Unit details (Course and Unit Handbook 2002)
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Physics 1A
Enrolment code: KYA101
Offered: Hbt, sem 1
Unit description: Leading to the second semester unit KYA102, this unit is
designed for students who expect to major in physics, as well as for those who
will major in other physical sciences, mathematics and computer science. Topics
that are studied at considerable depth include dynamics and electrical circuits.
Staff: tba
Unit weight: 12.5%
Teaching: 4 lectures, 1 tutorial, weekly (13 wks)
Prereq: *PH866 and *MT841 or TCE score of 80 or more (subject to counselling
and approval by Head of Physics)
Mutual excl: KYA171, KYA172 and equiv units in previous yrs
Assess: 3-hr end-of-sem paper (90%), continuous assessment (10%)
Required texts, etc:
tba
Courses: S3G S3GD2
Physics 1B
Enrolment code: KYA102
Offered: Hbt, sem 2
Unit description: Follows on from the first semester unit KYA101. The unit is
also designed for students who expect to major in physics, as well as for those
who will major in other physical sciences, mathematics and computer science.
Topics include: atomic physics, oscillatory phenomena, properties of matter,
special relativity and wave motion. Laboratory work covers electrical
measurements in physics and selected experiments.
Staff: tba
Unit weight: 12.5%
Teaching: 3 lectures, 3 hrs lab, 1 tutorial, weekly (13 wks)
Prereq: *PH866 and *MT841 or TCE score of 80 or more (subject to counselling
and approval by Head of Physics)
Coreq: KYA101
Mutual excl: KYA171, KYA172 and equiv units in previous yrs
Assess: 3-hr end-of-sem paper (70%), continuous assessment (10%), lab reports
(20%)
Required texts, etc:
tba
Courses: S3G S3GD2
Unit details (Course and Unit Handbook 2002)
Applied Physics
Enrolment code: KYA171
Offered: Hbt, sem 1
Unit description: Is a study of basic applied physics that is designed for
students wishing to learn useful physics life skills, in particular for students of
Agriculture [BAgrSc and BAppSc(Ag)], Life Science and Geomatics. It leads on
to Biological Physics KYA172 in second semester. Studies cover practical
electric circuits and measurements, optical principles and instruments, sound
and ultrasound equipment, motion and machines, temperature and heat,
radioactivity with its applications and dangers. Laboratory experiments give
experience in the topics studied and the work includes training in general
laboratory technique, record keeping, data analysis using computers, report
writing and other transferable practical skills.
Staff: tba
Unit weight: 12.5%
Teaching: 3 lectures, 3-hr tutorial/practical class weekly (13 wks)
Prereq: *SC768 and (*MT730 or *MT841) or TCE score of 80 or more (subject to
counselling and approval by Head of Physics)
Mutual excl: all level 100 KYA units except KYA172 and KYA181
Assess: end-of-sem written exams on theory and lab work, assignments and
reports throughout sem
Required texts, etc:
Bueche and Wallach, Technical Physics, 4th edn, Wiley
Recommended reading:
Giancoli, Physics, 4th edn, Prentice Hall
Bunn, Physics for a modern world, Jacaranda
De Jong, Physics in context (2 vols), Heinemann.
Courses: N3H S3B S3C S3G S3T
Biological Physics
Enrolment code: KYA172
Offered: Not offered in 2001
Unit description: Is designed for students wishing to obtain further applied
physics understanding and skills, in particular for Agriculture (BAgrSc), Life
Science, Medicine and Pharmacy. Although the main emphasis is in the
biological area of science, the topics and practical work will be of wide general
interest. Studies are more advanced than for KYA171 Applied Physics. They
cover electric instrumentation and systems, bioelectricity, applications of
oscillations and waves, optical instruments, systems theory and
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Unit details (Course and Unit Handbook 2002)
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thermodynamics, elasticity and fluid flow, ionising radiation and health
physics, computed imaging. Laboratory experiments develop understanding of
the topics studied and build experience and skills in use of scientific
instrumentation. The work includes training in general laboratory technique,
record keeping, data analysis using computers, report writing and other
transferable practical skills.
