Physics
Physics is the study and application of the laws of nature at their most fundamental level. By majoring in physics, you will gain excellent preparation for graduate school, positions in industry, teaching at the secondary education level, or engineering. We offer degree tracks in
- physics
- engineering physics
Our comprehensive program includes laboratory training in electrical and optical measurements, analog and digital electronics, and advanced experimental physics. Many physics majors gain valuable work experience through an internship at a nearby corporate or government research laboratory.
The courses listed herein have been approved by the faculty as authorized by the Board of Trustees. Prerequisites (if any) and the General Education Requirement(s) which each course fulfills (if any) are noted following each course description.
Current course offerings are available in Merlin.
Physics courses, 2023-2024 catalog
PHYS 105 - Introductory Musical Acoustics
4.00 credit hours - Physics of sound, musical instruments and musical recordings. Production and propagation of sound waves, physical principles underlying pitch and timbre of musical instruments and the human voice, digital audio. Laboratory required.
Prerequisite(s): High School Algebra II and ability to read music.
Cardinal Directions Designation(s): Sciences.
iCon(s): Being Human.
PHYS 110 - Astronomy
4.00 credit hours - Celestial phenomena, the sun and solar system and the observable universe with emphasis on astronomy as a scientific activity relevant to the perception and comprehension of our world. Laboratory required, includes observational techniques and physical principles relevant to astronomy and astrophysics.
Prerequisite(s): Precalculus (Algebra & Trigonometry) competence.
Cardinal Directions Designation(s): Sciences.
iCon(s): Experiencing Place.
PHYS 131 - Physics I (Non-Calculus)
4.00 credit hours - Kinematics, Newton’s Laws, conservation laws, thermodynamics and fluid mechanics. Laboratory required. Credit may be earned for only one of PHYS 131 and PHYS 161.
Prerequisite(s): Precalculus (Algebra & Trigonometry) competence.
PHYS 132 - Physics II (Non-Calculus)
4.00 credit hours - Oscillations, waves, sound, electricity and magnetism, and optics. Laboratory required. Credit may be earned for only one of PHYS 132 and PHYS 162.
Prerequisite(s): PHYS 131 and Precalculus (Algebra & Trigonometry) competence.
PHYS 160 - Einstein and Heisenberg: Physics of the Fast and the Small
2.00 credit hours - Introduction to the special theory of relativity: Galilean relativity, space-time diagrams, Lorentz transformations, relativistic collisions and conservation of four-momentum. Introduction to the principles of quantum physics, Heisenberg’s matrix mechanics, Pauli’s spin matrices.
Prerequisite(s): Precalculus (Algebra & Trigonometry) competence.
PHYS 161 - Physics I: Mechanics and Heat
4.00 credit hours - Newton’s Laws of motion, energy conservation, rotational motion, thermodynamics. Laboratory required, includes experimental physics and an introduction to computational modeling. Credit may be earned for only one of PHYS 131 and PHYS 161.
Prerequisite(s): MATH 151 or concurrent enrollment.
Cardinal Directions Designation(s): Sciences.
PHYS 162 - Physics II: Electromagnetism, Waves and Optics
4.00 credit hours - Oscillations, waves, electricity, magnetism, optics. Laboratory required, includes experimental physics and computational modeling. Credit may be earned for only one of PHYS 132 and PHYS 162.
Prerequisite(s): MATH 151 and minimum grade of C- in PHYS 161.
PHYS 200 - Electronic Instrumentation for Scientists
4.00 credit hours - Survey of electronics with focus on application to scientific instrumentation. Topics include digital principles, combinational and sequential logic, digital applications, DC and AC circuits, discrete semiconductors, operational amplifiers. Focus is on applied learning in the laboratory. Laboratory required.
Prerequisite(s): MATH 151; PHYS 132 or PHYS 162 or concurrent enrollment.
PHYS 211 - Engineering Statics
4.00 credit hours - Classical mechanics with application to engineering problems. Topics include equivalent systems of forces, centroids, analysis of trusses and frames, machines and forces due to friction, virtual work, hydrostatic pressure.
Prerequisite(s): PHYS 161 and MATH 152; MATH 253 or concurrent enrollment.
PHYS 251 - Mechanics of Materials
4.00 credit hours - Analysis of stress and deformation of materials. Applications to the design of machine and structural elements subjected to static, dynamic and repeated loads.
Prerequisite(s): PHYS 211 and MATH 152.
PHYS 263 - Physics III: Quantum Physics
4.00 credit hours - An introduction to quantum physics. Quantum phenomena, the Schrodinger equation, analysis of one-dimensional potentials, the hydrogen atom and the electronic structure of multi-electron atoms, spin-orbit coupling.
Prerequisite(s): PHYS 162; MATH 253 or concurrent enrollment.
iCon(s): Innovating the World.
PHYS 265 - Physics III: Quantum Physics w/ Lab
4.00 credit hours -An introduction to quantum physics. Quantum phenomena, the Schrodinger equation, analysis of one-dimensional potentials, the hydrogen atom and the electronic structure of multi-electron atoms, spin-orbit coupling. Laboratory required.
Recommended Prerequisite(s): PHYS 162; MATH 253 or concurrent enrollment.
iCon(s): Innovating the World.
PHYS 305 - Classical Mechanics
4.00 credit hours - Newton’s Laws, projectile and charged particle kinematics, conservation laws and oscillations. Advanced methods in mechanics. Mathematical methods introduced as needed. Laboratory required, focuses on computation and modeling.
Prerequisite(s): PHYS 162 and MATH 253.
