Course syllabus

Course-PM

TIF295 / FYM295 Experimental methods in modern physics (3 hp)

The course is offered by the department of Physics

Contact details

Examiner:  Lena Falk, lklfalk@chalmers.se

Lecturers:   Christoph Langhammer (clangham@chalmers.se), Andreas Heinz (andreas.heinz@chalmers.se), Aleksandar Matic (matic@chalmers.se), Mikael Käll (mikael.kall@chalmers.se), Mattias Thuvander (mattias.thuvander@chalmers.se), Marianne Liebi (marianne.liebi@chalmers.se), Fredrik Höök (fredrik.hook@chalmers.se), Björn Wickman (bjorn.wickman@chalmers.se)

Supervisors:  Ievgen Nedrygailov (ievgen@chalmers.se), Christopher Tiburski (tiburski@chalmers.se), Matthias Holl (matthias.holl@chalmers.se), Matthew Sadd (sadd@chalmers.se), Steven Jones (steven.jones@chalmers.se), Kristina Lindgren (kristina.lindgren@chalmers.se), Erik Olsén (olsene@chalmers.se), Mattias Sjöberg (mattias.sjoberg@chalmers.se), Gerhard Monserrat Sisò (gerhard.siso@chalmers.se)

Course purpose

The purpose of this course is to introduce the students to a variety of experimental concepts used in modern physics research, and to give them an opportunity to work on a well defined experimental project of their own choice.  The projects span over a wide range of disciplines, from biophysics and materials physics to nanooptics and surface physics, and will be carried out in research groups working in state-of-the-art laboratories at the Department of Physics.  The students will work in groups of two or three, and the projects will be presented both in writing and as an oral presentation in a seminar.  As a general introduction to the topic, the course will start with several lectures on the physics behind the projects that the students may choose from.

Schedule

TimeEdit

Course literature

Reading material in the form of lecture notes and laboratory instructions, including references to the literature, will be available on the course home page in Canvas.

Course design

The course starts with a number of lectures on the physics behind the different experimental projects that the students may choose from.  The projects are then carried out in groups of two or three students.  Finally, the students write a report and give an oral presentation.  Detailed schedules for the different activities are given on the course home page in Canvas.

There are five pre study questions (instuderingsfrågor) on each lecture topic.  These questions will be discussed in the first lab session, and the students are expected to take an active part in this discussion.

Changes made since the last occasion

A summary of changes made since the last occasion.

Learning objectives and syllabus

Learning objectives:

After this course the students should have a general knowledge of experimental methods in modern physics.  The students should be able to write a scientific report based on their own experimental work, and to give an oral presentation describing the used method and the obtained results.

Link to the syllabus on Studieportalen:

Study plan

If the course is a joint course (Chalmers and Göteborgs Universitet) you should link to both syllabus (Chalmers and Göteborgs Universitet).

Examination form

The students carry out an experimental project, and hand in a written report on their work.  The report is presented orally in a seminar.

One lab project report per group:  All lab group members contribute to the writing of their report and to the oral presentation of their project.  The template for the report is described in the handouts from the introduction lecture available in Canvas.

Chalmers grades:  5, 4, 3, fail.

GU grades:  VG, G, fail.

Grading criteria:

• performance in the lab (5 down to 1) - times a factor of 2
  • well prepared?
  • active?
  • working as a group?
• quality of report (5 down to 1) - times a factor of 3
• performance at the oral presentation (5 down to 1)
• a maximum of 30 points possible
  • grade 3:  12 - 17;  grade 4: 18 - 23;  grade 5: 24 - 30
  • grade G:  15 - 22;  grade VG:  23 - 30