Staff: tba
Unit weight: 12.5%
Teaching: 3 lectures, 3-hr tutorial/practical class weekly (13 wks)
Prereq: KYA171 or (*PH866 and *MT841) or TCE score of 80 or more (subject to
counselling and approval by Head of Physics)
Mutual excl: all level 100 KYA units except KYA171 and KYA181
Assess: end-of-sem written exams on theory and lab work, assignments and
reports throughout sem
Required texts, etc:
Bueche and Wallach, Technical Physics, 4th edn, Wiley
Recommended reading:
Giancoli, Physics, 4th edn, Prentice Hall
Bunn, Physics for a modern world, Jacaranda
Courses: M3F S3G
Astronomy
Enrolment code: KYA181
Offered: Hbt, sem 1
Special note: may not be offered in 2001
Unit description: Is an introductory unit covering the foundations of
astronomy, the Copernican revolution, radiation, spectroscopy, telescopes, the
solar system, Earth, the Moon and Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, the
outer planets, comets and asteroids, the formation of the solar system, the Sun,
measuring the stars, the interstellar medium, star formation, star evolution,
stellar explosions, neutron stars and black holes, the Milky Way, normal
galaxies, active galaxies and quasars, cosmology, the big bang, and the search
for extra-terrestrial intelligence. The practical classes include day-time visits to
the Canopus Optical Observatory and Mt Pleasant Radio-astronomy
observatory and, weather permitting, a night-time observing session at Mt
Canopus.
Staff: tba
Unit weight: 12.5%
Teaching: 1–3 hrs lectures/tutorials weekly, 6x3-hr practical classes
Assess: 2-hr mid-sem test, 2-hr end-of-sem exam
Required texts, etc:
Unit details (Course and Unit Handbook 2002)
Chiasson and McMillan, Astronomy Today, Prentice Hall
Courses: S3G
Physics 2A
Enrolment code: KYA201
Electromagnetism, kinetic theory and waves
Offered: Hbt, sem 1
Unit description: Develops a sound basis for advanced work in both
theoretical and experimental physics. Students gain experience in model
building and problem solving techniques, and acquire practical skills in a wide
range of electrical and optical instrumentation, as well as general transferable
practical skills of data acquisition, data analysis and report writing.
Staff: tba
Unit weight: 16.67%
Teaching: 4 lectures, a tutorial and 3 hrs lab weekly
Prereq: KYA100 and KMA152 and KMA154 or equiv
Assess: send-of-sem 3-hr exam, other assessment throughout sem
Required texts, etc:
Pain HJ, The Physics of Vibrations and Waves, 3rd edn, Wiley
Pendlebury JM, Kinetic Theory, Hilger
Squires GL, Practical Physics, 3rd edn, McGraw Hill
Courses: S3G
Physics 2B
Enrolment code: KYA202
Quantum mechanics and thermodynamics
Offered: Hbt, sem 2
Unit description: Develops a sound basis for advanced work in both
theoretical and experimental physics. Students gain experience in model
building and problem solving techniques, and acquire practical skills in a wide
range of electrical and optical instrumentation, as well as general transferable
practical skills of data acquisition, data analysis and report writing.
Staff: tba
Unit weight: 16.67%
Teaching: 4 lectures, a tutorial and 3 hrs lab weekly
Prereq: KYA100 and KMA152 and KMA154 or equiv
Coreq: KYA201
Assess: send-of-sem 3-hr exam, other assessment throughout sem
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Unit details (Course and Unit Handbook 2002)
Required texts, etc:
Adkins CJ, Equilibrium Thermodynamics, 3rd edn, Camb
French AP and Taylor EF, An Introduction to Quantum Physics, Nelson
Pain HJ, The Physics of Vibrations and Waves, 3rd edn, Wiley
Squires GL, Practical Physics, 3rd edn, McGraw Hill
Courses: S3G
Engineering Physics
Enrolment code: KYA275
Offered: Hbt, sem 2
Special note: restricted to Engineering students
Unit description: Provides the physics background material needed for
subsequent engineering subjects and applications in later years. Topics will be
selected from dynamics of rigid bodies in planar motion, oscillating systems,
wave theory, light, electromagnetism, atomic physics and semiconductor
physics.
