Structure of B.Sc. ( 3 Year Major in Physics)/ B.Sc.

(4 Year
Hons in Physics)/ B.Sc. (4 Year Hons with Research)/ Minor in
Physics/B.Sc. Multidisciplinary Stream (Physics as one of the
Core Subjects)

Note:
 For 3 Year Major in Physics : First Six Semesters are to successfully completed
 For 4 in Hons in Physics : Alll eight semesters are to be successfully completed
 For 4 Year Hons with Research : DS-18 and DS-19 in Semester eight are to be studied and the
corresponding credits are to be earned. Remaining 15 credits is for research.

All Major and Minor courses are of 5 Credits. The courses which has ‘P’ written in the
parenthesis are divided into 3 credits of Theory (45 Lectures per semester) and 2 credits of
Laboratory (60 Hours per semester). Other Major/ Minor courses are of full 5 credits (60
Lectures per semester + 15 hours of Tutorial)

Six CORE courses are enlisted (Minor 1-Minor 6) one in each semester. These are for B.Sc. in
Multidisciplinary Stream.

A student with Minor in Physics and Major in any other discipline will have to study 4
courses.
Those are shown in the next table as:

Minor1, Minor 2, Minor3 and S Minor 1 (Semester I, II, III and VII respectively)

This document contains the full 4- year structure and the detailed syllabus of the first year
only. Remaining part of the detailed syllabus will be communicated as soon as possible.
 List of Courses Under NEP 2020
To be effective from 2023-24
Major
Semester Major Minor/ CORE MDC SEC
I Mathematical Methods I (P) Mechanics (P) Current Basic
DS-I (5) –Minor1 perspectives of Instrumentation
Physics – MDC Skills SEC-1 (3)
(Physics) (3)
II Mechanics I (P) (DS-2) Electricity and Computational
Magnetism (P) Physics Skills
(5) –Minor 2 SEC-2 (3)
III Waves and Acoustics (P) Waves and
DS-3 Acoustics (P)
(5)
- Minor 3
IV Electricity and Magnetism I (P) Thermal
DS-4 Physics and
Statistical
Mathematical Methods II (P) Mechanics (P)
DS-5 Minor 4
Thermal Physics (P) DS-6
Mechanics II DS-7
V Mathematical Methods III (P) Modern Physics
DS-8 (P)
Modern Physics I (P) DS-9 Minor 5
Digital Electronics (P)
DS-10
Electricity and Magnetism II (P)
DS-11
VI Quantum Mechanics I (P)
DS-12 Analog and
Statistical Mechanics (P) Digital
DS-13 Electronics (P)
Electricity and Magnetism III Minor 6
DS-14
Analog Electronics (P)
DS-15
VII Solid State Physics (P) Solid State
DS-16 Physics (P)
Mathematical Methods 4 (P) S Minor 1
DS-17
VIII Applications of Quantum
Mechanics
DS-18
Nuclear and Particle Physics
DS-19
Mechanics III
DS-20
Communication Electronics (P)
DS-21
 Detailed Syllabi
Each computational Physics laboratory courses has a list of assignments. All of them are
compulsory.
The mentioned programs are examples only. Each year the students should be given similar but
different assignments and in the end semester examination students may be asked to write any
simple program of similar difficulty level. It is expected that students should be able to learn how to
write their programs of their own.

Semester I
DS-1
Mathematical Methods-I (Theory)

3 Credit 45 lectures.

Calculus 18 Lectures
Recapitulation: Limits, continuity, average and instantaneous quantities, differentiation. Plotting
functions. Intuitive ideas of continuous, differentiable, etc. functions and plotting of curves.
Approximation: Taylor and binomial series (statements only). Convergence condition of Taylor
series and corresponding tests. First Order and Second Order Differential equations: First Order
Differential Equations and Integrating Factor. Homogeneous and Inhomogeneous second order
differential equations with constant coefficients, particular integral. Wronskian and general solution.
Statement of existence and Uniqueness Theorem for Initial Value Problems. Calculus of functions
of more than one variable: Partial derivatives, exact and inexact differentials. Integrating factor,
with simple illustration

