Physics

Sarah Jelimo Kimutai '24 and Mahderekal Regassa '24 begin laying out a Mach-Zehnder Interferometer
Sarah Jelimo Kimutai '24 and Mahderekal Regassa '24 begin laying out a Mach-Zehnder Interferometer
Jill Mankoff '21 and Annie Gomez '22 prepare to watch a material's atomic structure change in real time
Jill Mankoff '21 and Annie Gomez '22 prepare to watch a material's atomic structure change in real time
Cora Barrett '23 and Jiatong Yang '23
Cora Barrett '23 and Jiatong Yang '23
Lily Zhang '12 and Ijeoma Ekeh '12 with the open cavity helium neon laser.
Lily Zhang '12 and Ijeoma Ekeh '12 with the open cavity helium neon laser.
Laser cooling: Rita Lam '09 adjusts a magneto-optical trap for cooling rubidium atoms to a temperature of 300 microkelvin.
Laser cooling: Rita Lam '09 adjusts a magneto-optical trap for cooling rubidium atoms to a temperature of 300 microkelvin.
Tiffany Lin '12 and Irene Roman '13 stand in front of a screen with a photo of 3D glasses.
Tiffany Lin '12 and Irene Roman '13 explain how 3D glasses work.
Bifurcation diagram for our chaotic pendulum, drawn by Rachel Zizza '13.
Bifurcation diagram for our chaotic pendulum, drawn by Rachel Zizza '13.
Science Center Focus at night
Science Center Focus at night
Success! Wellesley students celebrate the detection of single-photon interference!
Success! Wellesley students celebrate the detection of single-photon interference!

Welcome to Wellesley Physics

⚛️ Please note that the Department of Physics and the Department of Astronomy have now merged. A new Department of Physics and Astronomy combined web site is now available.  Recent Physics and Astronomy events and updates can be found on Facebook.  This web site persists for granular definition of student curricular and major pathways.

Wellesley College has a long tradition of providing high-quality scientific training in the context of a liberal arts education. The Physics Department is an integral part of that tradition. The contemporary study of the physical universe encompasses systems ranging from the microscopic - atoms, nuclei, and elementary particles, to the very large - planets, stars, and galaxies. A central theme of all branches of physics is the search for unifying principles underlying the diverse phenomena of nature. Wellesley offers a full range of academically demanding courses that constitute a strong physics major and small classes that allow for individualized attention.