PH30028: Condensed matter physics 2
[Page last updated: 23 October 2023]
| Academic Year: | 2023/24 |
| Owning Department/School: | Department of Physics |
| Credits: | 6 [equivalent to 12 CATS credits] |
| Notional Study Hours: | 120 |
| Level: | Honours (FHEQ level 6) |
| Period: |
- Semester 1
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| Assessment Summary: | EX 100% |
| Assessment Detail: | |
| Supplementary Assessment: |
- Like-for-like reassessment (where allowed by programme regulations)
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| Requisites: |
Before taking this module you must ( take PH20017 OR take PH20063 ) AND ( take PH20020 OR take MA20223 OR take PH20107 ) AND ( take PH20029 OR take PH20067 )
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| Learning Outcomes: |
After taking this unit the student should be able to:
* relate the electronic, optical and mechanical properties of real crystals to their defects;
* make quantitative estimates of the parameters that govern the behaviour of real solids;
* describe the structure and properties of amorphous solids;
* describe, compare and contrast experimental probes of solid surfaces;
* describe the structure, phase behaviour, and diffusive properties of polymers, colloids and liquid crystals;
* describe the principal structural and relaxational properties of solid, liquid, and soft matter glasses in terms of simple models.
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| Aims: | The aims of this unit are to introduce areas of condensed matter physics that extend beyond the conventional domain of regular, infinite, crystalline solids.
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| Skills: | Numeracy T/F A, Problem Solving T/F A.
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| Content: | Real solids (3 hours): Defects in crystals; point defects and dislocations in crystals. Effect on electronic, optical and mechanical properties. Point defects in thermal equilibrium. Self diffusion. Ionic conductivity. Colour centres.
Surface physics (9 hours): Clean and real surfaces, UHV. Surface energy; nearest neighbour bond model and tight-binding model. Surface nets and unit meshes, reconstructions, adsorbates, the work function. Auger, UV and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, ARPES. Reciprocal nets and diffraction. LEED, tunnelling and introduction to scanning probe microscopy techniques.
Soft condensed matter (10 hours): Introduction and overview: Characteristic features, sedimentation, Brownian motion and random walks. Colloids: Diffusion, the Stokes-Einstein relation. Interacting colloid particles: phase behaviour, crystals and glasses. Polymers: Chemical structure, models for the conformations of polymers - freely-jointed chain, freely-rotating chain, excluded volume effects. Concentrated polymer solutions. Surfactants:
Chemical structure and self-assembled structures. Glass: Glass forming systems, relaxation time and viscosity, simple models of the glass transition.
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| Course availability: |
PH30028 is Compulsory on the following courses:
Department of Chemistry
- USSC-AFM01 : MSci(Hons) Natural Sciences (Physics with Biology stream) (Year 3)
- USSC-AAM01 : MSci(Hons) Natural Sciences (Physics with Biology stream) with Study year abroad (Year 4)
- USSC-AKM01 : MSci(Hons) Natural Sciences (Physics with Biology stream) with Professional Placement (Year 4)
- USSC-AFM01 : MSci(Hons) Natural Sciences (Physics with Chemistry stream) (Year 3)
- USSC-AAM01 : MSci(Hons) Natural Sciences (Physics with Chemistry stream) with Study year abroad (Year 4)
- USSC-AKM01 : MSci(Hons) Natural Sciences (Physics with Chemistry stream) with Professional Placement (Year 4)
PH30028 is Optional on the following courses:
Department of Chemistry
- USSC-AFB01 : BSc(Hons) Natural Sciences (Biology with Physics stream) (Year 3)
- USSC-AAB01 : BSc(Hons) Natural Sciences (Biology with Physics stream) with Study year abroad (Year 4)
- USSC-AKB01 : BSc(Hons) Natural Sciences (Biology with Physics stream) with Year long work placement (Year 4)
- USSC-AFB01 : BSc(Hons) Natural Sciences (Chemistry with Physics stream) (Year 3)
- USSC-AAB01 : BSc(Hons) Natural Sciences (Chemistry with Physics stream) with Study year abroad (Year 4)
- USSC-AKB01 : BSc(Hons) Natural Sciences (Chemistry with Physics stream) with Year long work placement (Year 4)
