Program Overview

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Program Overview

The University of Copenhagen offers a Bachelor's program in Physics, which includes a course on Optics.

Course Description

The course, NFYA05060U Optics, covers the basics of ray and wave optics, providing a good basis for more advanced optics courses on the MSc level. The course treats the basics of ray and wave optics as tools to understand and describe both optical phenomena in nature as well as optical instruments in modern technology.

Learning Outcomes

After completion of this course, the participant should be able to:

• construct wave solutions to Maxwell's equations in homogeneous isotropic media
• discuss the refractive index and dispersion for insulators and metals
• discuss Rayleigh scattering and related optical phenomena in nature
• apply Fresnel's relations for refraction and reflection at interfaces
• understand geometrical optics as an approximation to wave optics
• use ray tracing methods to characterize optical components and systems
• understand and explain optical instruments such as telescopes, microscopes, etc.
• analyze and prepare the polarization state of light using optical components
• discuss the propagation of light in birefringent media
• explain interference phenomena and discuss interferometers as optical instruments
• apply the Huygens-Fresnel principle to various diffraction phenomena
• discuss Fraunhofer and Fresnel diffraction in simple geometries
• set up and perform simple experiments illustrating concepts in optics

Course Content

The course covers the following topics:

• description of light as classical electromagnetic waves
• optical properties of materials
• the geometrical optics limit
• basic optical components and instruments
• polarization states of light
• interference of light
• diffraction of light
• applications of optics in science and technology
• optical phenomena in nature and their explanation

Literature

The course literature includes:

• Eugene Hecht, "Optics", 5th (global) edition (Pearson 2017)
• Supplementary lecture notes

Recommended Academic Qualifications

The first year of physics education including electromagnetism. Knowledge of vector calculus.

Teaching and Learning Methods

The course includes:

• Lectures/Tutorials
• Exercises
• Laboratory exercises

Workload

The workload for the course is:

• Lectures: 28 hours
• Preparation: 131.5 hours
• Theory exercises: 28 hours
• Laboratory: 18 hours
• Exam: 0.5 hours
• Total: 206 hours

Exam

The exam is an oral examination, 30 minutes (no preparation time), with all aids allowed. The marking scale is a 7-point grading scale, with no external censorship and several internal examiners.

Course Information

• Language: English
• Course code: NFYA05060U
• Credit: 7.5 ECTS
• Level: Bachelor
• Duration: 1 block
• Placement: Block 3
• Schedule: A
• Course capacity: The number of places might be reduced if you register in the late-registration period (BSc and MSc) or as a credit or single subject student.

Study Board

The study board for the course is the Study Board of Physics, Chemistry and Nanoscience.

Contracting Department

The contracting department for the course is The Niels Bohr Institute.

Contracting Faculty

The contracting faculty for the course is the Faculty of Science.

Course Coordinators

The course coordinator for the course is Jan Westenkær Thomsen.