i Please note:
To view the current calendar, go to
Nuclear Science Minor
This program is offered jointly by the Departments of Chemistry and Physics.
Minimum Grade Requirement
Students wishing to enrol in physics courses must obtain a C- grade or better in prerequisite courses.
Program Requirements
Students complete a total of 14 upper division units, chosen from
Directed reading in a topic chosen in consultation with a supervisor. 間眅埶AV requires selection of a faculty supervisor and submission of a study topic to the department a least one month prior to the start of the term in which the course will be taken. Prerequisite: Permission of the department. Normally taken during the fourth year of study.
Brief description of the nucleus and its decays and reactions; interaction of radiation with matter; nuclear instrumentation; radioisotopes in chemistry; activation analysis and related analytical techniques; other applications of nuclear techniques; nuclear reactors and nuclear fusion. Prerequisite: Completion of 60 units in a science program, including first year calculus, chemistry and physics. Quantitative.
Review of nuclear properties and systematics. Properties of the nuclear force; shell model and structure of complex nuclei, nuclear decay via particle emission and spontaneous fission; experimental description of nuclear reactions; nucleon-nucleus and heavy ion reactions. Prerequisite: NUSC 341 or permission of the department. Recommended: MATH 251. Quantitative.
Formation and distribution of the chemical elements in the early universe, in present stellar environments and in the solar system; elemental abundances and isotopic ratios; and radiometric chronology techniques. Prerequisite: Completion of 60 units in a science program, including first year calculus, chemistry and physics. Quantitative.
Introduction to the techniques of radiochemistry; proportional and Geiger counters; sample preparations and half-life measurement; synthesis and separation of labelled compounds; beta and gamma-ray spectroscopy. Prerequisite: NUSC 341. Quantitative.
Advanced topics in nuclear science. Prerequisite: NUSC 342 or 442, or permission of the department.
Wave mechanics and the Schroedinger equation, the harmonic oscillator, introduction to Dirac notation, angular momentum and spin, the hydrogen atom, atomic structure, time-independent perturbation theory, atomic spectra, and applications. Prerequisite: MATH 252 or 254; PHYS 285 or ENSC 380 or CHEM 260, with a minimum grade of C-. Corequisite: PHYS 211; MATH 310. Quantitative.
Physics of elementary particles. Symmetries, strong interactions, electromagnetic interactions, weak interaction. Prerequisite: PHYS 385 or CHEM 464, with a minimum grade of C- or permission of the department. Recommended: PHYS 380. Students with credit for NUSC 485 may not take this course for further credit. Quantitative.