Undergraduate Course: Introduction to Condensed Matter Physics (PHYS10099)
Course Outline
School | School of Physics and Astronomy |
College | College of Science and Engineering |
Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 10 (Year 4 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
SCQF Credits | 10 |
ECTS Credits | 5 |
Summary | The course covers the properties of crystalline solids and other phases of condensed matter.
The first part will be focused on providing a basic understanding of the electrical, thermal and mechanical properties of solids, and in particular metals and semiconductors. The aim is to give a firm grounding in the core concepts. The remainder of the course will give an introduction to materials which are not solid, or crystalline, and neither liquids, but are still condensed matter, such as colloidal fluids or glasses, gels and liquid crystals. |
Course description |
Hard condensed matter
-Introductory crystallography
-Different types of chemical bonding
-Phonons in real materials
-Electrons in solids, electronic band structure
-Metals, semiconductors and insulators
-Thermal and electrical properties of solids
Soft condensed matter
-Colloids and Brownian motion
-Forces in colloidal suspensions
-Phases and energetics of liquid crystals
|
Information for Visiting Students
Pre-requisites | None |
High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
|
Academic year 2018/19, Available to all students (SV1)
|
Quota: None |
Course Start |
Semester 1 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
100
(
Lecture Hours 22,
Supervised Practical/Workshop/Studio Hours 20,
Summative Assessment Hours 2,
Revision Session Hours 4,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 2,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
50 )
|
Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
80 %,
Coursework
20 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
|
Additional Information (Assessment) |
80% exam 20% coursework |
Feedback |
Not entered |
Exam Information |
Exam Diet |
Paper Name |
Hours & Minutes |
|
Main Exam Diet S1 (December) | Introduction to Condensed Matter Physics | 2:00 | |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Appreciate the different types of bonding in solids and of interactions in soft matter.
- Be able to solve problems in reciprocal space (phonons and electron band structure).
- Be able to estimate magnitudes of thermodynamic properties of hard and soft matter such as heat capacity and thermal expansion.
- Be able to estimate transport and non equilibrium properties of hard and soft matter, such as electrical conductivity of a metal and viscosity of a fluid.
- Be able to solve problems involving order parameters (nematic order).
|
Additional Information
Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Not entered |
Keywords | IntroCMP |
Contacts
Course organiser | Dr Ingo Loa
Tel: (0131 6)51 7212
Email: I.Loa@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Miss Yolanda Zapata-Perez
Tel: (0131 6)51 7067
Email: yolanda.zapata@ed.ac.uk |
|
|