Undergraduate Course: Subatomic Physics (PHYS10082)

Course Outline
School	School of Physics and Astronomy	College	College of Science and Engineering
Course type	Standard	Availability	Available to all students
Credit level (Normal year taken)	SCQF Level 10 (Year 4 Undergraduate)	Credits	10
Home subject area	Undergraduate (School of Physics and Astronomy)	Other subject area	None
Course website	http://www2.ph.ed.ac.uk/teaching/course-notes/notes/list/110	Taught in Gaelic?	No
Course description	Subatomic physics provides an introduction to the physics within the nucleus, exploring the consequences of quantum physics at the high energies, and short distances, explored by nuclear and particle physics. We will begin with a review of relativistic and quantum mechanics, the symmetries of fermions and bosons, and the forces of nature. We will go on to explore the nature of these forces in the nuclear and particle physics domain, and see how they are related to decays and scattering processes. We will introduce the fundamental particles and composite states, including nuclei, which appear on subatomic scales and investigate the quantum numbers and symmetries associated with the interactions of these particles. We will discuss the models used to describe the phenomena observed on the subatomic scale, and explore both their many successes and their shortcomings. We will also discuss the experimental methods used to explore the subatomic world.

Entry Requirements
Pre-requisites		Co-requisites
Prohibited Combinations		Other requirements	At least 80 credits accrued in courses of SCQF Level 9 or 10 drawn from Schedule Q.
Additional Costs	None

Information for Visiting Students
Pre-requisites	None
Displayed in Visiting Students Prospectus?	Yes

Course Delivery Information

Delivery period: 2010/11 Semester 1, Available to all students (SV1)						WebCT enabled: No		Quota: None
Location	Activity	Description	Weeks	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
King's Buildings	Lecture		1-11		10:00 - 10:50
King's Buildings	Lecture		1-11					10:00 - 10:50
King's Buildings	Tutorial		2-11			11:10 - 12:00 or 12:10 - 13:00
First Class	Week 1, Tuesday, 10:00 - 10:50, Zone: King's Buildings. JCMB
Additional information	Workshop/tutorial sessions, as arranged.
Exam Information
Exam Diet	Paper Name		Hours:Minutes	Stationery Requirements		Comments
Main Exam Diet S2 (April/May)			2:00	20 sides

Delivery period: 2010/11 Semester 1, Part-year visiting students only (VV1)						WebCT enabled: No		Quota: None
Location	Activity	Description	Weeks	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
King's Buildings	Lecture		1-11		10:00 - 10:50
King's Buildings	Lecture		1-11					10:00 - 10:50
King's Buildings	Tutorial		2-11			11:10 - 12:00 or 12:10 - 13:00
First Class	First class information not currently available
Additional information	Workshop/tutorial sessions, as arranged.
Exam Information
Exam Diet	Paper Name		Hours:Minutes	Stationery Requirements		Comments
Main Exam Diet S1 (December)			2:00	20 sides

Summary of Intended Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this course a student should comprehend the physics and phenomena that appear on subatomic scales and solve unseen problems relating to these areas. In particular, the student should be able to: ? Identify the forces acting at the subatomic scale. ? Explain the interactions, decays and scatterings, resulting from the subatomic forces. Be able to illustrate these processes and evaluate the probability of these interactions for some key processes. ? Explain the quantum, relativistic and statistical nature of these interactions. ? Recognise the symmetries and conservation laws relating to these forces. ? Identify the forces acting at the subatomic scale and understand the quantum and relativistic nature of these interactions. ? Describe the fundamental particles (quarks, leptons and gauge bosons). Describe and understand the composite particles made from fundamental particles (mesons, baryons and nuclei). ? Discuss the quantum numbers and properties of these particles, such as mass, charge, colour charge, angular momentum, spin, parity, magnetic moment, ground and excited states. ? Describe the experimental techniques used to explore the subatomic world. ? Compare theoretical descriptions of nuclei such as liquid drop, shell and collective models. ? Interpret the semi-empirical mass formula for nuclei and apply to binding energies and nuclear stability. ? Describe qualitatively the Standard Model of Particle Physics and illustrate its main features.

Assessment Information
Degree Examination, 100% Visiting Student Variant Assessment Degree Examination, 100%

Special Arrangements
None

Additional Information
Academic description	Not entered
Syllabus	Not entered
Transferable skills	Not entered
Reading list	Not entered
Study Abroad	Not entered
Study Pattern	Not entered
Keywords	SubAt

Contacts
Course organiser	Dr Victoria Martin Tel: (0131 6)51 7042 Email: victoria.martin@ed.ac.uk	Course secretary	Miss Jennifer Wood Tel: (0131 6)50 7218 Email: J.Wood@ed.ac.uk