Vector Calculus 27 Lectures

Recapitulation of vectors: Properties of vectors under rotations. Scalar product and its invariance
under rotations. Vector product, Scalar triple product and their interpretation in terms of area and
volume respectively. Scalar and Vector fields. Vector Differentiation: Directional derivatives and
normal derivative. Gradient of a scalar field and its geometrical interpretation. Divergence and curl
of a vector field. Del and Laplacian operators. Vector identities using Kronecker delta and Levi-
civita symbols. Vector Integration: Ordinary Integrals of Vectors. Multiple integrals, Jacobian.
Notion of infinitesimal line, surface and volume elements. Line, surface and volume integrals of
Vector fields. Flux of a vector field. Gauss' divergence theorem, Green's and Stokes Theorems and
their applications (no rigorous proofs).

Reference Books
► Mathematical methods in the Physical Sciences, M. L. Boas, 2005, Wiley.
► Vector Analysis with an Intro. to Tensor Analysis: Schaum’s Outline Series. M.R. Spiegel, 1981, McGraw Hill.
► Introduction to Mathematical Physics. C. Harper, 1989, PHI.
► Mathematical Tools for Physics, James Nearing, 2010, Dover Publications.
► Advanced Engineering Mathematics, Erwin Kreyszig, 2008, Wiley India.
► Essential Mathematical Methods, K. F. Riley & M. P. Hobson, 2011, Cambridge Univ. Press
 DS1-Lab

Mathematical Method -I (Lab)

2 Credit

1. Introduction to plotting graphs with QtiPlot (or equivalent)

a) Basic 2D and 3D graph plotting - plotting functions, modifying the appearance of graphs, polar
and parametric plots,Surface and contour plots, exporting plots.
Importing multicolumn data. Plotting and fitting data using qtiplot's fit function.

2. Introduction to programming in python:

 Python as a number calculator
 algebraic calculation through python interactively
 help searching of functions (from built-ins, idea of default argument)
 importing modules like math, cmath modules and)
 standard I/O statements (input, raw_input, print)
 string, list, tuple and the corresponding methods. (In the interactive mode. Slicing. Help
searching for methods.)
 program with formula crunching.
Control structures (use of simple programs to learn the use of if, if-elif-else, for, while, try-
except.

3. Programs as applications

 finite series summation [Example: AP, GP, power series, trigonometric series, etc.
 Taylor series summation with a given precision [for different f(x) about x=0 or about some non-
zero value and comparison with library functions, where available.

4. File handling in Python

 File I/O statements: Example programs like

1. File I/O : Create a three column data (x,y,z) file using a text editor. Read it from python. Find
the sum and standard deviation of y and z .
2. File I/O: Create a single column data containing repetitive integers of at least 20 entries. Read
the file. Find the frequency table of the distinct elements. Output that in another file.

5. Least square fitting

Linear and linearisable Least square fitting with supplied data. The final fit should be displayed
through Qtiplot or a similar software. Use data recorded from the suitable experiments in
Mechanics paper.

6. User defined functions in Python

 User defined function, default argument, global

Example: Write functions for
i) f ( x )=x ‼
ii) f ( n )=n −th element of the Fibonacci sequence
iii) linspace (start, stop, number), the third being a default argument
Write function ( a , x )=exp ( − ax ) sin ⁡( x ) : a being a global arguments
7. Solution of Algebraic and Transcendental equations by Bisection Method

 Root finding: Bisection (Initial guess to be determined by plotting) for non-linear equations.
 Determination of time of journey for a moving particle obeying x=f(t) or similar problems
are to be worked out.

8. Solution of Algebraic and Transcendental equations by Newton -Raphson Method

 Root finding: Newton -Raphson Method (Initial guess to be determined by plotting) for non-
linear equations.
 Applications in simple physical problems (including those of mathematical Physics) for are
to be practiced.

