Physics with Astronomy (MPhys)

Beginning with a review of Newton's Laws applied to systems of particles, the course moves on to rotational motion, dynamical gravity (Kepler's Laws) and motion in non-inertial reference frames. Systems of coupled oscillators are studied.

Electromagnetism is one of the brilliant successes of nineteenth century physics and the equations formulated by Maxwell are believed to account exactly for all classical electromagnetic phenomena. The aim of this course is to present the laws of elect...

We will start from outlining fundamental questions we must answer in order to build up a picture of an astrophysical object, e.g., what is it made of? How luminous? How big? How old? How fast? How heavy? These seemingly simple questions are surprisingly d...

The PHYS2022 Physics from Evidence I module consists of three parts: Teaching Lab, Computing Module and Student Conference. The Teaching Lab and Computing Modules run through the first 10 weeks of the semester and the Student Conference is in week 12.

After studying this course students should be able to explain the concept of quantum mechanical wave function and its basic properties, the Schrödinger equation, the concepts of operator, eigenstates and the significance of measurements, and describe the ...

Statistical mechanics links the microscopic properties of physical systems to their macroscopic properties. Thermodynamics, which describes macroscopic properties, can then be derived from statistical mechanics with a few well motivated postulates. It lea...

This course introduces the properties and mechanics of waves, from the derivation and solution of wave equations, through the origins of the classical processes of refraction, dispersion and interference, to the quantum mechanical phenomenon of the uncert...

The global challenge that is 'sustainability' impacts every dimension of all of our lives. Regardless of your degree, the social, cultural, economic and environmental dimensions of sustainability have important implications for your studies, your daily ...

Is it necessary -- and is it possible -- for the UK and other countries to make the change from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources? And what sort of changes would be involved, on a global, national and personal scale? Is there any one renewable ener...

Applications of physics to medicine will be of particular interest to those contemplating a career in this field. The course is taught primarily by staff from the School of Physics and Astronomy, but brings in staff from Southampton General Hospital who a...

The course will guide the students through a series of experiments that will demonstrate key experimental techniques, and illustrate basic principles of experimental laser science. The student will undertake a number of experiments during the 12-week cour...

The aim of this course is to apply quantum physics to the study of atoms.

This Computational Physics course is designed for students with definite interest in tackling physics problems that are only tractable through the use of computers. It covers all types of application of computers by physicists, except the control of equip...

This course builds upon the Statistical Mechanics Course (PHYS2024) to form a complete basic course on the fundamentals of the physics of solids. After the course the student should have developed the necessary theoretical knowledge to enable them to unde...

The first part of the course is devoted to exploring a given topic via group work, assessed via short, written summary (extended abstract) and oral presentation. The second part consists of an individual dissertation that is assessed via a written report...

Students will learn about Nuclear Scattering, various properties of Nuclei, the Liquid Drop Model and the Shell Model, radioactive decay, fission and fusion. By the end of the course, the students should be able to classify elementary particles into hadro...

The main radiation mechanisms are discussed and examples are given of the situations in which they are most important. We show how the physical conditions, e.g. the temperature, density and magnetic field strength, can be determined from the emitted radia...

A wide variety of physics topics is covered, showing the experimental evidence underlying a number of topics in physics encountered in lecture courses and textbooks. Students are also introduced to techniques they might encounter in a physics-related care...

This course is a showcase for how the various branches of physics come together to give rise to real life phenomena. Using the example of stars, we will revisit a wide range of different physics and see how the various ingredients interact and thus how al...

Variational methods in classical physics will be reviewed and the extension of these ideas in quantum mechanics will be introduced.

Modern cosmology is a fascinating and fast-developing field, with intense research activity fuelled by major discoveries made in the last decade. These have overturned our understanding of the Universe’s properties and established a new standard cosmologi...

Students in the synoptic exam will be expected to display a broad knowledge and understanding of the core first, second and third year courses, to understand the inter-relations between those courses and to display problem solving skills in novel problem ...

In this module, students undertake a research project which extends over both semesters of the final year. Students normally work in pairs, in close collaboration with a member of staff.

The aim of this course is to explore the physical processes which occur in the space environment. Theories of solar wind propagation and its interaction with the earth are developed and compared with data from satellites and ground based observatories. ...

This course will cover advanced topics of quantum mechanics including postulates of quantum mechanics, tools of quantum mechanics, Dirac notation, Simple Harmonic oscillator (studied using raising and lowering operators), orbital and spin angular momentum...

The aim of this course is to communicate knowledge of physical techniques which exploit nuclear particles, and to develop an understanding of the underlying physics. Important themes are nuclear processes and the interaction of nuclear radiation with the ...

This Computational Physics course is designed for students with definite interest in tackling physics problems that are only tractable through the use of computers. It covers all types of application of computers by physicists, except the control of equip...

Lasers and photonic techniques are used in all branches of science and technology. The principles of laser operation will be discussed, with reference to commonly used laser systems. The course provides knowledge of the laser as a fundamental tool of cont...

The course provides an introduction to modern optical physics to arm students with a basic knowledge of light-matter interactions, electro-optics and nonlinear optics. It aims to provide a fundamental base for understanding the techniques and technologies...

This course will focus on nanomaterials, chemical synthesis and technological developments. This is a multidisciplinary module involving chemistry, physics, materials and biology. Students will be given non-assessed problems sheets and are expected to ...

Relativistic wave equations with their predictions of anti-particles and fermion spin will be explored. The fundamental role of gauge symmetries in current theories of force will lead to the study of the standard model of particle physics, including the s...

Since the end of the 1990s, cosmology has experienced one of the most impressive advances among all scientific disciplines. This happened mainly because of astonishing progress in the precision and accuracy of astronomical and cosmological observations ...

The upper atmosphere consists of the outermost layers of Earth's atmosphere, above about 90 km altitude, on the edge of space. It is a very different place to the atmosphere we live in at ground level; temperatures reach extremes of cold (< 200 K) and ext...

Quantum information combines information science with quantum effects in physics to study of how to process and transmit information using quantum systems. This includes quantum computation, quantum teleportation and quantum cryptography. Quantum metrol...

While coherence phenomena have long been familiar in the context of light waves, their manifestation in the context of matter waves is an exciting development of modern quantum science. This course aims to introduce the basic concepts needed to understand...