Reading and discussion of selected research papers from the astronomical literature. Techniques of journal reading, use of abstract services, and other aids for the efficient maintenance of awareness in a technical field.

(Cross-listed as PHYS 094)

(Cross-listed as PHYS 180)

Topics include wave phenomena, geometrical and physical optics, electricity and magnetism, and direct and alternating current circuits. Possible additional topics may be added.

PHYS 004L will cover the same topics as PHYS 004 but will emphasize biological, biochemical, and medical applications of those topics. The course will meet medical school requirements (in conjunction with PHYS 003 or PHYS 003L) and will include a weekly laboratory. Students who wish to take PHYS 004L before PHYS 003 or PHYS 003L must have some high school physics background and obtain permission from the instructor.

Special relativity and the statistical basis of thermodynamics were two of the key discoveries early in the 20th century that launched the development of contemporary physics. Half of this course covers the counterintuitive consequences of special relativity for our understanding of space and time. Half of the course introduces thermodynamics, both macroscopic thermodynamics and introductory statistical mechanics; topics include energy, heat, work, entropy, temperature (the First, Second and "Third" Laws of Thermodynamics), heat capacity, ideal gases, paramagnetism, phase transitions, and the chemical potential. Physics 6 is the usual second course in the sequence for majoring or minoring in astronomy, astrophysics, or physics. It is also suitable for non-majors with appropriate mathematical and problem-solving preparation from a previous quantitative NSE course (physics, engineering, or chemistry).

A sophisticated introductory treatment of wave and electric and magnetic phenomena, such as oscillatory motion, forced vibrations, coupled oscillators, Fourier analysis of progressive waves, boundary effects and interference, the electrostatic field and potential, electrical work and energy, D.C. and A.C. circuits, the relativistic basis of magnetism, Maxwell's equations, and geometrical optics. 

An introduction to techniques in scientific computing used to visualize and analyze data such as plotting, curve fitting, solving equations, image analysis, monte carlo and numerical integration.  Students will write programs in Python using commonly available scientific libraries.
This is a 0.5-credit course with priority given to majors in physics, astrophysics, or astronomy. There are no prerequisites although for most students it will build on the lab experience in Physics 7. It is open to first-year students, though expected to be typically taken concurrently with Physics 8 by second-year majors.

This is the first of a two-semester sequence designed to fulfill the physics major advanced laboratory requirement. Students will perform projects in digital electronics. They will also perform experiments chosen from among the areas of thermal and statistical physics, solid state, atomic, plasma, nuclear, biophysics, condensed matter physics, and advanced optics.

This is the second of a two-semester sequence designed to fulfill the physics major advanced laboratory requirement. Students will perform projects in digital electronics. They will also perform experiments chosen from among the areas of thermal and statistical physics, solid state, atomic, plasma, nuclear, biophysics, condensed matter physics, and advanced optics. When both PHYS 081 and PHYS 082 are taken, students will receive credit for having completed a writing (W) course.

This course is designed to fulfill the physics major advanced laboratory requirement for students who have already had sufficient experience with digital electronics (ENGR 072 or the equivalent). Students will perform experiments chosen from among the areas of thermal and statistical physics, solid state, atomic, plasma, nuclear, biophysics, condensed matter physics, and advanced optics.

This course provides an opportunity for an individual student to do special study, with either theoretical or experimental emphasis, in fields not covered by the regular courses and seminars. The student will present oral and written reports to the instructor.

Initiative for a research project may come from the student, or the work may involve collaboration with ongoing faculty research. The student will present a written and an oral report to the department.

Intermediate classical mechanics. Motion of a particle in one, two, and three dimensions; Kepler's laws and planetary motion; phase space; oscillatory motion; Lagrange equations and variational principles; systems of particles; collisions and cross sections; motion of a rigid body; Euler's equations; rotating frames of reference; small oscillations; normal modes; and wave phenomena. Offered every Fall.

The statistical behavior of classical and quantum systems; temperature and entropy; equations of state; engines and refrigerators; statistical basis of thermodynamics; microcanonical, canonical, and grand canonical distributions; phase transitions; statistics of bosons and fermions; black body radiation; electronic and thermal properties of quantum liquids and solids. Offered every Spring.

(Cross-listed as PHYS 094)

An overview of physics of the stars, both atmospheres and interiors. Topics may include hydrostatic and thermal equilibrium, radiative and convective transfer nuclear energy generation, degenerate matter, calculation of stellar models, interpretation of spectra, stellar evolution, white dwarfs and neutron stars, nucleosynthesis, supernovae, and star formation.