Reference Books:
1. The Python Tutorial
2. PYTHON PROGRAMMING FOR PHYSICISTS
3. Scientific Computing in Python, Abhijit Kar Gupta, 2021, Techno World.
 Semester 2

DS-2

Mechanics I (Theory)

3 Credit 45 Lectures

Fundamentals of Dynamics 5 Lectures

Reference frames. Inertial frames; Review of Newton’s Laws of Motion. Galilean transformations;
Galilean invariance. Momentum of variable- mass system: motion of rocket. Dynamics of a system
of particles. Centre of Mass. Principle of conservation of momentum. Impulse.

Work and Energy 4 Lectures

Work and Kinetic Energy Theorem. Conservative and non- conservative forces. Potential Energy.
Qualitative study of one-dimensional motion from potential energy curves. Stable and unstable
equilibrium. Elastic potential energy. Force as gradient of potential energy. Work & Potential
energy. Work done by nonconservative forces. Law of conservation of Energy.

Collisions 3 Lectures
Elastic and inelastic collisions between particles. Centre of Mass and Laboratory frames.

Rotational Dynamics 8 Lectures

Recapitulation: Angular momentum of a particle and system of particles. Torque. Principle of
conservation of angular momentum. Rotation about a fixed axis. Moment of Inertia. Perpendicular
axes theorem and parallel axes theorem and their applications in calculations of moment of inertia
for rectangular, cylindrical and spherical bodies. Kinetic energy of rotation. Motion involving both
translation and rotation.

Elasticity 6 Lectures
Relation between Elastic constants. Twisting torque on a Cylinder or Wire. Bending of a beam –
internal bending moment.

Fluid Motion 4 Lectures

Kinematics of Moving Fluids: Equation of continuity. Idea of streamiline and turbulent flow,
Reynold’s number. Poiseuille’s Equation for Flow of a viscous Liquid through a Capillary Tube.

Gravitation and Central Force Motion 8 Lectures

Law of gravitation. Gravitational potential energy. Inertial and gravitational mass. Potential and
field due to spherical shell and solid sphere. Motion of a particle under a central force field. Two-
body problem and its reduction to one-body problem and its solution. The energy equation and
energy diagram. Kepler’s Laws. Satellite in circular orbit and applications. Geosynchronous orbits.
Weightlessness.

Oscillations 7 Lectures
SHM: Simple Harmonic Oscillations. Differential equation of SHM and its solution. Kinetic energy,
potential energy, total energy and their time-average values. Damped oscillation. Forced
oscillations: Transient and steady states; Resonances, sharpness of resonance; power dissipation and
Quality Factor.

Reference Books
► An introduction to mechanics, D. Kleppner, R.J. Kolenkow, 1973, McGraw-Hill.
► Classical Dynamics of Particles and Systems. S.T. Thornton and J. B. Marion, 2009, Brooks/Cole.
► Mechanics, Berkeley Physics, vol.1, C.Kittel, W.Knight, et.al. 2007, Tata McGraw-Hill.
► Physics, Resnick, Halliday and Walker 8/e. 2008, Wiley.
► Theoretical Mechanics, M.R. Spiegel, 2006, Tata McGraw Hill.
► General Properties of Matter. F.H. Newman and V.H.L. Searle, 1957, Hodder and Stoughton.
► General Properties of Matter. B. Brown, 1969, Springer Science.
► Classical Mechanics and General Properties of Matter. S.N. Maiti and D.P. Raychaudhuri, New Age
► Feynman Lectures, Vol. I, R.P.Feynman, R.B.Leighton, M.Sands, 2008, Pearson Education
► Introduction to Classical Mechanics, R. G. Takwale and P. S. Puranik, 1979, Tata McGraw-Hill► Introduction to
Classical Mechanics, R. G. Takwale and P. S. Puranik, 1979, Tata McGraw-Hill
► Mechanics, K. R. Symon, 3rd ed., 1971, Addison-Wesley
► Elements of Properties of Matter, D.S. Mathur, 2008, S. Chand and Company Limited
 DS-2 (Lab)
Mechanics -1 Lab
2 Credits

List of Experiments:

1.To determine the Moment of Inertia of a regular body using another auxiliary body and a cradle
suspended by a metallic wire.
2. To determine g and velocity for a freely falling body using Digital Timing Technique
3. To determine Coefficient of Viscosity of water by Capillary Flow Method (Poiseuille’s method).
4. To determine the Young's Modulus by flexure method.
5. To determine the Modulus of Rigidity of a wire by a torsional pendulum.
6.To determine the value of g using Bar Pendulum.
7. To determine the value of g using Kater’s Pendulum.