- USSC-AFB01 : BSc(Hons) Natural Sciences (Environmental Science with Physics stream) (Year 3)
- USSC-AAB01 : BSc(Hons) Natural Sciences (Environmental Science with Physics stream) with Study year abroad (Year 4)
- USSC-AKB01 : BSc(Hons) Natural Sciences (Environmental Science with Physics stream) with Year long work placement (Year 4)
- USSC-AFB01 : BSc(Hons) Natural Sciences (Physics with Biology stream) (Year 3)
- USSC-AAB01 : BSc(Hons) Natural Sciences (Physics with Biology stream) with Study year abroad (Year 4)
- USSC-AKB01 : BSc(Hons) Natural Sciences (Physics with Biology stream) with Year long work placement (Year 4)
- USSC-AFB01 : BSc(Hons) Natural Sciences (Physics with Chemistry stream) (Year 3)
- USSC-AAB01 : BSc(Hons) Natural Sciences (Physics with Chemistry stream) with Study year abroad (Year 4)
- USSC-AKB01 : BSc(Hons) Natural Sciences (Physics with Chemistry stream) with Year long work placement (Year 4)
- USSC-AFB01 : BSc(Hons) Natural Sciences (Physics with Environmental Science stream) (Year 3)
- USSC-AAB01 : BSc(Hons) Natural Sciences (Physics with Environmental Science stream) with Study year abroad (Year 4)
- USSC-AKB01 : BSc(Hons) Natural Sciences (Physics with Environmental Science stream) with Year long work placement (Year 4)
- USSC-AFM01 : MSci(Hons) Natural Sciences (Biology with Physics stream) (Year 3)
- USSC-AAM01 : MSci(Hons) Natural Sciences (Biology with Physics stream) with Study year abroad (Year 4)
- USSC-AKM01 : MSci(Hons) Natural Sciences (Biology with Physics stream) with Professional Placement (Year 4)
- USSC-AFM01 : MSci(Hons) Natural Sciences (Chemistry with Physics stream) (Year 3)
- USSC-AAM01 : MSci(Hons) Natural Sciences (Chemistry with Physics stream) with Study year abroad (Year 4)
- USSC-AKM01 : MSci(Hons) Natural Sciences (Chemistry with Physics stream) with Professional Placement (Year 4)
Department of Physics
- USXX-AFB03 : BSc(Hons) Mathematics and Physics (Year 3)
- USXX-AAB04 : BSc(Hons) Mathematics and Physics with Study year abroad (Year 4)
- USXX-AKB04 : BSc(Hons) Mathematics and Physics with Year long work placement (Year 4)
- USPH-AFB01 : BSc(Hons) Physics (Year 3)
- USPH-AAB02 : BSc(Hons) Physics with Study year abroad (Year 4)
- USPH-AKB02 : BSc(Hons) Physics with Year long work placement (Year 4)
- USPH-AFB10 : BSc(Hons) Physics with Astrophysics (Year 3)
- USPH-AAB10 : BSc(Hons) Physics with Astrophysics with Study year abroad (Year 4)
- USPH-AKB10 : BSc(Hons) Physics with Astrophysics with Year long work placement (Year 4)
- USPH-AFM02 : MPhys(Hons) Physics (Year 3)
- USPH-AFM04 : MPhys(Hons) Physics with Research placement (Year 3)
- USPH-AAM12 : MPhys(Hons) Physics with Study year abroad (Year 4)
- USPH-AKM03 : MPhys(Hons) Physics with Professional Placement (Year 4)
- USPH-AKM04 : MPhys(Hons) Physics with Professional and Research Placements (Year 4)
- USPH-AFM10 : MPhys(Hons) Physics with Astrophysics (Year 3)
- USPH-AFM11 : MPhys(Hons) Physics with Astrophysics with Research placement (Year 3)
- USPH-AAM14 : MPhys(Hons) Physics with Astrophysics with Study year abroad (Year 4)
- USPH-AKM10 : MPhys(Hons) Physics with Astrophysics with Professional Placement (Year 4)
- USPH-AKM11 : MPhys(Hons) Physics with Astrophysics with Professional and Research Placements (Year 4)
- USPH-AAM15 : MPhys(Hons) Physics with Astrophysics with Study year abroad and Research Placement (Year 4)
- USPH-AAM13 : MPhys(Hons) Physics with Study year abroad and Research Placement (Year 4)
- USXX-AFM01 : MSci(Hons) Mathematics and Physics (Year 4)
- USXX-AAM01 : MSci(Hons) Mathematics and Physics with Study year abroad (Year 5)
- USXX-AKM01 : MSci(Hons) Mathematics and Physics with Year long work placement (Year 5)
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Notes: - This unit catalogue is applicable for the 2023/24 academic year only. Students continuing their studies into 2024/25 and beyond should not assume that this unit will be available in future years in the format displayed here for 2023/24.
- Courses and units are subject to change in accordance with normal University procedures.
- Availability of units will be subject to constraints such as staff availability, minimum and maximum group sizes, and timetabling factors as well as a student's ability to meet any pre-requisite rules.
- Find out more about these and other important University terms and conditions here.
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