The class will not meet on January 23, the first day of the semester. The class will begin with the lecture on Monday, January 28.
Schedule revised March 18.
| Lecture | Lab sessions | Turn in before start of lecture or lab | Lecture topics | Experiment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 28 | Jan 28,29,30 | -- | About the course; Lasers | Lab 0: Matlab/Intro |
| Feb 4 | Feb 4,5,6 | Homework 0 | Speed of light; Cerenkov radiation; Reflection and refraction at an interface; Fitting | Lab 1: Refraction |
| Feb 11 | Feb 11,12,13 | Homework 1 | Error propagation; Total internal reflection; Pockels cells; Evanescent waves | |
| Feb 18 | Feb 18,19,20 | Lab 1 Report | Theory of curved mirrors and lenses; Eyeglasses | Lab 2: Lenses |
| Feb 25 | Feb 25,26,27 | Homework 2 | Optical aberrations; Dispersion; Optical components in IR, UV, X-ray | |
| Mar 4 | Mar 4,5,6 | Lab 2 Report | Polarization states; why some materials polarize; optically active materials | Lab 3: Polarization |
| Mar 11 | Mar 11,12,13 | Homework 3 | Birefringence; Faraday rotation | |
| Spring break | ||||
| Mar 25 | Mar 25,26,27 | (nothing) | Interferometry; Gravitational wave detection | Lab 3 catch-up |
| Apr 1 | Apr 1,2,3 | Lab 3 Report | Interferometers and Fabry-Perot cavitites | Lab 4: Interferometry |
| Apr 8 | Apr 8,9,10 | Homework 4 | Optical filters; Interference filters and coatings | |
| Apr 15 | Apr 15,16,17 | Lab 4 Report | Theory of diffraction; Diffraction examples | Lab 5: Diffraction |
| Apr 22 | Apr 22,23,24 | Homework 5 | Diffraction gratings; Spectrometers; Atomic spectra | |
| Apr 29 | Apr 29,30, May 1 | Lab 5 Report | What you can learn from atomic spectra; Doppler shift; Exoplanet searches | Lab 6: Atomic Spectra |
| May 6 | May 6,7,8 | Lab 6 Report | TBD | Practical Exam |