PHYS 320 - Physics of Solids
2.00 credit hours - Properties of crystalline solids. Crystal structure, reciprocal lattice, x-ray diffraction, electrical conduction, band theory, semiconductors and semiconductor devices. Other topics may include thermal properties, magnetic properties of solids.
Prerequisite(s): CHEM 345, PHYS 263 or PHYS 265.
PHYS 340 - Thermal Physics I
2.00 credit hours - Interrelationships among temperature, energy, entropy, and other properties of a physical system, examined at the macroscopic level using the tools of thermodynamics. Topics covered include equations of state, the laws of thermodynamics, energy, enthalpy, entropy, Gibbs energy, Maxwell relations, phase equilibrium. Laboratory required.
Prerequisite(s): PHYS 132 or PHYS 162 and MATH 151.
PHYS 341 - Statistical Physics
2.00 credit hours - Interrelationships among temperature, energy, entropy and other properties of matter, examined at the microscopic level using the tools of statistical mechanics. Topics include macrostates and microstates, entropy, Boltzmann and quantum distribution functions; selected applications from paramagnetism, Einstein solids, blackbody radiation and others.
Prerequisite(s): CHEM 340 and CHEM 345, PHYS 263 or PHYS 265.
PHYS 391 - Seminar I
1.00 credit hours - Professional development topics such as ethics, job seeking skills and safety. Students, faculty and guest presenters discuss research results in the format of a scientific meeting.
Prerequisite(s): 16 credit hours in Physics.
Cardinal Directions Designation(s): Career Preparation.
PHYS 392 - Seminar II
1.00 credit hours - Students learn to search the scientific literature, read primary literature and orally present a journal article. Students, faculty and guest presenters discuss research results in the format of a scientific meeting.
Prerequisite(s): 16 credit hours in Physics.
Cardinal Directions Designation(s): Career Preparation.
PHYS 395 - Research
1.00-16.00 credit hours - Individual laboratory investigation of a current problem in physics or a closely related field.
PHYS 397 - Internship
0.00-12.00 credit hours - Valuable professional experiences supplement classroom instruction and allow students to apply theories and concepts to broader issues and system. Students explore career options within a specific area of study and critically reflect on the experience in a structured manner. May be repeated with different professional experience.
PHYS 400 - Mathematical and Computational Methods
4.00 credit hours - Vectors and matrices, systems of linear equations, linear transformations, eigenvalues and eigenvectors, systems of ordinary differential equations, decomposition of matrices, and functions of matrices. Eigenfunction expansions of differential equations, self-adjoint differential operators, complex variables, and boundary-value problems. Probability and statistics, and review of vector calculus in curvilinear coordinates. Laboratory required, focuses on computation and modeling.
Prerequisite(s): PHYS 162 and MATH 253.
PHYS 405 - Data Acquisition with LabVIEW
2.00 credit hours - Computer-assisted measurement and automation of experiments using the LabVIEW graphical programming platform. Hands-on experience through laboratory exercises and projects. Laboratory required.
Prerequisite(s): ELEC 150 or PHYS 200; MATH 151.
PHYS 410 - Advanced Experimental Physics
2.00 credit hours - An exploration of advanced experimental techniques and concepts in physics. Experiments selected from optical spectroscopy, x-ray spectroscopy, magnetic resonance, vacuum techniques, solid-state physics, laser physics, nuclear physics. Laboratory required.
Prerequisite(s): PHYS 200 and PHYS 265.
Cardinal Directions Designation(s): Career Experiential.
PHYS 420 - Electromagnetic Theory
4.00 credit hours - The theory of electromagnetism, including electrostatics, magnetostatics and electrodynamics. May include applications to electromagnetic waves, guided waves and transmission lines, plasmas, radiation theory and relativistic electrodynamics.
Prerequisite(s): PHYS 162 and PHYS 400.
PHYS 440 - Quantum Mechanics
4.00 credit hours - The physical interpretation and mathematical formalism of quantum mechanics. Schrodinger equation, one-dimensional and three-dimensional potentials, angular momentum, the hydrogen atom, operator methods, matrix mechanics, Dirac notation and approximation methods.
Prerequisite(s): PHYS 263, PHYS 265 or CHEM 345; PHYS 400 OR both MATH 253 and MATH 300.
PHYS 490 - Topics
2.00-4.00 credit hours - Advanced topics in physics, such as biophysics, astrophysics and cosmology, particles and nuclei, general relativity, advanced mechanics.
Prerequisite(s): Varies by topic.
PHYS 497 - Internship
0.00-12.00 credit hours - Valuable professional experiences supplement classroom instruction and allow students to apply theories and concepts to broader issues and system. Students explore career options within a specific area of study and critically reflect on the experience in a structured manner. May be repeated with different professional experience.
Faculty and Staff
Faculty Emeriti
Take advantage of some of the many opportunities to enrich your education outside the classroom! Below are some examples; follow the links for more information.
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Gain "real-world" experience through an Internship
Many physics & engineering students work part-time in the Cooperative Education (Co-Op) Program at Argonne National Laboratory. Co-op students work 15-19 hours per week during the school year and often work full-time during summer and break periods.
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Expand your horizons with a Richter Independent Study Fellowship
Recent physics students have studied at the University of Glasgow and Dundee University in Scotland and Macquarie University in Australia.
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Get your hands on Research
Physics students can do research with North Central faculty during the academic year and summers, and many physics majors spend fall of their senior year doing research at a national laboratory through the Department of Energy's SULI program. Students present their research at North Central’s annual Rall Symposium for Undergraduate Research, and many present at the annual Argonne Symposium and the National Conference on Undergraduate Research.