. Blundell (Oxford, 2nd Edition,
2010)
The course is defined by material contained in this book, in particular Chapters, 1, 2, 4, 5, 11, 12,
13, 14, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 26, 27, 28.
Additional: Thermodynamics, an Engineering Approach Y.A. Cengel and M.A. Boles (McGrawHill Education 2nd revised Edition, 1997)
Additional: Statistical Physics: Enlarged Edition, A.M. Guenault (Springer, 2nd Edition, 2007)
Syllabus: Revision of basic ideas, Heat, Zeroth law and temperature; Definition of state variables,
forms of energy and chemical potential, the First Law; Heat engines and the Second law,
Clausius inequality, Entropy and entropy change; Entropy change in reversible and nonreversible processes; Thermodynamic Potentials and Maxwells Relations; Availability of Energy
and applications of entropy; Heat and refrigeration cycles; Equilibrium and phase transitions,
Clausius-Clapeyron equation; Third law of thermodynamics, obtaining low temperatures;
Thermodynamics in action; Basic postulates of statistical mechanics, micro/mactostates,
distinguishable and indistinguishable particles, Stirlings approximation, relationship to
thermodynamics and entropy; Boltzmann distribution function; equipartition and the partition
function; Bose-Einstein and Fermi-Dirac distribution functions, examples of 4He and electrons.
Condensed Matter Physics

Dr D.P. Halliday
18 lectures + 4 workshops in Michaelmas and Epiphany Terms
Textbooks:
Required: Introduction to Solid State Physics, C. Kittel (Wiley, 8th Ed.)
The course is defined by material contained in this book, in particular Chapters 1-7.
Syllabus: Review of crystal structures and their description: periodic arrays, lattices and bases.
Wave Diffraction and the Reciprocal Lattice: Braggs Law, scattered wave amplitude, Brillouin
zones and structure factor. Crystal binding and Elastic Constants: Van der Waals solids, Ionic
and covalent crystals, metals, elastic strains, compliance and stiffness. Phonons I: Crystal
vibrations: Vibrations of a linear chain with one and two atom bases, quantization and phonons.
Phonons II: Thermal properties: Phonon heat capacity, Einstein and Debye models,
anharmonicity and thermal conductivity. The Drude model: an attempt to explain electrons as
classical particles. Free Electron Fermi Gas Model: Energy levels, the Fermi-Dirac distribution,
heat capacity, electrical and thermal conductivity of metals. Energy Bands: The nearly-free
electron model, wave equation of an electron in a periodic potential, Bloch functions, Fermi
surfaces, reduced and extended zone schemes. Bending of energy bands close to the Brillouin
zone boundary: the effect of a periodic potential, effective masses, electrons and holes. Metals,
Semimetals, Semiconductors and Insulators.
Modern Optics
Prof C. S. Adams
18 lectures + 4 workshops in Epiphany Term
Textbooks:
Required: Optics, Hecht (4th edition).
The course is defined by material contained in this book and in particular the material defined in
the syllabus below where the numbers refer to the sections in the book.
Required: Introduction to Fourier Optics, J. W Goodman (McGraw-Hill 2nd edition)
The course is defined by material contained in this book, in particular Chapter 3 which will be
placed on duo.
Syllabus:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
Review of EM [Hecht Section 2.8, 3.2 and Appendix 1]

Plane waves and spherical waves [Hecht Section 2.7 and 2.9]
Fourier transforms: Linearity, convolution, shifting, scaling [Hecht Chapter 11]
Propagating the solution to the wave equation using the angular spectral method [Goodman
Chapter 3]
Gaussian beams [Hecht Section 13.1]
Near-field (Fresnel) and far-field (Fraunhofer) diffraction [Hecht Section 10.1 and 10.3]
Simple cases: single and double slits [Hecht Section 10.1 and 10.2]
Simple cases: multiple slits [Hecht Section 10.1 and 10.2]
Phasors [Hecht Section 4.5 and 4.11]
2D diffraction: letters, and circular apertures [Hecht Section 10.2.3 and 10.3]
Diffraction limit: Rayleigh criterion, Heisenberg microscope [Hecht Section 10.2]
Spatial filtering [Hecht Section 13.2]
Babinets Principle. Apodization [Hecht Section 10.3]
Fabry Perot: Gaussian modes of a cavity [Hecht Section 9.6 and 13.1]
Lasers and cavities [Hecht Section 13.1]

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Thermodynamics

Condensed Matter Physics

Review of EM [Hecht Section 2.8, 3.2 and Appendix 1]

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