Reference Books
► Advanced Practical Physics for Students, B. I. Worsnop and H. T. Flint, 1957, Methuen & Co.
► An Advanced Course in Practical Physics, D. Chattopadhyay and P. C. Rakshit, 8 th ed., 2007, New Central Book
Agency
► Advanced Practical Physics, vol 1, B. Ghosh & K. G. Mazumdar, 7th ed., Sreedhar Publishers, 2006
 Minor Courses
Semester 1

(Minor 1)

Mechanics Theory

45 Lectures 3 Credits

Vectors
Vector algebra, Scalar and vector products, derivatives of a vector wrt a parameter, ordinary
differential equations: 1st order homogeneous differential equations, 2nd order homogeneous and
inhomogeneous differential equations with constant coefficients.

Particle Dynamics 14 Lectures

Laws of Motion: Frames of reference. Newton’s Laws of motion. Dynamics of a system of particles.
Centre of Mass.
Momentum and Energy: Conservation of momentum. Work and energy. Conservation of energy.
Motion of rockets.
Rotational Motion: Angular velocity and angular momentum. Torque. Conservation of angular
momentum.

Gravitation 7 Lectures

Newton’s Law of Gravitation. Motion of a particle in a central force field (motion is in a plane, angular
momentum is conserved, areal velocity is constant). Kepler’s Laws (statement only). Satellite in
circular orbit and applications. Geosynchronous orbits. Weightlessness.

Oscillations 6 Lectures

Differential equation of SHM and its solutions. Kinetic and Potential Energy, Total Energy and their
time averages. Damped oscillations. Forced harmonic oscillations, resonance.

Elasticity 8 Lectures
Hooke’s law - Stress-strain diagram - Elastic moduli-Relation between elastic constants – Poisson’s
Ratio-Expression for Poisson’s ratio in terms of elastic constants - Work done in stretching and work
done in twisting a wire - Twisting couple on a cylinder - Determination of Rigidity modulus by static
torsion – Torsional pendulum.- Bending of beam.

Reference Books
► Introduction to Mathematical Physics. C. Harper, 1989, PHI.
► An introduction to mechanics, D. Kleppner, R.J. Kolenkow, 1973, McGraw-Hill.
► Physics, Resnick, Halliday and Walker 8/e. 2008, Wiley.
► Theoretical Mechanics, M.R. Spiegel, 2006, Tata McGraw Hill.
► Classical Mechanics and General Properties of Matter. S.N. Maiti and D.P. Raychaudhuri, New Age
► Introduction to Classical Mechanics, R. G. Takwale and P. S. Puranik, 1979, Tata McGraw-Hill
► Elements of Properties of Matter, D.S. Mathur, 2008, S. Chand and Company Limited
 Mechanics (Minor 1) Lab
Credit 2

1.To determine the Moment of Inertia of a regular body using another auxiliary body and a cradle
suspended by a metallic wire.
2. To determine g and velocity for a freely falling body using Digital Timing Technique
3. To determine Coefficient of Viscosity of water by Capillary Flow Method (Poiseuille’s method).
4. To determine the Young's Modulus by flexure method.
5. To determine the Modulus of Rigidity of a wire by a torsional pendulum.
6.To determine the value of g using Bar Pendulum.
7. To determine the value of g using Kater’s Pendulum.

Reference Books
► An Advanced Course in Practical Physics, D. Chattopadhyay and P. C. Rakshit, 8 th ed., 2007, New Central Book
Agency
► Advanced Practical Physics, vol 1, B. Ghosh & K. G. Mazumdar, 7th ed., Sreedhar Publishers, 2006
 Semester 2

(Minor -2)
Electricity and Magnetism
Theory

45 Lectures 3 Credits

Vector Analysis 10 Lectures

Gradient, divergence, Curl and their significance, Vector Integration, Line, surface and volume
integrals of Vector fields, Gauss-divergence theorem and Stoke's theorem of vectors (statement only).

