University Physics — Year 2

The second year takes each strand deeper: the reformulation of mechanics through least action, Maxwell's equations in their full differential glory, the first proper course in quantum mechanics, statistical mechanics, and the physical optics of light.

Every module below is grouped by its lecture course. The lessons are still being written — each is shown as a placeholder so you can see the shape of the whole year.

Mathematical Methods II

  1. Separation of Variables
  2. Boundary-Value Problems and Eigenfunctions
  3. Green's Functions: An Introduction
  4. Tensors in Physics

Analytical Mechanics

  1. Generalised Coordinates and Constraints
  2. The Principle of Least Action
  3. The Euler–Lagrange Equations in Mechanics
  4. Lagrangian Worked Examples
  5. Conservation Laws and Noether's Theorem
  6. The Hamiltonian and Phase Space
  7. Small Oscillations and Normal Modes
  8. Rigid-Body Motion
  9. An Introduction to Chaos

Electromagnetism II — Maxwell

  1. The Continuity Equation
  2. Maxwell's Equations (Differential Form)
  3. The Displacement Current
  4. Electromagnetic Waves
  5. The Poynting Vector: Energy and Momentum
  6. Potentials and Gauge Freedom
  7. Boundary-Value Problems in Electromagnetism
  8. Electromagnetism in Matter
  9. Waveguides

Quantum Mechanics I

  1. The Origins of Quantum Theory
  2. The Wavefunction and the Born Rule
  3. The Schrödinger Equation
  4. The Infinite Square Well
  5. The Finite Well and Tunnelling
  6. The Quantum Harmonic Oscillator
  7. Operators, Observables and Expectation Values
  8. The Uncertainty Principle
  9. Dirac Notation
  10. The Hydrogen Atom
  11. Angular Momentum and Spin

Statistical Mechanics

  1. Microstates, Macrostates and Entropy
  2. The Boltzmann Distribution
  3. The Partition Function
  4. The Maxwell–Boltzmann Distribution
  5. Ideal Quantum Gases: An Introduction
  6. Thermodynamic Potentials
  7. Phase Transitions: An Introduction

Waves, Optics & Modern

  1. Physical Optics and Huygens' Principle
  2. Fraunhofer Diffraction and Fourier Optics
  3. Coherence and Interferometry
  4. Polarisation and the Jones Calculus
  5. Lasers and Stimulated Emission