CREDITS: 3.5

 

PREREQUISITES: Exposure to notions of physics and chemistry (for example, through an undergraduate general physics or chemistry course).

 

EFFORT NEEDED: There will be 4 hours of work in class every week, divided between lectures (3 hours) and exercises (1 hour). You can expect to have to do at least another 6 hours of work per week on your own outside the class to profit from this course.

 

TOPICS:

[I] REVIEW OF THE BASIC PROPERTIES OF MATERIALS :

(1) Theories. Heat. Heat Capacity.

(2) Order. Symmetry. Atoms and Ions. Molecules and Metals.

(3) Structures. Atomic Motions. Particles and Waves. Electrons in Atoms.

(4) Electrons in Solids. Electrical Conductors. Semiconductors. Magnets.

 

[II] ELECTRICAL PROPERTIES OF MATERIALS :

(5) Electrical Conduction in Metals and Alloys. Semiconductors.

(6) Electrical Properties of Polymers, Ceramics, Dielectrics, and Amorphous Materials.

 

[III] OPTICAL PROPERTIES OF MATERIALS :

(7) Optical Constants. Atomistic Theory of the Optical Properties. Quantum Mechanical Treatment of the Optical Properties.

(8) Applications.

 

[IV] MAGNETIC PROPERTIES OF MATERIALS :

(9) Magnetic Phenomena. Quantum Mechanical Considerations.

(10) Applications.

 

[V] THERMAL PROPERTIES OF MATERIALS :

(11) Fundamentals. Thermal Conduction. Thermal Expansion .

 

[VI] MATERIALS TODAY :

(12) Review of the Recent Scientific Literature in Materials.