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  • PHYS 223B

    • Concepts and Phenomena of Condensed Matter Physics . PHYS 223B

    Lattice and electron dynamics. Elementary excitations and collective phenomena. Transport properties. Disorder and localization. Long-range order and broken symmetries. Magnetism, superconductivity and liquid crystals. Properties and structures of polymers, membranes, and self-assembling systems.

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    Prerequisites: Physics 219 and 215C.

    4

    Units

    Optional

    Grading

    1, 2, 3

    Passtime

    None

    Level Limit

    Letters and science

    College
    Instructors
    XU C
    Cenke XU
    3.4
    14 reviews
    Predicted Grading Distribution
    AI predicted, based on past grading trends of the course and instructor, class info, and 127 other factors
    Lecture
    PHELP2524
    T R
    12:30 PM - 13:45 PM
    0 / 50
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    Enrollment Trends
    Past Enrollment Trends (2)
    Winter 2025 . Balents L M
    PHELP1448
    M W
    11:00 AM - 12:15 PM
    Winter 2026 . Fisher M P
    NH 1111
    M W
    11:00 AM - 12:15 PM
    Grading Trends (14)
    See All
    PHYS 223B Xu C Winter 2013 Total: 16
    PHYS 223B Xu C Winter 2012 Total: 11
    Rate My Professors
    See All
    14
    3.4
    PHYS21 . Xu C 4 Years Ago

    Helpful and organized.

    0 helpful 0 unhelpful
    PHYS21 . Xu C 4 Years Ago

    Xu is the most helpful professor I have ever met, he is always open to students' questions. Most important, he is very brilliant and inspiring. As his convention, the first day lecture would mention the tensor which is the content should be learned in UD course, don't be scared, because his homework and exams are quite easier than you expect :)

    0 helpful 0 unhelpful
    PHYS21 . Xu C 4 Years Ago

    Prof Xu is nice in person. Reply emails really fast. Yet exams are HARD. Homework not as hard, but some say it isn't close to exam questions. If you get extremely complicated expressions for your answer on exams, do trust yourself. The correct answers often look insane, and you should always attempt every problem cuz graders give partial credit.

    0 helpful 0 unhelpful
    PHYS123B . Xu C 5 Years Ago

    Generally clear in the teaching. The class is very theoretical and focuses heavily on simplified models. Doing the homeworks made me very familiar with Mathematica too!

    0 helpful 0 unhelpful
    PHYS20 . Xu C 5 Years Ago

    Prof. Xu is a good person. He is always patient in explaining the homework during office hours. His exams are challengeable but I think that will be beneficial to the students who are intended to pursue a career in physics.

    0 helpful 1 unhelpful
    PHYS20 . Xu C 5 Years Ago

    Professor Xu is a very nice, caring, and smart person. However his teaching ability isn't really great. Instead of teaching us to understand how and why things were the way they were, we were given equations and simply expected to know how and when to use them. He is always open to questions but his explanations felt like a reiteration of the book

    1 helpful 0 unhelpful
    See all 14 reviews
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