Engineering and Physical Sciences

• To introduce the fundamental mechanics and their practical application including static equilibrium and dynamics, statically stressed systems and thermodynamics.
• To study applications of these principles to engineering artefacts and situations.
• To cultivate problem solving skills and the efficient use of time.

Algebra, functions and graphs, inverse functions, equations and inequalities; trigonometry, trigonometric formulae and equations; vectors in two and three dimensions; differentiation, chain rule, critical points, curve sketching; integration, antiderivatives, definite integrals and area.

• To introduce the fundamentals of electricity and magnetism.
• To establish the relationship between electrical and magnetic systems.
• To establish the principles of d.c. and a.c. circuit analysis.
• To understand the concept of electrical power and its conversion to mechanical power
• To introduce the properties of vibrations and waves.
• To derive the basic mathematical expressions and equations that describe wave motion.
• To apply the acquired knowledge of wave motion to explain other phenomena, emphasising the importance and applicability of wave motion to other branches of physics and engineering.
• To introduce the concepts of reflection and refraction of light and their application to simple optical instruments.

Groups of two or three students will work on a project topic selected from one of the three disciplines of engineering or physics. The work will be broken down into stages:

• reading, researching, collating
• planning for presentation
• preliminary presentation
• modifications to presentation
• model construction
• final presentation.

• Key concepts: definitions of product design and innovation; problem analysis; creativity; entrepreneurial thinking; design processes; the brief; planning to innovate; project research
• An introduction to the concepts behind and the role in product design for: User Desirability: user requirements; explicit and latent needs; aesthetics; human factors; user scenarios; form versus function Technical Feasibility: technology push innovation; technology trends; functional prototyping; specifications, design for manufacture Business viability: identifying the business opportunity; understanding the market; economics of product design
• Communication in Product Design: communicating an idea in 2D & 3D; introduction to software as a communication medium; report writing; presentation techniques
• Product Design Study Skills: Reading for Product Design; Understanding current product design practice; developing observational habits for the product designed world.

Solar System:

• Planetary orbits, distances and masses.
• Solar parameters.
• Colour, brightness, excitation and effective temperatures.
• Spectra.
• Boltzmann-Saha equation.
• Composition, rotation and age.

Stars:

• Stellar classification, distances (statistical, secular & parallaxes), magnitudes, colour, radii, masses, temperatures, luminosities.
• Binaries (visual, eclipsing & spectroscopic), variables, Hertsprung-Russell diagram.
• Stellar structure and evolution.
• Giants, dwarfs, supernovae, pulsars and blackholes.

Galaxies:

• Galactic content and structure of the Milky Way.
• Population I and II.
• tar clusters (Open and globular), planetary nebulae
• Molecular clouds, supernova remnants, distance determination
• Galactic rotation, interstellar medium.
• Galactic parameters (mucleus, disk, halo, core etc).
• Hubble classification.
• Active galaxies (radio, Seyfery, quasars, BL Lacs), redshift & galactic clusters.

Thermal Physics: The zeroth law of thermodynamics, heat and the first law of thermodynamics. The Carnot engine and the second law of thermodynamics. The concept of entropy.

Optics: Light as a wave motion. Principle of superposition. Interference of two light waves, phase difference, optical path difference, cosine2 fringes and visibility.

Atomic and Nuclear Physics: Relativity. Michelson-Morley experiment, Lorentz-Fitzgerald contraction, Lorentz transformations, length contraction, time dilation, relativistic mass. Radioactivity.

This module will include:

• Introduction to Engineering Design
• The Design Process • Engineering Communication
• The role of communications in engineering
• Graphical Communication
• Written and Oral communication
• Design Exercises

The aim of this module is to provide broad experience of modern engineering software including:

• System Design
• System Development
• Engineering Visualisation
• MathCad

To extend the students' knowledge and understanding of Newtonian mechanics

1. by emphasising basic concepts,
2. by developing suitable mathematical models,
3. by solving the resulting differential equations and stressing their physical interpretation, and
4. (for mathematics students) by introducing problems that require more complex mathematical analysis or (for physics students) by introducing astronomy and planetary motion.

The module continues the development of the basic mathematics most relevant to engineers and covers material required for accreditation of degree programmes in engineering. It covers:

• Vectors
• Algebra
• Statistics
• Complex numbers
• Differential Equations
• Functions of One Variable
• Integration

Analogue Electronics: Voltage and current controlled sources; rectification; bipolar transistor technology; voltage amplification; negative feedback; electronic measuring systems.

Digital Electronics: Boolean Algebra; Karnaugh Maps; minimisation; concept of next state and its application to sequential systems.

To develop essential electrical circuit theory, to introduce the use of complex numbers in A.C. theory and familiarise students with the basic concepts of feedback control. Module includes:

• Electrical Circuits: AC & DC
• Electronics and Computing for Control
• Mechanics of Machines & Vibration
• Wave Motion
• Electrostatics and Electromagnetism

This module comprises three parts, namely fluid mechanics, thermodynamics, and civil engineering materials.

Civil engineering students will take fluid mechanics and civil engineering materials.

Mechanical engineering students will take fluid mechanics and thermodynamics.

This module will cover the necessary elements of electrical materials science from solid state physics. These will then be applied to develop an understanding of some basic devices, emphasising the way in which this provides the basis for their design and manufacture. The module will include:

• Atomic Physics and Chemical Bonding
• Crystal Structure
• Electrons in Solids
• Semiconductors
• Simple P-N Junctions
• The MOSFET

Engineering Geology: Introduction, rock forming minerals, rock types, rock strength and classification, safety issues, structural geology, surface processes, glaciation, geological mapping and site investigation, environmental issues, geological materials in construction and hydro-geology.

Soil Mechanics: Introduction, soil constituents and descriptions, phase relationships, effective stress, compression, shear strength, deformation, permeability and seepage, design case study.

This module comprises three parts, namely fluid mechanics, thermodynamics, and civil engineering materials.

Civil engineering students will take fluid mechanics and civil engineering materials.

Mechanical engineering students will take fluid mechanics and thermodynamics.

This module will cover:

• Complex numbers
• Lines and Planes in R3
• Vectors in n dimensions
• Linear equations and matrices
• Differential Equations
• Functions of One Variable

This module will cover:

• Independence and basis
• Determinants
• Eigenvalues and eigenvectors
• Linear transformations
• Functions of One Variable
• Multivariable Calculus

Students will be introduced to some fundamental and important ideas needed to carry forward the study and analysis of a range of problems and situations where variability and uncertainty are key features. The treatment is geared at giving students with a wide range of interests an appreciation of the need for statistical ideas and methods. The module will cover:

• Exploratory Data Analysis
• Probability
• Discrete random variables and joint distributions
• Continuous random variables