2011-2012 Bulletin – PDF - SEAS Bulletin - Columbia University

APPH E4110x Modern optics
3 pts. Lect: 3. Not offered in 2011–2012.
Prerequisite: APPH E3300. Ray optics,
matrix formulation, wave effects, interference,
Gaussian beams, Fourier optics, diffraction,
image formation, electromagnetic theory of light,
polarization and crystal optics, coherence, guided
wave and fiber optics, optical elements, photons,
selected topics in nonlinear optics.
APPH E4112y Laser physics
3 pts. Lect: 3. Not offered in 2011–2012.
Prerequisites: Recommended but not required:
APPH E3100 and E3300 or their equivalents.
Optical resonators, interaction of radiation and
atomic systems, theory of laser oscillation, specific
laser systems, rate processes, modulation,
detection, harmonic generation, and applications.
CHAP E4120x Statistical mechanics
3 pts. Lect: 3. Professor O’Shaughnessy.
Prerequisite: CHEN E3210 or equivalent
thermodynamics course, or instructor’s
permission. Fundamental principles and
underlying assumptions of statistical mechanics.
Boltzmann’s entropy hypothesis and its
restatement in terms of Helmholtz and Gibbs
free energies and for open systems. Correlation
times and lengths. Exploration of phase space
and observation timescale. Correlation functions.
Fermi-Dirac and Bose-Einstein statistics.
Fluctuation-response theory. Applications to ideal
gases, interfaces, liquid crystals, microemulsions
and other complex fluids, polymers, Coulomb
gas, interactions between charged polymers and
charged interfaces, ordering transitions.
APPH E4130x Physics of solar energy
3 pts. Lect: 3. Professor Chen.
Prerequisites: General physics (PHYS C1403
or C1602) and mathematics, including ordinary
differential equations and complex numbers
(such as MATH V1202 or E1210) or permission
of instructor. The physics of solar energy
including solar radiation, the analemma,
atmospheric efforts, thermodynamics of solar
energy, physics of solar cells, energy storage
and transmission, and physics and economics
in the solar era.
APPH E4200x Physics of fluids
3 pts. Lect: 3. Professor Mauel.
Prerequisites: APMA E3102 or equivalent; PHYS
C1401 or C1601 or equivalent. An introduction
to the physical behavior of fluids for science
and engineering students. Derivation of basic
equations of fluid dynamics: conservation of
mass, momentum, and energy. Dimensional
analysis. Vorticity. Laminar boundary layers.
Potential flow. Effects of compressibility,
stratification, and rotation. Waves on a free
surface; shallow water equations. Turbulence.
APPH E4210y Geophysical fluid dynamics
3 pts. Lect: 3. Professor Polvani.
Prerequisites: APMA E3101, E3102 (or
equivalents) and APPH E4200 (or equivalent), or
permission from instructor. Fundamental concepts
in the dynamics of rotating, stratified flows.
Geostrophic and hydrostatic balances, potential
vorticity, f and beta plane approximations, gravity
and Rossby waves, geostrophic adjustment
and quasigeostrophy, baroclinic and barotropic
instabilities, Sverdrup balance, boundary
currents, Ekman layers.
APPH E4300x Applied electrodynamics
3 pts. Lect: 3. Professor Navratil.
Prerequisite: APPH E3300. Overview of
properties and interactions of static electric and
magnetic fields. Study of phenomena of time
dependent electric and magnetic fields including
induction, waves, and radiation as well as special
relativity. Applications are emphasized.
APPH E4301y Introduction to plasma physics
3 pts. Lect: 3. Instructor to be announced.
Prerequisite: PHYS W3008 or APPH E3300.
Definition of a plasma. Plasmas in laboratories
and nature, plasma production. Motion of
charged particles in electric and magnetic
fields, adiabatic invariants. Heuristic treatment
of collisions, diffusion, transport, and resistivity.
Plasma as a conducting fluid. Electrostatic and
magnetostatic equilibria of plasmas. Waves
in cold plasmas. Demonstration of laboratory
plasma behavior, measurement of plasma
properties. Illustrative problems in fusion, space,
and nonneutral or beam plasmas.
