Department of Physics

Physics Course Descriptions (PHYS)

This site contains descriptions of all courses approved by the Department of Physics at Bitzeit University which have been offered in the last four years. Many courses listed here are not offered every semester. Please contact the deparment or the registration office to find out whether a course is offered in a given semester. The following is a list of courses offered:

Undergraduate Courses

Phys 111, Phys 112, Phys 141, Phys 132, Phys 211, Phys 212, Phys 231, Phys 232, Phys 233, Phys 234, Phys 235, Phys 331, Phys 332, Phys 333, Phys 334, Phys 335, Phys 336, Phys 337, Phys 338, Phys 339, Phys 411, Phys 430, Phys 431, Phys 432, Phys 433, Phys 434, Phys 435, Phys 436, Phys 437, Phys 438.

Graduate Courses

Phys 610, Phys 621, Phys 632, Phys 633, Phys 635, Phys 636, Phys 730, Phys 731, Phys 732, Phys 733, Phys 734, Phys 735, Phys 736, Phys 830, Phys 831, Phys 860.

 

Course Number	Course Name	Credit Hours
111	General Physics Lab 1	1
Survey of basic laboratory techniques and methods; taking measurements, data evaluation and report writing with application to selected experiments in mechanics, heat, optics and electricity (Lab 3hrs.).
112	General Physics Lab 2	1
Experiments in electricity and magnetism including electrostatics, magneto-statics, DC and AC circuits and applied electric circuits (Lab 3hrs.). Prerequisite: PHYS132 or concurrent, PHYS111
141	General Physics 1	4
Newton's laws of motion and their applications; mechanical conservation laws; motion of rigid bodies; fluid mechanics, oscillations and the law of universal gravitation (Lecture 3hrs, Discussion 1hr). Prerequisite: MATH141 or concurrent
132	General Physics 2	3
Electrostatics; Magnetic field and induction; direct and alternating current circuits; dielectrics; magnetic materials; Introduction to Maxwell's equations and electromagnetic waves and geometrical optics (Lecture 2hrs, Discussion 1hr). Prerequisite: PHYS141, MATH132 or concurrent
211	General Physics Lab 3	1
Experiments in mechanics, heat, waves and fluids (Lab 3hrs). Prerequisite: PHYS111, PHYS231 or concurrent

Course Number	Course Name	Credit Hours
212	Modern Physics Lab	1
Experiments in modern physics and physical optics including atomic spectra, radioactivity and various quantum phenomena (Lab 3hrs). Prerequisite: PHYS112, PHYS232 or concurrent
231	General Physics 3	3
Waves and sound, physical optics, heat the laws of thermodynamics and the kinetic theory of gases, introduction to modern physics including relativistic kinematics and the quantum theory. Prerequisite: PHYS141
232	Modern Physics	3
Wave-particle duality, Schrödinger equation, atomic structure and many-electron atoms, introduction to solid state physics, relativistic dynamics, nuclear physics and elementary particles and instruments used in their study. Prerequisite: PHYS231, MATH231
233	Astronomy	3
The Earth and its atmosphere, the solar system, stars, light dispersion, galaxies, cosmic physics, instruments used in astronomy. Prerequisite: PHYS141
234	Medical Physics	3
Applying physics to hearing, vision and nervous systems in the human body, use of ultrasonic waves, lasers, X-rays and nuclear radiation for imaging, diagnosis and treatment. Prerequisite: PHYS132

Course Number	Course Name	Credit Hours
235	Meteorology	3
Atmosphere structure and components, winds, clouds, rain, and snow, effects of temperature, pressure, and humidity, measurement instruments and weather forecasting. Prerequisite: PHYS141
331	Electromagnetic Theory 1	3
Electrostatics, solutions of Poisson's and Laplace's equations, dielectric media; electrostatic energy, magnetic induction and Ampere's law, magnetic properties of matter and magnetic energy, electromagnetic induction, Maxwell's equations and the wave equation. Prerequisite: PHYS132, MATH331
332	Electromagnetic Theory 2	3
Slowly varying currents, propagation of electromagnetic waves in infinite and bounded media, microscopic theory of dielectrics, magnetic materials and optical dispersion, radiation emission and electrodynamics, Lorentz covariant formulation of electrodynamics, superconductivity, plasma physics. Prerequisite: PHYS331
333	Mechanics 1	3
Kinematics and dynamics of a particle in one, two and three dimensions with emphasis on the oscillator and central force problems, Lagrangian formulation and Hamilton's equations. Prerequisite: PHYS141, MATH231, MATH331
334	Mechanics 2	3
Motion of a system of particles and rigid bodies' gravitation; waves in continuous media; moving coordinate systems and relativistic dynamics. Prerequisite: PHYS333