Staff: tba
Unit weight: 12.5%
Teaching: 3 lectures, 1 tutorial weekly, 5x3-hr lab sessions
Prereq: KMA152, KMA154 and KNM112
Assess: exam (85%), lab and assignments (15%)
Required texts, etc:
tba
Courses: N3A
Physics 3A
Enrolment code: KYA301
Wave mechanics, electromagnetism and statistical physics
Offered: Hbt, sem 1
Unit description: Topics include Schroedinger’s equation, one dimensional
and three dimensional applications such as the potential box, hydrogenic
atoms, angular momentum and uncertainty principle, identical particles, spin,
and the periodic table; atomic structure and spectroscopy, electromagnetic
waves, polarisation, coherence, waveguides and antennas, radiation, statistical
mechanics and applications including Maxwell-Boltzmann, Bose-Einstein and
Fermi-Dirac statistics. The laboratory program includes analogue and digital
electronics and their applications in experimental physics.
Staff: Prof PM McCulloch and others
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Unit details (Course and Unit Handbook 2002)
Unit weight: 25%
Teaching: 5 lectures, 6 lab hrs weekly, tutorial fortnightly
Prereq: KYA200 and KMA252
Mutual excl: KYA310 or equiv
Assess: 2x3-hr end-of-sem exams (75%), continuous assessment in electronics
(25%)
Courses: S3G
Physics 3B
Enrolment code: KYA302
Atomic, nuclear and solid state physics
Offered: Hbt, sem 2
Unit description: Topics include particle classification, interactions and the
standard model, nuclear structure physics, stability and decay, absorption,
x-ray diffraction and reciprocal lattice; lattice vibrations, Brillouin zones,
thermal properties, electrical properties, conduction, semiconductors, magnetic
properties and superconductivity. The laboratory program covers selected
experiments in physics.
Staff: Prof PM McCulloch and others
Unit weight: 12.5%
Teaching: 33 lectures, 6 tutorials, 39 hrs lab
Prereq: KYA200 and KMA252
Coreq: KYA301
Mutual excl: KYA311 or equiv
Assess: 3-hr end-of-sem exam (75%), lab reports (25%)
Courses: S3G
Physics 3C
Enrolment code: KYA303
Semi-conductor physics and astrophysics
Offered: Hbt, sem 2
Unit description: Provides a grounding in applied physics and astrophysics
for students intending to proceed to honours in experimental physics and for
students wishing to complete a second major while not intending to proceed
with physics. The laboratory program covers appropriate experiments.
Staff: Prof PM McCulloch and others
Unit weight: 12.5%
Teaching: 33 lectures, 6 tutorials, 39 hrs lab
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Unit details (Course and Unit Handbook 2002)
Prereq: KYA200 and KMA252
Coreq: KYA301 and KYA302
Mutual excl: KYA312 or equiv
Assess: 3-hr end-of-sem exam (75%), lab reports (25%)
Courses: S3G
Dynamical Systems and Chaos
Enrolment code: KYA314
Offered: Hbt, sem 2
Special note: offered only in odd-numbered years
Unit description: Provides a grounding in theoretical physics, for students
interested in doing Honours in Theoretical Physics or Applied Mathematics.
Topics covered include: Linear and Non-linear systems, examples. Phase plane
and phase space. The Hartmann Linearisation theorem. Co-dimension 1
bifurcations; saddle-node, pitchfork and Hopf bifurcations. Limit cycles and
oscillations. Global bifurcations. Homoclinic and heteroclinic orbits.
Characterisation of chaos. Routes to chaos, period doubling, secondary Hopf
bifurcations, intermittency. Homoclinic chaos. Mel’nikov theory.
