PHY202 - Wave Optics and Radiation (2023-2024)

This course focuses on the description of light as a wave phenomenon. The coursestarts by reviewing the concepts of waves and oscillations in simple systems. It then turns to the way light is emitted by matter and covers dipole radiation, black body radiation as well as emission and absorption of light by atoms. The latter will be an opportunity to discuss the quantum behavior of matter and to introduce the electronic structure of atoms in a phenomenological manner. Light waves are then described in detail, with a focus on scattering, reflection and refraction at interfaces and polarization. The concept of coherence is developed along with its spectacular experimental manifestations in interferences and diffraction. Concrete examples and illustration of these phenomena will be given throughout the lectures, so that students, by the end course, should be able to explain why the sky is blue and the sun a bright yellow, how the fingerprint detection system of a smartphone works and more.

With this course, students will acquire a deeper physical understanding of wave phenomena, including the basic concepts of wave optics and light emission. They will master the analytical skills needed to solve basic problems in physical optics and wave physics in general.

PHY202 introduces the students to the basics of wave phenomena and focuses, in particular, on optical waves. The major concepts are first presented by studying oscillations from simple systems before waves in general are introduced. Light waves are then described in detail, with a focus on polarization, reflection and refraction at interfaces and scattering. The concept of coherence is developed along with its spectacular experimental manifestations in interferences and diffraction. The course then focuses on the way light is emitted in various situations and covers black body radiation, as well as emission and absorption of light by atoms. The latter provides an opportunity to discuss the quantum behavior of matter and to introduce the electronic structure of atoms in a phenomenological manner. Concrete examples and illustration of these phenomena, such as the principle of the laser, the temperature of stars, and spectroscopy in astrophysics, are given during the lectures.