.
5 Physics Core Courses
PHY101: Mechanics
[Cr:3, Lc:2, Tt:1, Lb:0]
Course Outline
Review of calculus, vectors, rotations, polar co-ordinates. Velocity and
acceleration in polar co-ordinates. Newton’s laws of motion. Configuration
space and phase space. Notion of system Hamiltonian.
Frames of reference. Inertial and accelerated frames. Centrifugal and
Coriolis forces. Foucault’s pendulum. Galilean transformations.
Conservation laws. Conservation of energy, momentum and angular
momentum. Their connection with symmetry principles.
Central Force problem. Inverse-square law force. Derivation of orbit
equation. Kepler’s laws.
Oscillations. Harmonic oscillator. Damped oscillations. Driven damped
oscillations. Coupled oscillations and normal modes of motion.
Motion of rigid bodies. Angular momentum, angular velocity, moment of
inertia, product of inertia, principal axes. Euler’s equations. Examples with
fixed axis of rotation.
Special theory of relativity. Relativistic kinematics. Lorentz transformations.
Length contraction, time dilation. Velocity addition. Four-vectors. Doppler
effect.
Recommended Reading
C. Kittel et.al., Mechanics Volume 1 Berkeley Physics Course, 02nd
edition(Special Indian Edition), Tata-McGraw Hill Ltd New Delhi (2008).
D. Kleppner and R. Kolenkow, An Introduction to Mechanics, McGraw Hill
Inc USA (1973).
R. Resnick, D. Halliday and K. S. Krane, Physics Vol 1, 4th edition, John
Wiley, (1991).
A.P.French, Newtonian Mechanics (M.I.T. Introductory Physics Series),
CBS Publishers and distributers, New Delhi (1987).
PHY111: Physics Laboratory I
[Cr:1, Lc:0, Tt:0, Lb:3]
Course Outline
This lab is designed to serve as an introductory course on hands-on physics
experiments, built around the theme of Mechanics. The lab proceeds in
tandem with the Mechanics course offered in the same semester.
Experiments in this course include: exploring simple harmonic motion
through different pendulum setups such as Kater’s pendulum, compound
pendulum and torsion pendulum, measuring g by free fall, estimating
Young’s modulus by Searle’s method and bending of beam method,
gyroscope motion. Concepts taught in this course include measurements,
quantitative estimation of physical quantities, the different types of error that
can arise in an experiment.
PHY102: Electromagnetism
[Cr:3, Lc:2, Tt:1, Lb:0]
Course Outline
Electrostatics: charges and fields. Charge distributions. Gauss’s Law.
The electric potential, the physical meaning of the divergence and the curl.
Work and energy in electrostatics.
Electric fields around conductors. Capacitors and capacitance. The
Uniqueness Theorem. The Boundary-value problem.
Electric fields in matter. Polarization. Bound charges. Field inside a
dielectric. Linear dielectrics. Boundary value problems.
Electric currents. Charge transport and current density. Electrical
conductivity and Ohm’s law. Energy dissipation.
Fields of moving charges: From Oersted to Einstein. Magnetic forces.
Electric field measured in different frames of reference. Force on a moving
charge. The Magnetic field. Vector potential. How fields transform.
Magnetic fields in matter. Diamagnets, paramagnets and ferromagnets.
Torques and forces on magnetic dipoles. Bound currents. Auxiliary field.
Linear and nonlinear media. Ferromagnetism, susceptibility and
permeability.
Electrodynamics: Electromagnetic induction and Faraday’s law. Energy and
momentum in electrodynamics. The Displacement Current. Maxwell’s
equations.
Recommended Reading
E. M. Purcell, Electricity and Magnetism (Berkeley Physics Course Vol 2),
02nd edition, Tata-McGrawHill (2008).
R.P. Feynman, R.B. Leighton, and
M. Sands, The Feynman Lectures of Physics Vol 2, Narosa Publishing
House (2008).
D. J. Griffiths, Introduction to Electrodynamics, 03rd edition, Dorling
Kindersley (2007).
PHY112: Physics Laboratory II
[Cr:1, Lc:0, Tt:0, Lb:3]
Course Outline
This lab course is designed to help students understand the physics of
everyday electromagnetic phenomena. The lab proceeds in tandem with the
Electromagnetism course offered in the same semester. The experiments in
this course include: parallel plate capacitor, random sampling of an AC
source, thermistor, em induction in a coil, characteristics of an AC and DC
motor, eddy currents in a pipe, measurement of torque on a current carrying
conductor in a magnetic field etc.