Electrostatics 16 Lectures

Electrostatic Field, electric flux, Gauss's theorem of electrostatics. Applications of Gauss theorem-
Electric field due to point charge, infinite line of charge, uniformly charged spherical shell and solid
sphere, plane charged sheet, charged conductor. Electric potential as line integral of electric field.
Electric potential due to an electric dipole. Calculation of electric field from potential. Capacitance of
an isolated spherical conductor. Parallel plate condenser. Energy per unit volume in electrostatic field.
Dielectric medium, Polarisation, Displacement vector. Gauss's theorem in dielectrics. Parallel plate
capacitor completely filled with dielectric.

Magnetism 9 Lectures
Magnetostatics: Biot-Savart's law & its applications- straight conductor, circular coil, solenoid carrying
current. Divergence and curl of magnetic field. Magnetic vector potential. Ampere's circuital law.
Magnetic properties of materials: Magnetic intensity, magnetic induction, permeability, magnetic
susceptibility. Brief introduction of dia-, para- and ferro-magnetic materials.

Electromagnetic Induction 5 Lectures

Faraday's laws of electromagnetic induction, Lenz's law, self and mutual inductance, L of single coil,
M of two coils. Energy stored in magnetic field.

Linear Network 5 Lectures

Impedance of L, C, R and their combinations. Thevenin & Norton’s Theorem. Maximum power
transfer theorem and superposition theorem. Anderson’s bridge.

Reference Books
► Vector Analysis with an Intro. to Tensor Analysis: Schaum’s Outline Series. M.R. Spiegel, McGraw Hill.
► Foundations of Electromagnetic Theory. J.R. Reitz, F.J. Milford and R.W. Christy, 2010, Pearson.
► Introduction to Electrodynamics, D.J. Griffiths, 3rd Edn., 1998, Benjamin Cummings.
► Electricity and Magnetism, vol. 1, J. H. Fewkes and J. Yarwood, 2nd. ed., 1965, Oxford University Press
► Electromagnetism. I.S. Grant and W.R. Phillips, 2013, Wiley.
► Classical Electromagnetism. J. Franklin, 2008, Pearson Education.
► Elements of Electromagnetics, M.N.O. Sadiku, 2010, Oxford University Press.
► Electricity, Magnetism & Electromagnetic Theory, S. Mahajan and Choudhury, 2012, Tata McGraw Hill.
► A text book in Electrical Technology, B L Theraja, S Chand and Co.
 Electricity and Magnetism (Minor-2) Lab
Credit 2

1.To determine an unknown Low Resistance using Carey Foster’s Bridge.

2. To verify the Thevenin and Norton theorems.
3. To verify the Superposition and Maximum Power Transfer theorems.
4. To determine self-inductance of a coil by Anderson’s bridge.
5. To study response curve of a Series LCR circuit and determine its (a) Resonant frequency, (b)
Impedance at resonance, (c) Quality factor Q, and (d) Band width.
6. To determine an unknown Low Resistance using Potentiometer.
7. Measurement of field strength B and its variation in a solenoid (determine dB/dx)

Reference Books
► An Advanced Course in Practical Physics, D. Chattopadhyay and P. C. Rakshit, 8 th ed., 2007, New Central Book
Agency
► Advanced Practical Physics, vol 1, B. Ghosh & K. G. Mazumdar, 7th ed., Sreedhar Publishers, 2006
► Advanced Practical Physics, vol 2, B. Ghosh, 2nd ed., Sreedhar Publishers, 2005
 Skill Enhancement Courses
Physics

