Undergraduate Courses and Units of Study

This unit provides a survey of the physics of the very small including atoms, the nucleus and the fundamental particles of the standard model, and their description in terms of quantum mechanics – the most successful and accurate theory in modern physics. As well as being the theory that underlies most of modern physics, it also provides a viewpoint about the nature of the physical world that is completely at odds with our everyday intuition. Read more 

Harmonic oscillation and wave motion are central to many areas of physics, ranging from the mechanical vibrations of machinery and nanoscale springs, to the propagation of sound and light waves, and the probability-amplitude waves encountered in quantum mechanics. See more

This unit introduces basic thermodynamic principles and connects them with the physical laws and the statistical nature of the microscopic world governing the behaviour of the matter around us. We start out with the concept of temperature and investigate the emergence of the Boltzmann factor in the canonical ensemble. See more 

Quantum mechanics is perhaps the most fundamental of all theories of modern physics. While its consequences are most readily seen in the microscopic world of elementary particles, atoms and molecules; quantum mechanics provides a set of rules that apply to all physical phenomena: the universe as a whole is governed by its laws. See more

Quantum mechanics addresses the interesting wave-like quantised physical phenomena that occur at microscopic scales. The subject was a major research focus of the ‘modern physics’ revolution of the 1900s and is shaping as a key technology driver of the early 2000s. This first course in quantum mechanics provides students with a broad and comprehensive introduction to the technical fundamentals of quantum mechanics and builds a strong foundation for further studies. Topics covered include See more