APPH E4500y Health physics
3 pts. Lect: 3. Professor Christman.
Prerequisite: APPH E4600 or Corequisite: APPH
E4600. This course presents the fundamental
principles of health physics: the physics of dose
deposition, radiation dosimetry, elementary
shielding and radiation protection devices,
description and proper use (calibration and
maintenance) of health physics instrumentation,
and the regulatory and administrative
requirements of health physics programs.
APPH E4501y Medical health physics tutorial
0 pts.
Prerequisite: Permission of the course
coordinator. Required for, and limited to, M.S.
degree candidates in the Medical Physics
Program. Course addresses procedures for
personnel and area monitoring, radiation and
contamination surveys, instrument calibration,
radioactive waste disposal, radiation safety
compliance, licensure requirements, and other
matters contributing to professional competence
in the field of medical health physics. Course
includes lectures, seminars, tours, and hand-on
experience. This two-week tutorial is offered
immediately following spring semester final
examinations and is taken for Pass/Fail only.
APPH E4550y Medical physics seminar
0 pts. Lect: 1.
Required for all graduate students in the Medical
Physics Program. Practicing professionals and
faculty in the field present selected topics in
medical physics.
APPH E4600x Fundamentals of radiological
physics and radiation dosimetry
3 pts. Lect: 3. Professor Meli.
Prerequisite: APPH E4010 or Corequisite:
APPH E4010. Basic radiation physics:
radioactive decay, radiation producing devices,
characteristics of the different types of radiation
(photons, charged and uncharged particles)
and mechanisms of their interactions with
materials. Essentials of the determination, by
measurement and calculation, of absorbed
doses from ionizing radiation sources used in
medical physics (clinical) situations and for
health physics purposes.
APBM E4650x Anatomy for physicists and
engineers
3 pts. Lect: 3. Members of the faculty.
Prerequisite: Engineering or physics background.
A systemic approach to the study of the human
body from a medical imaging point of view:
skeletal, respiratory, cardiovascular, digestive,
and urinary systems, breast and women’s issues,
head and neck, and central nervous system.
Lectures are reinforced by examples from clinical
two- and three-dimensional and functional
imaging (CT, MRI, PET, SPECT, U/S, etc.).
APPH E4710x-E4711y Radiation instrumentation
and measurement laboratory, I and II
3 pts. Lect: 1. Lab: 4. Professor Arbo.
Prerequisite: APPH E4010 or Corequisite: APPH
E4010. Laboratory fee: $50 each term. E4710:
theory and use of alpha, beta, gamma, and
x-ray detectors and associated electronics for
counting, energy spectroscopy, and dosimetry;
radiation safety; counting statistics and error
propagation; mechanisms of radiation emission
and interaction. E4711, prerequisite APPH
E4710: additional detector types; applications
and systems including coincidence, low-level, and
liquid scintillation counting; neutron activation;
TLD dosimetry; gamma camera imaging.
APPH E4901x Seminar: problems in applied
physics
1 pt. Lect: 1. Professor Herman.
This course is required for, and can be taken
only by, all applied physics majors and minors
in the junior year. Discussion of specific and
self-contained problems in areas such as applied
electrodynamics, physics of solids, and plasma
physics. Topics change yearly.
APPH E4903x Seminar: problems in applied
physics
2 pts. Lect: 1. Tutorial:1. Professor Herman.
This course is required for, and can be taken
only by, all applied physics majors in the
senior year. Discussion of specific and selfcontained
problems in areas such as applied
electrodynamics, physics of solids, and plasma
physics. Formal presentation of a term paper
required. Topics change yearly.
APPH E4990x and y Special topics in applied
physics
1–3 pts. Not offered in 2011–2012.
Prerequisite: Permission of the instructor. This
course may be repeated for credit. Topics
and instructors change from year to year. For
advanced undergraduate students and graduate
students in engineering, physical sciences, and
other fields.
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engineering 2011–2012