PHY-20033 - Module Specification
School of Chemical and Physical Sciences
Faculty of Natural Sciences

Programme/Approved Electives for 2024/25

Available as a Free Standing Elective

Co-requisites

None

Prerequisites

None

Barred Combinations

None

Description for 2024/25

Physics is a subject that underpins the technological developments and scientific discoveries that we see in the news on a daily basis. In this module you will learn about several advances in modern-day physics that have lead to ground-breaking discoveries or technologies (e.g. renewable energy and 2D materials such as graphene). You will write a report on one of these, that intends to inform and teach your fellow students about the physics (or astrophysics) background behind that breakthrough. The aim is to employ the physics and mathematics techniques you have already learned to gain a fuller appreciation and understanding of these developments and to learn how to engage with scientific literature in order to gain that knowledge yourself.

The aim of this module is to introduce students to the concepts underlying new applications of physics/astrophysics in important scientific areas and in emerging industries, that will (or may) play a significant role in the 21st century.
Students will engage with ground-breaking research and technological advances and adopt a synoptic approach, where physics that has been learned over the course of the first two years of their course and across several modules, will be deployed to describe, explain and perform calculations (at a level appropriate for an FHEQ Level 5 Physics/Astrophysics student) on these contemporary topics.
The curriculum will not be fixed. The topics to be covered will be reviewed on a bi-annual basis in order to include topics of contemporary interest and to cover cutting-edge breakthroughs in physics, astrophysics and their applications.
Students will develop their competencies in communicating science and in applying their existing knowledge to solve problems.
Students will engage in independent learning and research in order to learn new physics and mathematics that will enable them to better interpret scientific developments and to communicate these at a level appropriate to undergraduate physicists.

Intended Learning Outcomes

1,2,3
1,2,3
2,3
2,3

Study hours

20 x 1-hour lectures
2 x 2-hours tutorials/problem classes
4 x 1-hour for introduction, supervision and feedback on written assignment(s) and ethical issues
50 hours research and preparation of the report
72 hours private study

School Rules

None

Description of Module Assessment