- Home
- Teaching & Academics
- Science
A Solid Foundation in the Phys...A Solid Foundation...

A Solid Foundation in the Physics of Waves, Sound and Optics
This course is designed to make learning Physics (Waves, Sound and Optics) easy. It is well-arranged into targeted sections of focused lectures and extensive worked examples to give you a solid foundation while enhancing your understanding in key Physics topics.
The course is ideal for:
Current physics students who have taken mechanics and want to be at the top of their class
First year university students who are taking Physics or Engineering
Any person who wants to improve their understanding and problem solving skills in Physics
Any person who has taken physics a while ago and wants a quick refresher course
At the end of this course, you will have a strong foundation in one of the most important disciplines in Physics, which you will definitely come across if you are from a science or engineering (applied science) background.
I welcome any questions and provide a friendly Q&A forum where I aim to respond to you in a timely manner.
Enrol today and you will get:
Lifetime access to refer back to the course whenever you need to
Friendly Q&A forum
Udemy Certificate of Completion
30-day money back guarantee
The course covers the following core units and topics of Electricity and Magnetism:
1) Geometric Optics
a) Reflection using the Huygens-Fresnel principle, and diffuse vs specular reflection
b) Derive the mirror equation and predict the formation of images by reflection using ray diagrams
c) Use Snell's law to describe the refraction of light through a surface and total internal reflection
d) Derive the thin lens equation and predict the formation of images by refraction using ray diagrams
2) Waves, Sound and Physical Optics
a) Waves vs wave pulses
b) Wave speed of electromagnetic waves and mechanical waves propagating through a string
c) Transverse vs longitudinal waves
d) Properties of waves, including amplitude and energy
e) Periodic waves and their properties (period, frequency, wavelength)
f) Wave behaviour at boundaries and polarisation
g) Effect of wave polarisation on intensity and Malus' law
h) Electromagnetic waves and the electromagnetic specturm
i) Doppler effect
j) Wave interference and the formation of beats and standing waves
3) Diffraction and Phase Change of Light Waves
a) Intro to diffraction
b) Diffraction patterns due to single-slit interference
c) Influence of opening shapes on diffraction patterns
d) Young's double-slit experiment, interference, diffraction and light intensity
e) Diffraction grating
f) Phase change of light waves
g) Thin-film interference and its applications