Semester 1

SEC (Physics) 1
Basic Instrumentation Skills
Credit 3 Lecture 45

1. Basic of Measurement
Instruments accuracy, precision, sensitivity, resolution range etc. Errors in measurements
and loading effects. Multimeter: Principles of measurement of dc voltage and dc current, ac
voltage, ac current and resistance. Specifications of a multimeter and their significance.
2. Electronic Voltmeter
Advantage over conventional multimeter for voltage measurement with respect to input
impedance and sensitivity. Principles of voltage, measurement (block diagram only).
Specifications of an electronic Voltmeter/ Multimeter and their significance. AC
millivoltmeter: Type of AC millivoltmeters: Amplifier- rectifier, and rectifier- amplifier.
Block diagram ac millivoltmeter, specifications and their significance.
3. Cathode Ray Oscilloscope
Block diagram of basic CRO. Construction of CRT, Electron gun, electrostatic focusing and
acceleration (Explanation only– no mathematical treatment), brief discussion on screen
phosphor, visual persistence & chemical composition. Time base operation,
synchronization. Front panel controls. Specifications of a CRO and their significance.

Use of CRO for the measurement of voltage (dc and ac frequency, time period. Special
features of dual trace, introduction to digital oscilloscope, probes. Digital storage
Oscilloscope: Block diagram and principle of working.
4. Signal Generators and Analysis Instruments
Block diagram, explanation and specifications of low frequency signal generators. Pulse
generator, and function generator. Brief idea for testing, specifications. Distortion factor
meter, wave analysis.

5. Digital Instruments
Principle and working of digital meters. Comparison of analog & digital instruments.
Characteristics of a digital meter. Working principles of digital voltmeter.

6. Digital Multimeter
Block diagram and working of a digital multimeter. Working principle of time interval,
frequency and period measurement using universal counter/ frequency counter, time- base
stability, accuracy and resolution.

 The test of lab skills will be of the following test items:

1. Use of an oscilloscope.
2. CRO as a versatile measuring device.
3. Circuit tracing of Laboratory electronic equipment,
4. Use of Digital multimeter/VTVM for measuring voltages
5. Circuit tracing of Laboratory electronic equipment,
6. Winding a coil / transformer.
7. Trouble shooting a circuit
8. Balancing of bridges
  Laboratory Exercises
1. To observe the loading effect of a multimeter while measuring voltage across a low
resistance and high resistance.
2. To observe the limitations of a multimeter for measuring high frequency voltage and
currents.
3. Measurement of voltage, frequency, time period and phase angle using CRO.
4. Measurement of time period, frequency, average period using universal counter/ frequency
counter.
5. Measurement of rise, fall and delay times using a CRO.
6. Measurement of distortion of a RF signal generator using distortion factor meter.

Reference Books
► A text book in Electrical Technology - B L Theraja - S Chand and Co.
► Performance and design of AC machines - M G Say ELBS Edn.
► Digital Circuits and systems, Venugopal, 2011, Tata McGraw Hill.
► Logic circuit design, Shimon P. Vingron, 2012, Springer.
► Digital Electronics, Subrata Ghoshal, 2012, Cengage Learning.
► Electronic Devices and circuits, S. Salivahanan & N. S.Kumar, 3rd Ed., 2012, Tata Mc-Graw Hill
► Electronic circuits: Handbook of design and applications, U.Tietze, Ch.Schenk, 2008, Springer
► Electronic Devices, 7/e Thomas L. Floyd, 2008, Pearson India
 Semester 2

SEC (Physics) 2
Computational Physics Skills

Credit 3
Lecture 45
Introduction

Importance of computers in Physics, paradigm for solving physics problems for solution. Usage of
linux as an Editor. Algorithms and Flowcharts: Algorithm: Definition, properties and development.
Flowchart: Concept of flowchart, symbols, guidelines, types. Examples: Cartesian to Spherical
Polar Coordinates, Roots of Quadratic Equation, Sum of two matrices, Sum and Product of a finite
series, calculation of sin(x) as a series, algorithm for plotting (1) lissajous figures and (2) trajectory
of a projectile thrown at an angle with the horizontal.

Scientific Programming

Some fundamental Linux Commands (Internal and External commands). Development of

FORTRAN/ C++, Basic elements of FORTRAN 90/95 or C++: Character Set, Constants and their
types, Variables and their types, Keywords, Variable Declaration and concept of instruction and
program. Operators: Arithmetic, Relational, Logical and Assignment Operators. Expressions:
Arithmetic, Relational, Logical, Character and Assignment Expressions. Fortran Statements: I/O
Statements (unformatted/formatted), Executable and Non-Executable Statements, Layout of Fortran
90/95 or C++ Program, Format of writing Program and concept of coding, Initialization and
Replacement Logic. Examples from physics problems.