PHY201: Waves and optics
[Cr:3, Lc:2, Tt:1, Lb:0]
Course Outline
Mechanical Waves. Review of oscillators and systems of coupled
oscillators. Waves on a string and membrane. Waves in an elastic medium:
Pressure waves and shear waves. Acoustic resonators. Speed of a wave and
wave impedance, shock waves.
Electromagnetic waves: Review of Maxwell’s equations. Wave solutions to
Maxwell’s equations. Energy and momentum of electromagnetic radiation.
Poynting theorem and conservation laws.
Reflection and refraction of waves from interfaces. Fresnel Coefficients.
Interference of light: interferometers and devices based on two-beam
interference.
Diffraction of light: Scalar wave approximation. Kirchoff integral, Kirchoff-
Fresnel boundary conditions. Fraunhoffer diffraction, Babinet principle,
diffraction gratings.
Lorentz model for dispersive media. Pulse propagation in a dispersive
medium.
Coherence theory: basic ideas of coherence. Temporal coherence,
bandwidth of light. Spatial coherence, basic ideas of intensity correlations.
Recommended Reading
A.P.French, Vibrations and Waves (The M.I.T. Introductory Physics series),
CBS Publishers and distributers, New Delhi (1987).
H.J.Pain, The physics of vibration and waves, 6th edition, Wiley and Sons
Ltd. New Delhi (2005).
E.Hecht, Optics, 4th edition, Pearson Education Inc., New Delhi (2007).
F.S.Crawford Jr., Waves (Berkeley Physics Course Vol. 3), Special Indian
Ed., Tata McGraw Hill Co. New Delhi (2008).
M.V. Klein and T.E. Furtak Optics, 2nd edition, Wiley (1986).
PHY211: Physics Laboratory III
[Cr:1, Lc:0, Tt:0, Lb:3]
Course Outline
This lab course is designed to encourage students to explore the physics
behind waves and optics phenomena. The lab proceeds in tandem with the
Waves & Optics course offered in the same semester. The experiments in
this course include: measuring fundamental modes in a vibrating string
using a sonometer, exploring the physics of sound and music on a CRO,
Melde’s setup for standing waves, prism spectrometer, constant deviation
spectrometer, Newton’s rings setup, polarimeter to measure specific
rotation, Fresnel’s biprism, diffraction grating using a laser source and
measuring the wavelength of sodium source using interference observed
with a Michelson interferometer setup.
PHY202: Thermodynamics and statistical physics
[Cr:3, Lc:2, Tt:1, Lb:0]
Course Outline
Macroscopic and microscopic point of view, scope of thermodynamics,
thermal equilibrium and zeroth law, equation of state. Hydrostatic systems.
Examples.
Intensive and extensive coordinates, Quasi-static process, work for
hydrostatic systems, PV diagrams, path dependence of work, exact
differentials.
Work and heat, internal energy function, First law, differential form, heat
capacity, heat reservoirs.
Second law, Carnot cycle, Carnot theorem, Kelvin-Planck statement,
Clausius statement, entropy and second law, entropy of ideal gas, principle
of increase of entropy.
Entropy maximum principle, energy minimum principle, Legendre
transforms, thermodynamic potentials.
Physical interpretation of entropy, two-level systems, deviation from most
probable state, canonical formalism.
Recommended Reading
H.B.Callen, Thermodynamics and introduction to thermostatistics, 2nd
edition, Wiley & Sons (1985).
C. Kittel and H.Kroemer, Thermal Physics, 2nd edition, W.H.Freeman Inc.
(1980).
M.W. Zemansky and R.H.Dittman, Heat and Thermodynamics, 7th edition,
McGraw-Hill Inc. (1997).
PHY212: Physics Laboratory IV
[Cr:1, Lc:0, Tt:0, Lb:3]
Course Outline
This lab course is designed to expose students to concepts in Modern
Physics and also get them to perform certain famous physics experiments of
the twentieth century. The experiments in this course include: Franks &
Hertz tube for quantization of atomic levels, Planck’s constant, photoelectric
effect, Stefan’s law, heat conduction, measurement of e/m etc.
