Undergraduate Course: Introduction to Condensed Matter Physics (PHYS10099)

Course Outline
School	School of Physics and Astronomy	College	College of Science and Engineering
Credit level (Normal year taken)	SCQF Level 10 (Year 4 Undergraduate)	Availability	Not available to visiting students
SCQF Credits	10	ECTS Credits	5
Summary	The course covers three main topics: structure of solids, electrons in solids, and an introduction to soft condensed matter physics. The aim is to give a firm grounding in these core concepts. Two thirds of the course will be focused on providing a basic understand- ing of the electrical, optical, thermal and mechanical properties of solids and condensed matter. The remaining third will give an introduction to materials which are not solid, or crystalline, and neither liquids, but are still condensed matter, such as glasses or amor- phous solids, gels and liquid crystals. Given the enormous diversity of such systems, the emphasis will be on a qualitative understanding of the key ideas.
Course description	Crystal structure and crystal lattices

Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
Pre-requisites		Co-requisites
Prohibited Combinations		Other requirements	None

Course Delivery Information

Academic year 2015/16, Not available to visiting students (SS1)		Quota: None
Course Start	Semester 1
Timetable	Timetable
Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info)	Total Hours: 100 ( Lecture Hours 22, Supervised Practical/Workshop/Studio Hours 10, Summative Assessment Hours 2, Revision Session Hours 4, Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 2, Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours 60 )
Assessment (Further Info)	Written Exam 80 %, Coursework 20 %, Practical Exam 0 %
Additional Information (Assessment)	80% exam 20% coursework
Feedback	Not entered
Exam Information
Exam Diet	Paper Name		Hours & Minutes
Main Exam Diet S1 (December)	Introduction to Condensed Matter Physics		2:00

Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of this course it is intended that a student will be able to: 1) Demonstrate an understanding of the crystal lattice and how the main lattice types are described; 2) Appreciate the different bonding types in solids; 3) State the eigenstates of the free electron gas, sketch the free electron band structure, describe the occupation of the electronic states in 1, 2 and 3D for T=0 and Tż0, and derive a quantitative equation of the electronic contribution to the heat capacity; 4) discuss the elastic properties of solids and the physics of phonons; 5) Appreciate electronic band structure of metals and be able to apply the relevant theory to simple metals; 6) discuss the mechanism for electrical conductance in metals; 7) demonstrate an understanding of the phases and phase transitions in soft matter; 8) discuss the main physical properties of amorphous solids, gels and liquid crystals; 9) demonstrate a grasp of the orders of magnitude of the central quantities and develop confidence with żintuitiveż estimates.