Control Statements

Types of Logic (Sequential, Selection, Repetition), Branching Statements, Looping Statements,

Jumping Statements, Subscripted Variables (Arrays: Types of Arrays, DIMENSION Statement,
Reading and Writing Arrays), Functions and Subroutines (Arithmetic Statement Function, Function
Subprogram and Subroutine), RETURN, CALL, COMMON and EQUIVALENCE Statements),
Structure, Disk I/O Statements, open a file, writing in a file, reading from a file. Examples from
physics problems.

Programming
1. Exercises on syntax on usage of FORTRAN 90/95 or C++
2. Usage of GUI Windows, Linux Commands, familiarity with DOS commands and working
in an editor to write sources codes in FORTRAN 90/95 or C++.
3. To print out all natural even/ odd numbers between given limits.
4. To find maximum, minimum and range of a given set of numbers.
5. Calculating Euler number using exp(x) series evaluated at x=1

Scientific word processing: Introduction to LaTeX

TeX/LaTeX word processor, preparing a basic LaTeX file, Document classes, Preparing an input
file for LaTeX, Compiling LaTeX File, LaTeX tags for creating different environments, Defining
LaTeX commands and environments, Changing the type style, Symbols from other languages.
Equation representation: Formulae and equations, Figures and other floating bodies, Lining in
columns- Tabbing and tabular environment, Generating table of contents, bibliography and citation,
Making an index and glossary, List making environments, Fonts, Picture environment and colors,
errors.

Visualization
Introduction to graphical analysis and its limitations. Introduction to Gnuplot. importance of
visualization of computational and computational data, basic Gnuplot commands: simple plots,
plotting data from a file, saving and exporting, multiple data sets per file, physics with Gnuplot
(equations, building functions, user defined variables and functions), Understanding data with
Gnuplot

Hands on exercises

1. To compile a frequency distribution and evaluate mean, standard deviation etc.

2. To evaluate sum of finite series and the area under a curve.
3. To find the product of two matrices
4. To find a set of prime numbers and Fibonacci series.
5. To write program to open a file and generate data for plotting using Gnuplot.
6. Plotting trajectory of a projectile projected horizontally.
7. Plotting trajectory of a projectile projected making an angle with the horizontally.
8. Creating an input Gnuplot file for plotting a data and saving the output for seeing on the
screen. Saving it as an eps file and as a pdf file.
9. To find the roots of a quadratic equation.
10. Motion of a projectile using simulation and plot the output for visualization.
11. Numerical solution of equation of motion of simple harmonic oscillator and plot the outputs
for visualization.

12. Motion of particle in a central force field and plot the output for visualization.

Reference Books
1. Computer Programming in Fortran 90 and 95. V. Rajaraman, 1997 (Publisher: PHI).
2. Object Oriented Programming with C++. E. Balaguruswamy, 2017. McGraw Hill, India.
3. LaTeX–A Document Preparation System, Leslie Lamport (Second Edition, Addison- Wesley, 1994).
4. Gnuplot in action: understanding data with graphs, Philip K Janert, (Manning 2010)
5. Computational Physics: An Introduction, R.C. Verma, et al. New Age International Publishers, New
Delhi(1999)
 MDC (Physics)

Current perspectives of Physics

3 credit 45 lectures

Course objective: To give an overview of some basic physical ideas at a semi-popular level – with
minimal use of mathematics.

Course Pre-requisites: High school level exposure of physical science, algebra and geometry.

Module 1
1(a) Introduction : 2 lectures
Qualitative idea of Systems, Observers, Reference frames and Forces originating from the funda-
mental Interactions of nature, long-range (gravity and electromagnetic) and short-range (strong and
weak forces).

