Topics in Physics and Astronomy

Course goals

1. Are familiar with some of the current leading research areas in physics and their relevance in advancing technology and interdisciplinary approaches to help resolving societal challenges, such as climate change and sustainable sources of energy.
2. communicate and illustrate how knowledge from physics contributes to other disciplines, such as biology, chemistry, materials and neurosciences.
3. Understand the variety of imaging modes in electron microscopy, how it provides single-atom resolution, and how due to tomography it can be employed to obtain 3D reconstructions of nanoscale objects.
4. Describe how spectroscopic methods in electron microscopy can provide information about chemical composition and electronic state of nano-scale materials.
5. Have a basic knowledge of the large-scale structure of the universe, how extra-galactic distances are measured, and how multiple observational data suggest the existence of dark matter.
6. Have a good understanding of the main physical properties such as temperature, size and luminosity, and how these relate to apparent and absolute magnitudes.
7. apply knowledge about stellar evolution to describe how stars evolve from a white dwarf, to a neutron star or a black hole.
8. read non-technical research articles in astrophysics and lead discussions about their results and implications.

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