Category: Uncategorized

It’s time for incoming first-year students to register for classes for the fall semester.  We in the physics department are looking forward to meeting you all in the fall.

Here’s some information about the physics courses available for new students.  If anything here isn’t clear, or if you have any questions about which course is for you, ask us!

Physics majors typically start with Physics 131 in the fall and either 132 or 134 in the spring.  There are four sections of physics 131 available this fall.  Physics 131 is mostly about mechanics but has some other topics as well.  It requires either that you’ve had some calculus or that you take Calc. 1 at the same time.

Pre-med students and students in other science majors also take this same sequence of courses, and the course fulfills the science requirement for non-science majors, so even if you’re not sure what you’re majoring in, keep this course in mind.

Students with strong high school physics backgrounds can skip Physics 131 and start right away with Physics 132.  There is one section of this course offered in the fall. University policy says that you need a 4 or 5 on the Physics C Mechanics, or departmental permission, to skip Physics 131.  If you have a strong physics background but didn’t take the right AP exam, email us or talk to one of the physics faculty when you arrive in town to see if you should be in 132.  (This applies especially to international students, who aren’t part of the US AP system.)

If you think you might want to major in physics (even if you’re not sure), and you’re eligible to skip 131, we strongly urge you to sign up for Physics 132 in the fall.  Finishing the introductory physics sequence early will give you a lot more scheduling flexibility in future semesters (and remember that even if you end up majoring in another science, you’ll still need to take this course).

Students with very strong physics backgrounds (a 4 or a 5 on the Physics C: Electricity & Magnetism AP exam) are eligible to skip both semesters of the introductory sequence.  If you’re in that category, and you think you might want to study physics, the best courses for you are Physics 205 (Modern Physics) and/or Physics 301 (Mathematical Methods).  Once again, if you didn’t take the appropriate AP exam but think you might have the right background for this option, ask us.

For students who aren’t planning to major in a science, we offer Physics 125, a survey of conceptual physics.  This course fulfills the general-education science requirement, but it does not fulfill prerequisites for more advanced science courses.

Our department just took delivery of a new 14€³ telescope, to be used for classes, student projects, and public observing nights:

As you can see, it's not in the  best possible observing location at the moment.  Plans are in motion to give it a permanent home on the roof of our building.

Thanks a lot to Dean Newcomb for buying us this!

If you are a newly admitted student planning to attend Richmond in fall 2009, please drop us a line!  We like to stay in touch with potential physics and engineering students over the summer, to pass on information on course selection and research opportunities.  (Probably only a couple of notes over the summer; we promise not to flood your inbox.)  Please drop a quick note to Matt Trawick, and we’ll put you on our contact list.  Welcome, class of 2013!

Researchers tend to get very specialized, working mostly in just one area.  But every once in a while, it’s fun for a researcher to work on something completely different.  UR Professor Ted Bunn, who normally does astrophysics, just had an article accepted for publication that talks about biological evolution and its relationship to the laws of thermodynamics.

Believers in creationism and intelligent design sometimes say that Darwinian evolution is impossible, because it conflicts with the second law of thermodynamics.  The second law says, very roughly, that the total amount of disorder (or entropy) in the universe always increases, so, the creationists say, it’s impossible for the orderliness of life to arise spontaneously.  This argument is wrong — there’s no conflict between evolution and thermodynamics.  The point of this article is to explain exactly why it’s wrong.

If you are a prospective physics student visiting UR this spring, we would be happy to let you sit in on a physics class!  It’s a great way to get a feel for what a Richmond physics class is really like.  To set up a classroom visit, please contact our department admin, Mary Ann Stewart.  (During the fall, classroom visits are arranged centrally by the UR admissions office.  They don’t do it during the spring, presumably to avoid unmanageably large numbers during that busy time.  But as usual, the physics department doesn’t play by the rules; we’re small enough that we can welcome visitors anytime if you contact us directly.)

Jim Stith, recently retired as Vice President, Physics Resources Center for the American Institute of Physics, spoke at the University of Richmond about careers for physics students.  The title of his talk was “The Physics Passport – Where does it take you?”  Jim points out that of the 5500 yearly graduateswith bachelors degrees in physics, only a small number continue a “traditional path” of academic physics research.  Many more continue in industry and government sector work, where their technical backgrounds and problem solving skills allow them to address a variety of challenging problems in different areas.  Before coming to AIP, Dr. Stith was a Professor of Physics at The Ohio State University and also spent 21 years on the faculty of the United States Military Academy at West Point.

1. The introductory physics courses are all small: capped at 24 students, though usually much smaller.
2. Upper level physics courses are even smaller: usually no more than about 10 students in a class.
3. We don't have any graduate students!  Undergrads are taught by professors, and get to use all the cool equipment themselves.
4. Intro physics courses are taught in a "workshop style," where laboratory and classroom elements are integrated together.  (No separate 3-hour labs, taught by grad students, that aren't related to the lectures.)
5. Favorite study break: liquid nitrogen ice cream!
6. About 6-10 physics students graduate each year.  
7. All of the tenure-line physics faculty are active researchers, making discoveries and publishing their findings€”all with the help of undergraduate students.  
8. Do the math: with a small number of majors and lots of research to be done, all students have a chance to get involved, usually by their sophomore years.  
9. First year students can get involved in research too: at least 8 of them, so far this year.
10. 100% of the physics faculty have external funding for their research.  (This means their research is recognized as important in their field.  It also means more money and opportunities for their students.)
11. Students doing research have coauthored papers with faculty in prestigious scientific journals.
12. Students frequently travel to national and international scientific conferences to present their work.  (Some recent destinations: Los Angeles, Denver, Hawaii, Alaska, St. Louis, Oakland€¦)
13. Many of our physics students also study abroad: (Scotland, China, Australia€¦)
14. Many students do research here over the summers, paid by external grants (NSF, etc.) or University fellowships.
15. Many physics students are double majors, with a second major in math, computer science, chemistry, biology, political science, philosophy€¦.
16. Students can graduate with either a B.S. or B.A. degree in physics.  (The B.S. prepares you better for grad school or a technical career; the B.A. offers more flexibility for students with other interests.)
17. Favorite physics student hangouts: either the physics student lounge, or any open classroom.
18. Best place to watch major sporting events: on the projection TVs in the classrooms after hours.
19. Our 3-2 engineering program offers students chance to do 3 years at Richmond, followed by 2 years at a partner engineering school. (Students have also gone straight to grad school in engineering after graduating with a straight-up physics degree.)
20. Our resources include a state-of-the-art atomic force microscope and a supercomputer cluster, among other major instrumentation, plus very well equipped teaching laboratories.
21. Most heavily used physics equipment: the coffee maker. (It's not even close.)
22. After graduation, some students have gone on to physics graduate school (University of Chicago, University of Kentucky, Princeton, Johns Hopkins€¦)
23. Other students have followed their dreams elsewhere after graduation: teaching English in China, doing software development in industry, actuarial mathematics, high school teaching….
24. Physics students are really friendly!  They study together and help each other, and the atmosphere is always fun and supportive.
25. We like meeting new physics students.  If you’re interested in physics, please come to visit us. 🙂