Course Number	Course Name	Credit Hours
335	Optics	3
Electromagnetic waves, matrix methods in geometrical optics, reflection, refraction and propagation of light, waveguides, interference, diffraction and polarization, Fourier optics, coherence theory and an introduction to lasers. Prerequisite: PHYS231, MATH231
336	Analog Electronics	3
Transistors (BJTs and FETs) and their uses in amplifier circuits, multistage amplifier circuits, operational amplifiers, feedback circuits and their uses in amplification and oscillator circuits, power supplies (Lecture 2hrs, Lab 3hrs). Prerequisite: PHYS112, PHYS132
337	Digital Electronics	3
Circuits with Logic gates and flip-flops, the design of integrated circuits, memory, A/D and D/A conversions, microprocessor circuits and digital computers (Lecture 2hrs, Lab 3hrs). Prerequisite: PHYS112
338	Computational Physics	3
An introduction to the utility of computers in physics, numerical methods in physics including numerical differentiation and integration, systems of linear equations, solutions to ordinary and partial differential equations, modeling and simulations, Molecular dynamics and Monte Carlo methods. Prerequisite: MATH331, COMP234
339	Automation Using Computers	3
A general introduction to the architecture and uses of microcomputers, basics of data acquisition and control using computers, analog to digital and digital to analog conversion, data collection and control using communication methods: parallel and serial techniques, methods of data analysis in experimental physics, virtual instruments, and advanced programming techniques for laboratory automation. Prerequisite: PHYS337

Course Number	Course Name	Credit Hours
411	Seminar in Physics	1
Papers and talks on selected topics in physics prepared and given by the students under the supervision of the physics staff, students are introduced to physics journals and specialized texts. Prerequisite: Department approval
430	Advanced Physics Lab	3
Selected advanced level experiments from various fields of physics aiming at giving the student more experience in experimental work and exposing him to the methods and techniques of modern experimental research (Lecture 1hr, Lab 6hrs). Prerequisite: PHYS212, PHYS336
431	Thermal and Statistical Physics	3
Statistical description of systems of particles; statistical thermodynamics with application to macroscopic thermodynamics, foundations of statistical mechanics with applications, quantum statistics and ideal gases, kinetic theory and transport phenomena. Prerequisite: PHYS232
432	Mathematical Methods of Physics	3
Coordinate systems, determinants, matrices and group theory; conformal mapping and calculus of residues, Frobenius method and Green's function solutions of the differential equations of physics, Sturm-Liouville theory, Hilbert space and orthogonal functions, integral equations and the calculus of variations. Prerequisite: PHYS232, MATH332
433	Quantum Mechanics	3
Foundations and basic postulates of the quantum theory, Schroedinger's wave equation with applications to one dimensional problems, coordinate and momentum representation, the formal structure of quantum mechanics, angular momentum, central forces and matrix representation. Prerequisite: PHYS232, PHYS333

Course Number	Course Name	Credit Hours
434	Atomic and Molecular Physics	3
Methods of approximation in quantum mechanics, angular momentum coupling schemes in atoms and molecules, hyperfine structure of energy levels, vibrational and rotational spectra Stark effect and experimental methods in spectroscopy. Prerequisite: PHYS433
435	Nuclear Physics and Elementary Particles	3
The deuteron; nuclear forces, nuclear models with applications, theories of alpha beta decays and gamma transitions and decay constants, nuclear reactions and elementary particles. Prerequisite: PHYS433 or concurrent
436	Solid State Physics	3
Crystal structure and diffraction, phonons and lattice vibrations, the free electron model; energy bands in solids, semi-conductors, Fermi surfaces, magnetic properties of crystals and superconductors. Prerequisite: PHYS433 or concurrent.
437	Independent Study in Physics	3
Independent study or research conducted by the student under the guidance of a staff member. A written report is required. Prerequisite: Fourth year standing and department approval
438	Special Topic in Physics	3
Study of topics in physics selected according to the interests and needs of students and availability of staff (Lecture 3hrs, or 1hr, Lab 6hrs). Prerequisite: Department approval

