• Offered by Physics Education Centre
  • ANU College ANU Joint Colleges of Science
  • Course subject Physics
  • Areas of interest Physics, Science, Engineering
  • Academic career PGRD
  • Course convener
    • Prof Robert Elliman
  • Mode of delivery In Person
  • Co-taught Course
  • Offered in Second Semester 2020
    See Future Offerings

This course includes an on campus activity/ies. Check timetable for details. Contact course convener if you are unable to travel to Canberra.

New materials enable new technologies and many practicing physicists in academia and industry work in this fundamental area of physics. This course aims to establish fundamental concepts in condensed matter physics, and applies the physics you have learned previously (in particular quantum mechanics, classical mechanics, electromagnetism and statistical mechanics) to these real-world materials. The structure and properties of solids including thermal and electrical properties are described in lectures. The electron theory of solids is developed and applied to explain the physical properties of metals, semiconductors, dielectrics and superconductors.
Students will practice solving theoretical problems in condensed matter physics in tutorials and further develop their understanding of the topics by completing the assignments and a major project in a topic related to condensed matter physics.
This course is co-taught with undergraduate students but assessed separately.

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:

  1. Appraise the significance and value of condensed matter physics;
  2. Critically analyse and evaluate experimental strategies, and decide which is most appropriate for answering specific questions;
  3. Research and communicate scientific knowledge in the context of a topic related to condensed matter physics, in either a technical or non-specialist format;
  4. Apply key analysis techniques to typical problems encountered in the field;
  5. Gain and apply discipline-specific knowledge, including self-directed research into the scientific literature.

Indicative Assessment

  1. Examination (40) [LO 4,5]
  2. Major Project and Presentation (25) [LO 2,3,4]
  3. Assignments (35) [LO 1,3,5]

In response to COVID-19: Please note that Semester 2 Class Summary information (available under the classes tab) is as up to date as possible. Changes to Class Summaries not captured by this publication will be available to enrolled students via Wattle. 

The ANU uses Turnitin to enhance student citation and referencing techniques, and to assess assignment submissions as a component of the University's approach to managing Academic Integrity. While the use of Turnitin is not mandatory, the ANU highly recommends Turnitin is used by both teaching staff and students. For additional information regarding Turnitin please visit the ANU Online website.

Workload

The expected workload will consist of approximately 130 hours throughout the semester including:

  • Face-to face component which may consist of 3 x 1 hour lectures, 1 x 3 hour practical and 1 x 1 hour tutorial per week.
  • Approximately 46 hours of self-study which will include preparation for lectures, presentations and other assessment tasks.


Current statement: A total of approximately 36 lectures and tutorials.

Inherent Requirements

To be determined

Requisite and Incompatibility

To enrol in this course you must have previouslt completed PHYS6101 & PHYS3103 or equivalent approved by the course convenor. This course is incompatible with PHYS3032.

Prescribed Texts

Not applicable

Fees

Tuition fees are for the academic year indicated at the top of the page.  

If you are a domestic graduate coursework or international student you will be required to pay tuition fees. Tuition fees are indexed annually. Further information for domestic and international students about tuition and other fees can be found at Fees.

Student Contribution Band:
2
Unit value:
6 units

If you are an undergraduate student and have been offered a Commonwealth supported place, your fees are set by the Australian Government for each course. At ANU 1 EFTSL is 48 units (normally 8 x 6-unit courses). You can find your student contribution amount for each course at Fees.  Where there is a unit range displayed for this course, not all unit options below may be available.

Units EFTSL
6.00 0.12500
Domestic fee paying students
Year Fee
2020 $4050
International fee paying students
Year Fee
2020 $5760
Note: Please note that fee information is for current year only.

Offerings, Dates and Class Summary Links

ANU utilises MyTimetable to enable students to view the timetable for their enrolled courses, browse, then self-allocate to small teaching activities / tutorials so they can better plan their time. Find out more on the Timetable webpage.

The list of offerings for future years is indicative only.
Class summaries, if available, can be accessed by clicking on the View link for the relevant class number.

Second Semester

Class number Class start date Last day to enrol Census date Class end date Mode Of Delivery Class Summary
8558 27 Jul 2020 03 Aug 2020 31 Aug 2020 30 Oct 2020 In Person View

Responsible Officer: Registrar, Student Administration / Page Contact: Website Administrator / Frequently Asked Questions