Staff: Prof LK Forbes
Unit weight: 12.5%
Teaching: 3 lectures, 1 tutorial weekly
Prereq: (KYA201 and KYA202 and KMA254) or (KYA275 and KME271)
Mutual excl: KYA304
Assess: 3-hr end-of-sem exam (80%), assignments (20%)
Recommended reading:
Guckenheimer J and Holmes P, Nonlinear Oscillations, Dynamical Systems, and
Bifurcations of Vector Fields, ISBN 0387908196
Courses: S3G
Fluid Mechanics
Enrolment code: KYA315
Offered: Not offered in 2001
Special note: offered only in even-numbered years
Unit description: Provides a grounding in theoretical physics, for students
interested in doing Honours in Theoretical Physics or Applied Mathematics.
Topics covered include: Introduction to the state of stress in a continuum.
Lagrangian and Eulerian descriptions of motion. Conservation laws for mass
and momentum. Inviscid flow. Elementary sources and sinks. The use of
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Unit details (Course and Unit Handbook 2002)
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complex-variable methods for ideal fluid flow in two dimensions. Conformal
mapping. Airfoil theory, wings, the Kutta-Joukowski theorem. Viscous flow.
Exact solutions. Boundary layers, viscosity and turbulence. Surface waves.
Staff: Prof LK Forbes
Unit weight: 12.5%
Teaching: 3 lectures, 1 tutorial weekly
Prereq: (KYA201 and KYA202 and KMA252) or (KYA275 and KME271)
Assess: 3-hr end-of-sem exam (80%), assignments (20%)
Recommended reading:
Batchelor GK, An introduction to fluid dynamics, ISBN 0521098173
Milne-Thomson LM, Theoretical Hydrodynamics, ISBN 0333078764
Courses: S3G
Physics 2 (Engineering)
Enrolment code: KYA375
Offered: Hbt, sem 1
Special note: restricted to Engineering students
Unit description: Covers Electromagnetism – electrostatics; Gauss’s law and
applications; gradient and divergence; electric energy; dielectrics; currents and
electromotive force; electromagnetism; Ampere’s law; curl of a vector;
Biot-Savart law; Faraday’s law and applications; magnetic materials; Maxwell’s
equations; and electromagnetic waves.
Staff: Dr JE Humble
Unit weight: 7.5%
Teaching: 2 lectures, 1 tutorial weekly
Prereq: ACM100
Assess: 2-hr end-of-sem exam, assignments
Courses: N3A
Physics 4 (Honours)
Enrolment code: KYA410/411
Full time/Part time
Offered: Hbt, sem 1&2
Special note: full-time students enrol in KYA410 (100%); part-time students in
KYA411 (50%)
Unit description: Includes: (a) advanced lectures on a number of fields of
Physics – Plasma physics; Astrophysics; Advanced quantum mechanics;
Unit details (Course and Unit Handbook 2002)
General relativity and cosmology; and Auroral physics; and (b) Research work
(leading to a thesis) in one of the following – Radio astronomy; Optical
astronomy; Theoretical physics
Staff: Prof PM McCulloch and others
Unit weight: 100%/50%
Teaching: 8 lectures weekly in sem1, research program throughout the year
Prereq: BSc with major in Physics or equivalent
Assess: combination of exams on coursework and quality of research thesis. A
seminar talk in mid-Nov will be taken into consideration in determining
the final result of the year
Courses: S4E S6X
Graduate Diploma in Science with Honours,
specialising in Physics
Enrolment code: KYA510/511
Unit description: Has the same objectives as KYA410/411. Full time/part
time ‘umbrella’ code.
Courses:
S6X
Honours unit
Enrolment code: KYA583
Unit description: Students enrolled in the Graduate Diploma in Science,
specialising in Physics, course who undertake units from Physics honours
courses use this code if enrolling in an 8.33% unit.
Courses:
S6D
Honours unit
Enrolment code: KYA586
Unit description: Students enrolled in the Graduate Diploma of Science,
specialising in Physics, course who undertake units from Physics honours
courses use this code if enrolling in two 8.33% units or a single 16.67% unit.
Courses:
S6D
Honours unit
Enrolment code: KYA589
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Unit details (Course and Unit Handbook 2002)
Unit description: Students enrolled in the Graduate Diploma in Science,
specialising in Physics, course who undertake units from Physics honours
courses use this code if enrolling in units with a total weight of 25%.
Courses:
S6D
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