Course Number	Course Name	Credit Hours
610	Research Methodology	1
Principles of research and the scientific method, literature searching and scientific writing, accuracy and scientific  honesty
621	Mathematical Physics I	3
Vector and tensor analysis, Diagnolization of matrices, functions of a complex variable, calculus of residues, Sturm-Liouville Theorem, Gamma and Beta functions.
632	Classical Mechanics	3
Variational principle, Lagrangian Mechanics, constraints, symmetry and conservation laws, non-potential forces, scattering, linear oscillations, Hamiltonian formulation, canonical transformations, Poisson Brackets.
633	Electromagnetic Theory I	3
Electrostatics, boundary value problems, multipole expansions, microscopic model of matter, magnetostatics.
635	Quantum Mechanics	3
Mathematical formulation of quantum theory, the simple harmonic oscillator, theory of angular momentum, the hydrogen atom, time-independent and time dependent perturbation theory, identical particles, scattering theory.

Course Number	Course Name	Credit Hours
636	Statistical Mechanics	3
Statistical basis of thermodynamics; micro-canonical, canonical and grand canonical ensembles; classical statistical mechanics; quantum statistical mechanics, theory of the density matrix; fluctuations, noise, irreversible thermodynamics; transport theory; application to gases, liquids and solids.
730	Electromagnetic Theory II	3
Maxwell's equations, potentials and gauge transformations; electromagnetic waves; wave guides; electromagnetic radiation; relativistic electrodynamics. Prerequisite: PHY 633
731	Mathematical Physics II	3
Partial differential equations, Green's function, Bessel functions, Legendre functions and the spherical harmonics, Hermite and Laguerre functions, Fourier series, group theory. Prerequisite: PHY 621
732	Atomic and Molecular Physics	3
Atomic structure, Hartree-Fock approximation, Thomas-Fermi model, Stark and Zeeman effects, fine and hyperfine structures of atomic spectra, molecular structure and spectra, the interaction of atoms and radiation, first-order and higher-order radiation processes, laser theory, Bose-Einstein condensation.
733	Solid State Physics	3
Structure of condensed matter and scattering of various particles, electronic band structure of solids, motion of band electrons in external fields, superconductivity, magnetism, dielectric properties of materials.

Course Number	Course Name	Credit Hours
734	Nuclear and Particle Physics	3
Nuclear stability and the structure of nuclei, the Shell model and nuclear excitations, the Parton Model and Feynman diagrams, cross- sections, high-energy scattering processes and particle production, elementary particles and the forces between them, Quarks and Leptons, weak, electromagnetic, and strong interactions, symmetries and different flavors, introduction to different experiments built to study particles and the techniques used, classification of particles.
735	Quantum Field Theory	3
Classical fields, Lorentz and translation symmetry and conservation laws, Lagrangian and Hamiltonian formulations, functional integral formulation of field theories, field quantization, relativistic wave equations and their solutions, bosons and fermions, Dirac equation and fields, scalar, vector, tensor and spinor fields and their associated particles, path-integral formalism, perturbation theory, scattering and decay of particles, Quantum Electrodynamics (QED) and introduction to non-abelian gauge field theories. Prerequisite: PHY 632 and 635
736	Special Topics	3
An advanced course in a selected Physics topic
830	Seminar I	3
An advanced study in a field of Physics for non-thesis students. Students taking this option must submit by the end of the course a substantial report or develop a project and present it orally. Prerequisite: Passing at least 12 credit hours
831	Seminar II	3
An advanced study in a field of Physics for non-thesis students. Students taking this option must submit by the end of the course a substantial report or develop a project and present it orally. The project can be either a continuation of Seminar I or different from it. Prerequisite: Passing at least 12 credit hours
860	Thesis	6
Students in the Master's program in the thesis track must submit and successfully defend a Master's thesis in a field of interest in Physics. The program council must have approved the topic of the thesis. (For students with thesis track only).Prerequisite: Passing at least 12 credit hours & the permission of the department.