Welcome#
Welcome to PHY11006 Waves & Oscillations! Waves and oscillations are absolutely fundamental to lots of other areas of physics. Being an astronomer, all my research depends on the collection of light from distant sources. And since light travels as an electromagnetic wave, waves are fundamental to my research. So I hope my love of this subject will make an impression on at least some of you.
Before we get started on the physics of Waves and Oscillations, there are a few points of admin that need to be covered…
Admin#
Lectures#
There are eleven 50-minute Waves & Oscillations lectures in PHY11006. Barring any unforeseen events, all the lectures will be in-person at 9-9.50 am each Monday. Should something happen that prevents an in-person lecture, then live lectures will proceed online via Blackboard Collaborate Ultra. Full instructions on how to access online lectures will be provided should the need arise. All lecture notes and slides have already been made available on Blackboard, and recordings will be made available after each lecture (please allow a few hours for the recordings to be processed). Bear in mind, however, that the lecture recordings often fail to capture what is written on the blackboard, so please avoid non-attendance assuming that you can watch the recordings later and still get the same experience.
Homeworks#
You will have four so-called “Lecture Homeworks” to do during the semester. Each homework consists of one question from each of the three parts of the module (Mechanics, Waves & Oscillations, and Thermal). Homeworks will be made available on Blackboard - there is also a table on Blackboard showing the release and deadline dates of all module assessments. As you may expect, I write the Waves & Oscillations questions, while Profs Crowther and Kok write the Mechanics and Thermal questions, respectively.
Office Hours#
Office hours are times in the week when I will be available in case some of you have questions or wish to raise any issues with me. My, and most other staff’s, office hours - together with our email addresses - are advertised on the Sheffield Physics Intranet pages. While you can arrive unannounced during my office hours, it’s best to email beforehand to confirm. If you wish to see me outside my office hours, you’ll need to email me to arrange a suitable time. If you come to my office outside my office hours, please don’t be offended if I ask you to either return during my office hours, or to arrange an appointment.
With that out of the way, let’s do some physics…