400 level courses

Classroom locations have changed recently. Please consult your MINERVA course schedule for up-to-date information.

Not all courses are offered every year. Please see the current academic schedule on Minerva.

PHYS 404 Climate Physics

• Fall term
• 3 credits
• Prerequisite(s): PHYS 230 or PHYS 251, PHYS 232 or PHYS 253, MATH 315 or MATH 325, and MATH 222
• Restriction(s): Not open to students who have taken ATOC 404

This course covers the essentials of climate physics through the lens of one-dimensional, vertical atmospheric models. This includes shortwave and longwave radiative transfer, convection, phase changes, clouds, greenhouse gases, and atmospheric escape. This is an adequate level of detail for understanding Earth's climate, paleoclimate, anthropogenic climate change, or pursing studies of Solar System planets and extrasolar planets.

Instructor for 2024/25: G. Nguyen (Fall)

PHYS 413 Physical Basis of Physiology

• Not offered in 2024/25
• 3 credits
• 3 hours lectures
• Prerequisite: MATH 315, or MATH 325, and permission of the instructor
• Intended for Major or Honours students in Physics, Physiology, Physiology and Physics, or Mathematics and others with permission

Analytic and computer simulation techniques are used to examine the role of nonlinearities and time delays in determining the dynamic behaviour of physiological control systems and their relation to normal and pathophysiological states. Examples drawn from the control of respiration, cellular proliferation and differentiation, biochemical feedback networks, thermoregulatory mechanisms, and neural feedback.

PHYS 432 Physics of Fluids

• Winter term
• 3 credits
• 3 hours lectures
• Prerequisites: PHYS 230, MATH 223, MATH 314, MATH 315
• Restriction: Not open to students who have taken PHYS 332.

The physical properties of fluids. The kinematics and dynamics of flow. The effects of viscosity and turbulence. Applications of fluid mechanics in biophysics, geophysics and engineering.

Instructor for 2024/25: E. Lee (Winter)

PHYS 434 Optics

• Fall term
• 3 credits
• 2 hours lecture, 3 hours lab
• Corequisite: PHYS 342 or PHYS 352, or permission of the instructor

Fundamental concepts of optics, including applications and modern developments. Light propagation in media; geometric optics and optical instruments; polarization and coherence properties of light; interference and interferometry; diffraction theory and applications in spectrometry and imaging; Gaussian beams, Fourier optics and photonic band structure. A laboratory component provides hands-on experience in optical setup design, construction and testing of concepts introduced in lectures.

Instructor for 2024/25: K. Wang (Fall)

PHYS 436 Modern Physics

• This course has been replaced by PHYS 447
• 3 credits
• 3 hours lectures
• Prerequisite: PHYS 446
• Restriction: Not open to students in Honours Physics or in Joint Honours in Mathematics and Physics

One electron atoms, radiation, multielectron atoms, molecular bonds. Selected topics from condensed matter, nuclear and elementary particle physics.

PHYS 439 Majors Laboratory in Modern Physics

• Fall term
• 3 credits
• 6 hours
• Prerequisite: PHYS 339.
• Corequisite: PHYS 346
• Restriction: Not open to students with credit in PHYS 359 except with permission of instructor

Advanced level experiments in modern physics stressing quantum effects and some properties of condensed matter.

Instructor for 2023/24: J. Childress

Schedule: TR, 13:35-16:25, room WONG 0110

PHYS 446 Majors Quantum Physics

• This course has been replaced by PHYS 346
• Fall session
• 3 credits
• 3 hours lectures
• Prerequisite: PHYS 230 and PHYS 232, or PHYS 251
• Restriction: Not open to students taking or having taken PHYS 357 or PHYS 457

de Broglie waves, Bohr atom. Schroedinger equation, wave functions, observables. One dimensional potentials. Schroedinger equation in three dimensions. Angular momentum, hydrogen atom. Spin, experimental consequences.

