Program Overview

Program Overview

The PHY102 Electricity and Waves subject provides students with a thorough grounding in the fundamentals of static and dynamic electricity, electromagnetism, wave motion, and geometric and physical optics.

Subject Information

Grading System

The subject uses an HD/FL grading system.

Duration

The subject is offered over one session.

School

The subject is part of the School of Biomedical Sciences.

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this subject, students should:

• have a basic understanding of the manner in which charged bodies behave in an electric field;
• understand the nature of the direct electric current and how it is affected by various circuit components;
• understand the concept of capacitance and the manner in which it is utilised for the storage of energy;
• understand the physical phenomena of wave motion;
• understand the concepts of geometrical optics and apply them to simple optical instruments;
• be able to conduct experiments which demonstrate some of the concepts developed during the study;
• be able to present experimental results in an acceptable manner, indicating the likely sources and magnitudes of any errors involved.

Syllabus

This subject will cover the following topics:

• Charge, Coulombs law, lines of force, electric field, E, flux, Gauss law, electric potential;
  Potential energy;
• Capacitors and capacitance, energy storage in electric field, parallel plate capacitor, dielectrics;
• Electromotive force, resistance, resistivity, Ohms law, multiloop circuits, Kirchoffs laws, RC circuits;
• Magnetic force on electric current, torque on current loop, Hall effect, Amperes laws, lines of magnetic field B, long solenoid, Biot-Savart law;
• Faradays law of Induction, Lenzs law;
• Mechanical waves, sound waves, wave equation, energy transmission, Doppler effect, resonance;
• Huygens principle, laws of reflection and refraction, total internal reflection, spherical mirrors, thin lenses, simple optical instruments;
• Polarising sheets, polarising by reflection, polarisation by scattering double refraction, Law of Malus;
• Youngs experiment, phase change on reflection, Michelson interferometer, interference in thin films, single and double slit
• Fraunhofer diffraction, diffraction grating, crystal diffraction.

Residential School

This subject contains a 4-day Compulsory Residential School.

Availability

The subject is offered in Session 2, with both on-campus and online options available at the Wagga Wagga Campus.