1(b) How Physics works: 12 lectures

Examples of how observations lead to discovery of Laws of nature, how theories are constructed
around these laws, how experiments verify theoretical predictions and theories are modified to suit
the experimental findings.
Examples:
 Galilean and Newtonian Dynamics giving Laws of motion, Kepler’s laws of Planetary motion
explained by Newton’s theory of gravity, Discovery of Neptune as a verification of Newton’s
gravity theory, Newton’s gravitational constant. [3 lectures]

 Different empirical laws of Electromagnetism (Coulomb’s law, Faraday's law, Ampere’s law
etc) connected by Maxwell’s theory, Prediction of electromagnetic wave and its speed of prop-
agation as a Universal constant. Inconsistency with laws of Galilean Relativity leading to dis-
covery of Special Relativity. [4 lectures ]

 Observation of atomic spectra and Black-body radiation leading to Planck’s quantum theory
and Einstein’s explanation of Photoelectric effect introducing Photon as a “quanta of
energy”(Details to be covered in Module 3). Discovery of Bohr model of atom. Development
of quantum mechanics, Planck’s constant – a fundamental constant of nature. .
[5 lectures ]

Module 2
The grand scheme of Physics: 13 lectures
The three fundamental constants of nature, c, G and ℏ.
(c−1 = 0, G = 0, ℏ = 0) : Classical non-relativistic mechanics: the starting point.
(c = 1, G = 0, = 0) :
−1
ℏ Classical relativistic mechanics, SR, Electrodynamics
(mention basic technologies like, cars, electricity, energy industry) [1 lecture]

(c−1 = 0, G = 1, ℏ = 0) : Classical Newtonian gravity, falling bodies, Structure of solar

system, Galaxies. [1 lecture]
(c−1 = 0, G = 0, ℏ = 1) : Non-relativistic quantum mechanics, basic structure of atoms,
molecules, solid state physics. (Qualitative)
(mention modern application in electronic and data storage devices, e.g., computers, mobiles).
[4 lectures]
(c−1 = 1, G = 1, ℏ = 0) : Classical General relativity, curved spacetime, fine-tuning of
planetary motion, perihelion precession of Mercury, deflection
of light by the Sun, recent observational evidence of Black-
holes and Gravitational waves as predicted by theory.
(modern applications in communication, e.g. GPS, astronomical telescopes giving information
about the cosmological structure of the Universe). [5 lectures]

(c−1 = 1, G =0, ℏ = 1) : Relativistic quantum mechanics, it’s inconsistencies leading to

Quantum field theory which explains sub-atomic structures, fun-
damental particles, standard model (LHC).
(c−1 = 1, G =1, ℏ = 1) : Theory of Quantum Gravity, yet to be formalised. [2 lectures]

Module 3
3(a) Light and it’s dual nature: 10 lectures
Corpuscular and wave theories of light- a historical overview; merits and demerits of the two theo-
ries; simple experiments demonstrating dispersion of light using prism, diffraction of light with
laser source, demonstration of Newton’s rings and its qualitative explanation; naïve idea of black
body radiation, Planck’s proposal of energy quanta, photoelectric effect and particle nature of light;
Scattering of light, Raman effect (qualitative).

3(b) The Electromagnetic Spectrum: 8 lectures

Introduction to the entire electromagnetic spectrum; Light as an electromagnetic wave (mention
Maxwell’s theory, Hertz’s experiment); usage of different parts of the electromagnetic spectrum -
with examples from everyday life including x-rays and gamma-rays in medical science, microwaves
and radio waves (mentioning India’s Radio telescope site at GMRT), preliminary concepts of
LASER, Holography and Fibre optics.

Reference Books
1. Perspectives of Modern Physics, Arthur Beiser, McGraw-Hill Inc.,US, 1969.
2. The Feynman Lectures on Physics - Vol. I, II & III, Pearson Education; Combo edition, 2012.
3. At the root of Things, The subatomic world, Palash B. Paul, CRC Press, 2014.
4. কী দিয়ে সমস্তকিছু গড়া, পলাশ বরন পাল, পশ্চিমবঙ্গ রাজ্য পুস্তক পর্ষদ, ২য় সংস্করণ, ১৯৯৭।
5. Seven Brief Lessons On Physics, Carlo Rovelli, Penguin Random House, UK, 2014.