PHYS 447 Applications of Quantum Mechanics

• This course replaces PHYS 436
• Winter term
• 3 credits
• Prerequisite(s): PHYS 346 or PHYS 446
• Restriction(s): Not open to students in the following programs: · Bachelor of Engineering (B.Eng.) - Honours Electrical Engineering · Bachelor of Engineering (B.Eng.) - Minor Physics · Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) - Honours Mathematics and Physics · Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) - Honours Physics · Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) - Honours Physics and Chemistry · Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) - Honours Physics and Computer Science
• Restriction(s): Not open to students who have taken or are taking PHYS 457.
• 1. Winter
• 2. 3 hours lectures

One electron atoms, radiation, multielectron atoms, molecular bonds. Selected topics from condensed matter, nuclear and elementary particle physics.

Instructor for 2024/25: K. Wang (Winter)

PHYS 449 Majors Research Project

• Fall or winter terms
• 3 credits
• Winter or Summer
• 6 hours
• Restrictions: U2 or U3 students in a Physics program, or permission of the instructor.

A supervised research project.

Instructors for 2024/25: B. Siwick (Fall), B. Siwick (Winter)

PHYS 451 Honours Classical Mechanics 2

• This course is no longer offered

Rigid bodies, angular momentum, gyroscope, moment of inertia, principal axes, Euler's equations. Coupled oscillations and normal modes. Lagrangian mechanics and applications. Hamiltonian mechanics. Topics in advanced analytical mechanics.

PHYS 457 Honours Quantum Physics 2

• Winter term
• 3 credits
• 3 hours lectures
• Prerequisite: PHYS 357
• Restriction: Honours students or permission of instructor
• Restriction: Not open to students who have taken PHYS 346

Angular momentum and spin operators. Operator methods in quantum mechanics. Coupling of spin and angular momenta. Variational principles and elements of time dependent perturbation theory (the Golden Rule). Solution of the Schrodinger equation in three dimensions. Applications to the hydrogen and helium atoms and to simple problems in atomic and molecular physics.

Instructor for 2024/25: S. Jeon (Winter)

PHYS 459D1 Research Thesis

• Fall term
• 3 credits
• Permission of the instructor.
• 6 hours
• Restriction: Honours students or permission of instructor
• Students must register for both PHYS 459D1 and PHYS 459D2.
• No credit will be given for this course unless both PHYS 459D1 and PHYS 459D2 are successfully completed in consecutive terms

Supervised research project and thesis.

Instructor for 2024/25: C. Gale (Fall)

PHYS 459D2 Research Thesis

• Winter term
• 3 credits
• Prerequisite: PHYS 459D1
• No credit will be given for this course unless both PHYS 459D1 and PHYS 459D2 are successfully completed in consecutive terms

See PHYS 459D1 for course description.

Instructor for 2024/25: C. Gale (Winter)

PHYS 469 Advanced Physics Laboratory 2

• Fall term
• 3 credits
• 6 hours
• Restriction: Honours students or permission of instructor
• Prerequisite: PHYS 258 or permission of the instructor
• Corequisite: PHYS 457 or PHYS 447 or permission of the instructor.
• Restriction: Open to honours and majors physics students
• Student who have taken PHYS 359 will conduct different experiments in this course.

Advanced level experiments in physics including quantum effects and some properties of condensed matter physics and modern physics.

Instructor for 2024/25: D. Cooke (Fall)

PHYS 478 Short Research Project

• Fall term
• 1 credit
• Note: Students are expected to find an appropriate instructor for their project.

Supervised research project in physics.

Instructor for 2024/25: M. Hilke (Fall)

PHYS 479 Physics Research Project

• Fall or winter terms
• 3 credits
• 6 hours
• Restriction: U2 or U3 students in a Physics program, or permission of the instructor.

A supervised research project.

Instructors for 2024/25: B. Siwick (Fall), B. Siwick (Winter)

PHYS 489 Special Project

• Winter term
• 3 credits
• 6 hours
• Restriction: Only open to students in their final year of the Joint Major in Physics and Computer Science after consultation with the adviser(s) for the program

A project incorporating aspects of both physics and computer science, under the joint supervision of the two departments. The Physics aspect may be either laboratory-based or theoretical in nature. The Computational aspect will involve the development and implementation of algorithms arising from the investigation.