Calendar 2005-2006 - The University of Akron

267,8 LIFE SCIENCE PHYSICS COMPUTATIONS I AND II 1 credit each
Corequisites: 261 (with 267); 262 (with 268). Optional companion courses to 261,2 provides additional
computational experience in applications of physics to life sciences, emphasizing use of algebra and
trigonometry. Particularly recommended for student with modest mathematical preparation.
291 ELEMENTARY CLASSICAL PHYSICS I 4 credits
Prerequisite: Completion of 3450:221 with a passing grade. Introductory physics for students of science
and engineering. Classical kinematics and dynamics as related to contemporary physics.
Oscillations, thermodynamics. Vectors and some calculus introduced as needed. Includes laboratory
activities.
292 ELEMENTARY CLASSICAL PHYSICS II 4 credits
Prerequisite: completion of 291 with a passing grade. Fluid mechanics, mechanical and electromagnetic
waves and wave phenomena, basic laws of electromagnetism, interference and diffraction,
coherence, geometrical and physical optics. Includes laboratory activities.
293,4 PHYSICS COMPUTATIONS I AND II 1 credit each
Corequisite: 291 (with 293); 292 (with 294). Optional companion courses to 291,2 provides experience
in problem solving, and elaborates application of calculus to simple physical phenomena.
Particularly recommended for a freshman and for student with modest preparation in mathematics or
physical sciences.
301 ELEMENTARY MODERN PHYSICS 3 credits
Prerequisite: 292 or permission of instructor. Special relativity, introduction to quantum physics, hydrogen
atom and complex atoms, atomic spectra, topics in nuclear and solid-state physics.
322,3 INTERMEDIATE LABORATORY I AND II 3 credits each
Prerequisite: 262 or 292. Laboratory course stressing measurement techniques with contemporary
laboratory apparatus. Experiment design, instrument calibration and reporting emphasized. Modern
physics experiments and measurement of fundamental natural constants.
340 THERMAL PHYSICS 3 credits
Prerequisite: 262 or 292. Basic principles of thermal and statistical physics. Ensembles, laws of thermodynamics,
equilibrium, irreversibility, equipartition theorem, canonical distribution, Maxwell distribution,
phase changes, cyclic processes, transport processes.
350 MODELING AND SIMULATION 4 credits
Prerequisites: 292, or 262; one elementary course in Computer Science such as 3460:208 or 209; or
permission of instructor. An interdisciplinary course stressing modeling of natural phenomena using
fundamental principles, and their simulation. Topics may include growth phenomena, fault propagation,
kinetics, chemical reactions, wave phenomena.
399 UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH 1-6 credits
(May be repeated) Prerequisite: permission of instructor. Participation in current research project
in department under supervision of faculty member.
401/501 EVERYDAY PHYSICS 4 credits
Prerequisite: permission of instructor. College-level physics content for future teachers. Inquiry,
discovery, activities, discussion, and experiential learning take place in a laboratory/embeddedlecture
environment.
406/506 OPTICS 3 credits
Prerequisites: 291, 350 and 3450:335. Propagation, reflection and refraction of electromagnetic
waves, superposition, polarization, interference and interferometry, Fresnel and Fraunhofer diffraction,
Fourier optics, coherence theory and quantum optics.
431/531 MECHANICS I 3 credits
Prerequisites: 291, 350 and 3450:335. Mechanics at intermediate level. Newtonian mechanics,
motion of a particle in one dimension, central field problem, system of particles, conservation
laws, rigid bodies, and gravitation.
432/532 MECHANICS II 3 credits
Prerequisite: 431/531. Advanced mechanics at the senior or beginning graduate level, moving
coordinate systems, mechanics of continuous media, Lagrange’s equations, tensor algebra and
stress analysis, rotation of rigid bodies, vibration theory.
436/536 ELECTROMAGNETISM I 3 credits
Prerequisites: 291, 350, 3450:335 or permission of instructor. Electricity and magnetism at
intermediate level. Electrostatics and magnetostatics, electric field, scalar potential, dielectrics,
Laplqace’s and Poisson’s equations, currents, magnetic field, vector potential, magnetic materials,
and inductance.
437/537 ELECTROMAGNETISM II 3 credits
Prerequisite: 436/536. Special relativity, four vectors, Maxwell’s equations in covariant form;
propagation, reflection and refraction of electromagnetic waves; multipole radiation.
441/541 QUANTUM PHYSICS I 3 credits
Prerequisites: 301, 350 and 3450:335. Introduction to quantum theory, Schrödinger equation,
observables, angular momentum, perturbation theory, variational principle, bound states, scattering
theory, radiative interactions, spin and the Pauli Principle.
442/542 QUANTUM PHYSICS II 3 credits
Prerequisite: 441/541. Applications of quantum mechanics to atomic, nuclear and solid state
physics. Tunneling and alpha decay, periodic potential, hydrogen and helium atoms, interatomic
forces, quantum statistics.
451/551ADVANCED LABORATORY I 3 credits
Prerequisite: 323 or permission of instructor. Experimental techniques, applicable to researchtype
projects in contemporary physics. FT-IR spectroscopy, optical spectroscopy, lasers and
thin-film growth and characterization.
