DAMP Physics, IITB

Instructor Madhav Desai Course Type Core for EP students Course overview Boolean Algebra, Sequential Circuits, Finite-State Machines, Timing Analysis, Testability and verification, RTL design. Memories, VHDL synthesis. Prerequisites No formal prerequisites. Informal prerequisite: EE112 Credit distribution 2 quizzes (10% each), 1 midsem (30%) and 1 endsem (50%) Feedback on Lectures Attendance was not compulsory. The lectures are blackboard based, and a little superficial, extra reading is recommended. Feedback on tutorials, assignments and exams Assignments were ungraded, and of average difficulty. Exam problems were of a similar nature. Relevant References Switching and finite automata theory by Zvi Kohavi and N.K. Jha Digital Electronics by Kleitz Pro-tips Attend class, and pay attention. It may feel like an unnecessary engineering course to quite a few, but modern electronics is primarily digital, and it's pretty interesti...

I worked as a Summer Research Intern à la Université du Luxembourg. My primary area of research was Non-Equilibrium Transport. Background Before applying for this position, I worked as a freelance developer and worked on computational astrophysics projects . In my fifth semester, I was applying for internship positions in two different areas. The first were game development companies in Mumbai and the US. Second, astronomy and astrophysics departments all around the world.  A lot of places in India might have provided me a better professional work exposure in some specific research areas . But going abroad for an internship is also a cultural experience, and deserves advantage of choice .  I did not have luck with my applications before I got the offer for Luxembourg. This was an application I filled through the PT cell. The group works in the area of mesoscopic physics. They are aligned towards theory and far from my primary interests. I sta...

Instructor Name Raghunath Chelakkot Course Type Core for EP students (Half-sem) Course overview Basic Concepts of Thermodynamics (State variables, equilibria in systems,different types of processes, heat engines and refrigerators), Entropy, Euler and Gibbs Duhem Relations, Maximum Work Theorem, Maxwell Relations, Stability of Systems, Introduction to phase transitions Prerequisites No formal or informal prerequisites. Credit distribution Quiz 1-15 marks,  Final Exam-35 marks, Total-50 marks Feedback on Lectures Attendance not compulsory, classes on blackboard, with some portion like introduction and Phase transitions covered using slides Feedback on tutorials, assignments and exams Regular good tutorial sheets, no assignments for submissions. Relevant References Thermodynamics and Introduction to Thermostatistics - Herbert Callen Heat and thermodynamics - M. Zemansky, R Dittman : especially for the introductory portion on temperature s...

Instructor Name Prof. S Sivaji Ganesh, Prof. S. Baskar Course Type Core for EP students Course overview Error Analysis : Floating-point representation, propagation of errors, stability of computation Numerical Linear Algebra : Solving linear system, matrix factorization, locating eigenvalue of matrix, algebraic and iterative methods Nonlinear Equations : Closed and open domain iterative schemes to approximate solution of nonlinear equation were discussed. This included bisection, secant, Newton-Raphson, and fixed point methods, along with a discussion of the order of accuracy of some of these methods. Interpolation - Finding an interpolating polynomial given a set of data points and errors, and analysis of the accuracy of the various interpolation methods. Newton and Lagrange form of interpolation were covered. Numerical calculus : Various methods for numerically approximating integrals and derivatives were discussed, along with the errors for the same Numerical ...

Instructor Name Swapneel Mahajan Course Type Core for EP students (Half-sem) Course overview Power series method of solving linear ODEs. Frobenius method for regular singular points. Legendre equation and its solutions, Legendre Polynomials. Bessel equation, Bessel functions, Bessel expansion theorem. Fourier series and their properties, application of fourier series in solving 1-D heat and wave equations (with various boundary conditions). 2-D wave equation (square and circular domain) and visualisation of modes. Application of Bessel functions of the first and second kind. Laplace equation, and variable separation techniques to solve it. Prerequisites No formal prerequisites. However knowledge of MA 108, and MA 205 might be helpful. Credit distribution There was one quiz (30%) and one end-sem (70%), both MCQ. Feedback on Lectures Slides were used for the entire course. A separate set of lecture notes for the entire course was uploaded on the cou...

Instructor Name  Tapanendu Kundu Course Type Core for EP students Course overview Oscillations : Most of this part is a review of simple harmonic motion. Topics like damped oscillations, forced oscillations, coupled oscillations (in both spring mass systems and electrical circuits) are discussed in a relatively rigorous manner. Fourier series analysis of oscillations is also discussed at length. Waves : The initial part is a recap of JEE physics. Equations and analyses of travelling waves, standing waves are covered. The rest of the topics include physical models for transverse and longitudinal waves, continuum model for string vibration modes, cavity quantisation of electromagnetic waves, Maxwell's equations, use of Fourier transforms. Plasmonics : Introduction to surface plasmon polaritons and bulk plasmons. Attenuated total reflection discussed in the context of specific biomedical engineering applications. Optics :  Polarisation, Jones matrix formalism, pho...

Instructor Name Sankagiri Umasankar Course Type Core for EP students Prerequisites Calculus, Differential Equations, Tensor Analysis Topics Electrostatics, Magnetostatics, Dielectrics, Relativistic Electrodynamics Books D.J. Griffiths, Introduction to Electrodyanics; J.D. Jackson, Electrodynamics Lectures Teaches on blackboard, good quality Assignments ~5 assignments, graded strictly, difficulty varies Grading Exams are not difficult, but graded strictly Online study material physicspages (a blog) Pro tips Don't make silly mistakes; Do attend the classes Respondent - Kumar Ayush Note: This is a review to help you make a more informed choice about how to study for this course and/or choosing this course . While we've tried to keep it objective and complete, one must keep in mind that students have varying interests, methods of study, and the course itself changes from year to year.

Instructor Name Prof. Kumar Rao Course Type Elective Prerequisites Formally none, but suggested prerequisites would be QM I and Special Relativity, knowing QM II and Electromagnetic Theory also helps in some parts Topics 1.Review of Special Relativity 2.Relativistic Quantum Mechanics: (i) Preview of why a new approach is needed to replace the Schrodinger equation with a relativistically covariant equation and why probability interpretation fails (ii) Klein-Gordon Equation: Derivation, Interpretation as an equation for spin 0 particles, Charge Conjugation, Time Reversal, Two Component Formalism, Pionic Atom (iii) Dirac Equation: Derivation, Interpretation as an equation for spin 1/2 particles, Dirac, Majorana and Weyl spinors, Helicity and Chirality, Gamma Matrix Manipulations, Charge Conjugation, Time Reversal, Hole Interpretation of Positrons, Covariance of Dirac Equation, Bilinear Covariants 3. Scalar Field Theory: Introduction to Lagrangian Field Density, Noether Cu...