Get Started with Course 1: Oscillators and Waves

Begin your study of waves and optics by exploring the mathematics of oscillators.

Learn secrets behind solving differential equations, how to turn a bunch of sinusoids into pretty much anything, and embark on a mathematical journey to a magical land called the complex plane.

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DESCRIPTION

Physics of Waves and Optics: Oscillators and Waves (Course 1)

The first course in the Physics of Waves and Optics specialization, Oscillators and Waves is an introduction to the physics of waves and light. Topics include Simple Harmonic Motion, the Wave Equation, Normal Modes, Wave Propagation, and Dispersion. Inside each module, learners have access to complete video lectures, conceptual quizzes, and practice problems. This comprehensive course is similar in detail and rigor to those taught on-campus at Rice. It will thoroughly prepare learners for their upcoming introductory physics courses or more advanced courses in physics.

Who should attend:

University students looking to supplement their current physics courses with more physics practice problems and explanations.
University students who have completed their first year of university-level physics and plan to take more advanced physics courses.
People with a strong mathematical background who have an interest in general physics or the field of optics.

You will be able to:

Solve complex mathematical problems related to light and its interactions with materials including electromagnetic plane waves, reflection and refraction, light behavior at boundaries, polarization and its applications, internal reflection, and scattering.
Evaluate real-world data regarding light and its interactions with materials.
Build a foundation that prepares them for studying advanced topics in physics.

LECTURE SAMPLES

MEET YOUR RICE PROFESSOR

Professor Jason Hafner

Jason Hafner earned his Ph.D. from Rice University in 1998 under Richard Smalley for work on carbon nanotubes, and pursued postdoctoral studies at Harvard University with Charles Lieber. He returned to Rice in 2001 to join the faculty where his lab studies nanophotonics and interfacial biology. Hafner was named a Beckman Young Investigtor in 2002, and won the Norman Hackerman Award for Chemical Research from the Welch Foundation in 2011. He is currently a Professor of Physics and Astronomy and of Chemistry. Hafner is a Member of Scientia at Rice and has served as an Associate Editor for ACS Nano from 2010 - 2017. He has taught freshman and sophomore physics for the past nine years, and is a member of Rice's Center for Teaching Excellence.

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