Courses

Current Courses

Dr. Douglas Bergman currently teaches the following courses at the University of Utah:

PHYS 3730: Intro to Computing in Physics

(4 semester hours)

Meets with PHYS 6720. Brief introduction to computing tools for science and engineering work on modern workstations. Topics include Unix (file structures, commands, scripts, etc.), editing (especially with emacs), spreadsheets, technical document preparation (LaTeX, Postscript), symbolic manipulation (Maple), use of library routines (LAPACK), Programming in C++, and organizing large codes with makefiles. These tools will be illustrated by applying them to scientific and engineering problems. Recommendation Prerequisites: MATH 2250 AND PHYS 2210.  Learn More

Past Courses

PHYS 3610: Electronics I: Electronics for Scientific Instrumentation

(3 semester hours)

Meets with PHYS 6610. A course in analog and digital electronics. Students will build electronic circuits from basic components (resistors, diodes, transistors, etc...) and integrated circuits. Students will learn how to identify and correct errors in circuits, analyze them in time and frequency domain, and translate between the two domains. The students will become familiar with the operation of combinatoric logic circuits, and learn how to analyze sequential logic circuits timing diagrams. Recommended Prerequisites: PHYS 2220 AND PHYS 2225. This was a flipped course. The lectures are available on YouTube  Learn More

PHYS 3719: Undergraduate Lab

(4 semester hours)

Transformative experiments in the development of the modern era in physics, including measurement of some fundamental constants of the universe, will be used as vehicles to test models of physical behavior. Students will be introduced to the craft of experimental design with a focus on optimizing data-taking and analysis to understand the sources and significance of errors. Critical thinking skills will be honed through qualitative and quantitative justification of results. Recommended Prerequisites: PHYS 3740 AND MATH 2250.   Learn More

PHYS 3740: Intro to Quantum Theory and Relativity (Modern Physics)

(3 semester hours)

Introduction to Special Relativity: time dilation, length contraction, Lorentz transforms. Introduction to classical and quantum statistics. Maxwell-Beltzman, Fermi-Diraz, Bose-Einstein, Pauli principle with emphasis on relativistic energy and momentum. The quantization of light: Planck black body radiation, the photoelectric effect and x-rays, and Bragg diffraction. Basic quantum ideas: wave-particle duality, uncertainty relations, and wave packets. Introduction to quantum mechanics: Schrodinger equation in one, two, and three dimensions. Squarewells barriers, harmonic oscillator, and hydrogen atom. Quantum properties of spin and angular momentum: Zeeman effect, Stern-Gerlach experiment, atomic and molecular structure, and covalent bonding. Multi-electron atoms and the Periodic Table. Applications to solid-state physics, particle physics, and nuclear physics per instructor and time permitting.   Learn More