452/552 ADVANCED LABORATORY II 3 credits
Prerequisite: 323 or permission of instructor. Experimental projects applicable to contemporary
physics. Diode and dye lasers, NMR, SPM, chaos, electron tunneling and fiber optics.
470/570 INTRODUCTION TO SOLID-STATE PHYSICS 3 credits
Prerequisite: 441 or permission of instructor. Account of basic physical processes occurring in
solids, with emphasis on fundamental relation between these processes and periodicity of crystalline
lattice.
3700:Political Science 2005-2006 245
481,2/581,2 METHODS OF MATHEMATICAL PHYSICS I AND II 3 credits each
Prerequisites: 292, 350, 3450:335 and senior or graduate standing in a physical science or engineering.
Vectors, generalized coordinates, tensors, calculus of variations, vector spaces, linear
transformations, matrices, eigenvalues, Hilbert space, boundary value problems, transcendental
functions, complex variables, analytic functions, Green’s functions, integral equations.
488/588 SELECTED TOPICS: PHYSICS 1-4 credits
(May be repeated) Prerequisite: permission. Consideration of selected topics, procedures, techniques,
materials or apparatus of current interest in physics.
490/590 WORKSHOP 1-4 credits
(May be repeated) Group studies of special topics in physics. May not be used to meet undergraduate
or graduate major requirements in physics. May be used for elective credit only.
497/597 INDEPENDENT STUDY 1-4 credits
(May be repeated) Prerequisite: permission. Further investigations of various selected topics in
physics, under guidance of faculty member.
498/598 PHYSICS COLLOQUIUM 1credit
Lectures on current research topics in physics by invited speakers. May be repeated but only
one credit counts toward the M.S. Degree. Offered on a credit/noncredit basis only.
POLITICAL SCIENCE
3700:
100 GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS IN THE UNITED STATES 4 credits
Examination of American political system with emphasis on fundamental principles, ideas, institutions
and processes of modern government. Lecture and discussion sections (day classes
only).
150 WORLD POLITICS AND GOVERNMENTS 3 credits
Introduction to international politics and an examination of the governments and foreign policies
of selected states from a comparative perspective.
201 INTRODUCTION TO POLITICAL RESEARCH 3 credits
Introduction to the research process in political science through an introduction to the logic of
social science inquiry and contemporary techniques of analysis.
210 STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS 3 credits
Examination of institutions, processes and intergovernmental relations at state and local levels.
300 COMPARATIVE POLITICS 4 credits
Introduction to comparative political analysis; description of political systems of Great Britain,
France, Germany and Soviet Union; contrast between democracy and totalitarianism.
302 AMERICAN POLITICAL IDEAS 3 credits
Study of major thinkers and writers of American political thought.
303 INTRODUCTION TO POLITICAL THOUGHT 3 credits
Survey of major ideas and concepts of Western political theory from pre-Socrates through period
of Enlightenment.
304 MODERN POLITICAL THOUGHT 3 credits
Examination of central concepts of political thought from 19th Century to present. Modern liberalism,
communism, fascism and totalitarianism emphasized.
310 INTERNATIONAL POLITICS AND INSTITUTIONS 3 credits
Relations among nations examined in political context.
311 DEVELOPING STATES IN WORLD POLITICS 3 credits
Examines how developing states are conditioned by the global system and how they attempt to
modify it.
312 THE POLITICS OF INTERNATIONAL TRADE AND MONEY 3 credits
Prerequisite: 310 or permission of instructor. Examines trade and money as sources of international
power; focuses on the evolution of the Bretton Woods monetary and GATT trade
regimes.
320 BRITAIN AND THE COMMONWEALTH 3 credits
Description and analysis of government and politics of Great Britain and leading nations of the
Commonwealth.
321 WESTERN EUROPEAN POLITICS 3 credits
Description and analysis of government and politics of France, Germany, Italy and Switzerland,
with appropriate references to Scandinavia and Low Countries.
322 POLITICS OF POST-COMMUNIST STATES 3 credits
Examines the changing political policies and processes of select post-Communist states of the
former Soviet Union and East Central Europe.
323 POLITICS OF CHINA AND JAPAN 3 credits
Examination of governmental structures and political processes of China and Japan.
326 POLITICS OF DEVELOPING NATIONS 3 credits
General introduction to concepts and theories of political development and political institutions,
elite-recruitment and political processes of selected emerging nations.
327 AFRICAN POLITICS 3 credits
Examination of patterns of government and politics of nations south of Sahara.
328 AMERICAN FOREIGN POLICY PROCESS 3 credits
Examination of American foreign policy-making process; public opinion and other limitations on
policy; specific contemporary problems in selected foreign policy areas.
334 LAW, MEDIATION AND VIOLENCE 3 credits
A critical analysis of the practical challenges central to learning to better prevent, resolve or
reduce the harms associated with conflict.
335 LAW AND SOCIETY 3 credits
This course will examine how law constructs and constrains political conflict, and how legal institutions
mediate, reinforce, and challenge existing power relationships.