(Cross-listed as PHYS 180)

(Cross-Listed with ENVS 010)

Topics include vectors, kinematics, Newton's laws and dynamics, conservation laws, work and energy, oscillatory motion, systems of particles, and rigid body rotation. Possible additional topics are special relativity and thermodynamics.

This course discusses the topics from the first semester of introductory physics with the greatest biological, biochemical, and medical relevance, namely motion, forces (both statics and dynamics), torques (primarily statics), work, conservation of energy and momentum, oscillations, fluid statics and dynamics, and thermal and statistical phenomena. A core goal is to develop connections between physics and the other sciences. The course addresses the appropriate medical school competencies in conjunction with PHYS 004L.

This course presents an introduction to optics and quantum theory. Students will explore the counterintuitive consequences of quantum mechanics for our understanding of the subatomic world, where our notions of absolute properties such as the position or speed of a particle are replaced by probabilities. The course will introduce multiple ways to model light, from classical waves to quantum photons. It is the usual entry point to majoring or minoring in astronomy, astrophysics, or physics, and is a pre or co-requisite for the sophomore-level physics major curriculum; it welcomes both non-majors and prospective majors who are interested in engaging rigorously and deeply with both the mathematical and conceptual descriptions of physics.

An introduction to classical mechanics. This course is suitable for potential majors, as well as students in other sciences or engineering who would like a course with more mathematical rigor and depth than PHYS 003. Includes the study of kinematics and dynamics of point particles; conservation principles involving energy, momentum and angular momentum; rotational motion of rigid bodies, and oscillatory motion.

Reading and discussion of selected research papers from the physics literature.  Techniques of journal reading, use of abstract services, Arxiv, and search engines to stay aware of the current literature.

Techniques, materials, and the design of experimental apparatus; shop practice; printed circuit design and construction.
This is a 0.5-credit course open only to majors in physics, astrophysics, or astronomy.

This is the first of a two-semester sequence designed to fulfill the physics major advanced laboratory requirement. Students will perform projects in digital electronics. They will also perform experiments chosen from among the areas of thermal and statistical physics, solid state, atomic, plasma, nuclear, biophysics, condensed matter physics, and advanced optics.

This is the second of a two-semester sequence designed to fulfill the physics major advanced laboratory requirement. Students will perform projects in digital electronics. They will also perform experiments chosen from among the areas of thermal and statistical physics, solid state, atomic, plasma, nuclear, biophysics, condensed matter physics, and advanced optics. When both PHYS 081 and PHYS 082 are taken, students will receive credit for having completed a writing (W) course.

This course is designed to fulfill the physics major advanced laboratory requirement for students who have already had sufficient experience with digital electronics (ENGR 072 or the equivalent). Students will perform experiments chosen from among the areas of thermal and statistical physics, solid state, atomic, plasma, nuclear, biophysics, condensed matter physics, and advanced optics.

This course provides an opportunity for an individual student to do special study, with either theoretical or experimental emphasis, in fields not covered by the regular courses and seminars. The student will present oral and written reports to the instructor.

Initiative for a research project may come from the student, or the work may involve collaboration with ongoing faculty research. The student will present a written and an oral report to the department.

This half-credit course is required of all physics, astronomy, and astrophysics course majors and serves as preparation for and completion of the College's comprehensive requirement ("comps") for senior course majors, with a goal of enabling students to integrate various aspects of their Swarthmore education into a single, cohesive project. Students will create, edit, and practice presenting a poster on a research topic of their choosing and then present it at an event at the end of the semester. The weekly course meetings will enable students to delve more deeply into research paper reading, data display, scientific communication, and other topics related both to the subject matter and professional practices in physics and astronomy. This course will be offered every fall, is intended for seniors who are majors, and must be taken at Swarthmore in order for students to meet the comps requirement.

An introductory course in quantum mechanics. Topics include waves, photons, the Schrodinger equation, Dirac notation, one-dimensional potentials, quantized angular momentum, and central potentials. 

Electricity and magnetism using vector calculus, electric and magnetic fields, dielectric and magnetic materials, electromagnetic induction, Maxwell's field equations in differential form, displacement current, Poynting theorem and electromagnetic waves, boundary-value problems, radiation and four-vector formulation of relativistic electrodynamics. Offered every Fall.