Detailed lists of literature are in the information sheets of individual subjects
Block 1 Compulsory subjects - the student randomly chooses 1 question
Environmental physics:
1. Heat engines (maximum efficiency of heat engines, efficiency of real heat engines, efficiency of combined cycle systems)
2. Synthesis (Lawson's criterion)
3. Fission (principle, diffusion, absorption, neutron production, reactor equation, multiplicative factor k)
4. First and second Fick's law, diffusion coefficient and concentration distribution variance
5. Lagrange and Euler representations within continuum mechanics. What they express and how they differ.
6. Navier-Stokes equation, behavior characteristics of the solutions of Navier-Stokes equation
Methods of Data Set Analysis:
7. Binomial, Poisson and normal distributions.
8. Chi square distribution, Student distribution, Fischer distribution.
9. Uncertainties of measurements and their propagation (why there are Gaussian uncertainties, CLT, weighted average, combinations of uncertainties, relative uncertainties, systematic and random uncertainties).
10. Estimates - definition of an estimator, requirements for a good estimator, the principle of the maximum likelihood method and the principle of the least squares method.
11. Hypothesis testing (characteristics, type I and II errors, strength and significance of the test, chi square test, run test (sign test)
Spread of pollutants in the environment:
12. Pollutants in the environment, emissions and immissions, vertical temperature stability and conditions for the dispersion of pollutants in the air.
13. Mean residence time of substances in the atmosphere, exchange times. Categories of environmental problems: local, regional and global.
14. Atmospheric aerosol, PM particles, benzo(a)pyrene, local heating and transport.
15. Long-distance transmission of pollutants in Europe, acid rains, photochemical smog.
16. Stratospheric ozone, occurrence of ozone holes, legislation on protection of stratospheric ozone layer.
17. Greenhouse effect of the atmosphere, greenhouse gases, GWP, legislation.
18. The cycle of substances on Earth, propagation of pollutants in water.
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Block 2 - Compulsory elective courses A - Energy sources - the student randomly chooses 1 question
Combustion and thermochemical processes
1. Origin and fundamental properties of fossil fuels (oil, natural gas, coal)
2. Unconventional types of oil and gas (tar sands, shale oil, tight oil, shale gas, tight gas, coal bed methane)
3. Energy recovery of coal (combustion, gasification, liquefaction, carbonisation)
4. Less valuable and alternative fuels (ethanol, methanol, dimethyl ether, biodiesel, biogas, landfill gas)
5. Spark-ignition and compression-ignition internal combustion engine (operation phases of 2- and 4-stroke internal combustion engine, methods of preparation and principle of ignition of the ignition mixture, predominant type of flame)
6. Stoichiometry, thermodynamics and kinetics of chemical reactions in the combustion process
7. Types of flames - diffusion and premixed, vaporization of droplets and their combustion, kinetic and diffusion combustion, combustion of solid fuels, smouldering, explosion, detonation.
8. Formation of combustion product emissions (NOx, COx, CHx, VOC, particulates).
9. Thermochemical processes (gasification, pyrolysis, liquefaction) and their use in waste management.
Solar energy and photovoltaics
8. Solar spectrum (energy flux density, atmospheric and latitude effects)
9. Photovoltaic electricity source (components of the PV system and their functions)
10. Volt-ampere characteristics of the solar cell (VOC, ISC, Vmp, Imp values), filling factor (definition and its use, point of maximum power)
11. Dependence of the volt-ampere characteristic of the solar cell on the temperature (connection with Eg (T))
12. Solar cell efficiency (losses affecting efficiency, optimal solar cell)
13. Structure of the solar cell (pn-junction, description of components and function of individual layers)
14. Division of solar cells (silicon technology, volumetric, thin-film, use of nanostructures)
Nuclear energy and environment
15. Nuclear reactor classification. Generation IV nuclear reactors.
16. Fuel cycle. Effect of radiation on corrosion.
17. Radiation sources and their shielding. Shielding of nuclear sources.
18. Nuclear safety. Concept of protection in depth.
19. Radioactive waste separation, treatment and disposal.
20. Radionuclide dispersion models.
21. Monitoring of radioactivity in the atmosphere and the Earth's crust.
Hydrogen power and thermonuclear fusion
26. Physical and chemical properties of hydrogen, occurrence of hydrogen in nature, areas of hydrogen utilization, hydrogen as an energy carrier.
27. Hydrogen production by various methods. Thermochemical production, Water electrolysis: thermodynamics and process efficiency, types of electrolyzers. Production of hydrogen from methane and hydrocarbons by pyrolysis with steam reforming. Biological systems of hydrogen production. Hydrogen production from ammonia.
28. Use of hydrogen in industry as a reducing agent, fuel cells and other energy uses of hydrogen. Overview of fuel cell types and examples of their use.
29. Hydrogen storage: liquefaction, adsorption and absorption in carbon systems (fullerenes, nanotubes, iC structures), metalhydrides, powerballs (magnesium, ceramic, glass and others), storage in chemical compounds (hydrazine and its compounds).
30. Energy utilization of thermonuclear fusion, the most important reactions, conditions for achieving energy gain. Basic types of thermonuclear reactors, plasma heating methods.
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Block 3 - Compulsory elective courses A - Radiation physics - the student randomly chooses 1 question
Isotope methods in environmental physics
1. Physical-chemical basis of isotope fractionation, isotope delta notation.
2. Application of stable isotopes in hydrology and carbon cycle study in nature.
3. Cosmogenic radionuclides and their applications in environmental studies.
4. Radon in the environment and its use for the study of natural processes.
5. Radionuclide dating methods (Rb-Sr, K-Ar, Sm-Nd, U-Pb, ..).
Radiation environmental physics
6. Classification of sources of radioactivity in the environment. Significant natural radionuclides.
7. Time series, distribution, migration and transport of primordial radionuclides.
8. Equation of accumulation of short-lived 222-Rn decay products. Latent energy concentration of radon decay products, equilibrium factor.
9. Radiotoxicity. Ecologically important radionuclides. Exposure from natural radionuclides, calculation of effective doses.
10. Radiation regulation for exposure from radon and other natural radionuclides.11. Nuclear-analytical methods for monitoring environmental contamination.
Radionuclide monitoring methods
12. Energy resolution of the detector, Fano factor.
13. Interaction of charged particles with the material environment
14. Interaction of gamma radiation with the material environment
15. Scintillation spectrometry using liquid scintillators (components of liquid scintillator, causes of reduction of detection efficiency of liquid scintillator (so-called quenching)
16. Gamma spectrometry (electronic path of a semiconductor spectrometer, procedure for processing a simple instrument gamma spectrum, spectrum purity, peak / Compton ratio)
17. Scintillation and semiconductor detectors.
18. Criteria for selection of methods for measuring volume activity, environmental sampling.
19. Minimum measurable activity, how to express and influence it?
20. Gas radiation detectors and specifics of alpha and beta radiation measurements.
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Block 4 - Compulsory elective courses A - Environmental physics and technology - the student randomly chooses 1 question
Air Pollution Control Technologies
1. Technologies for pollutant prevention: chemical, physical and biological methods.
2. NOx/SOx reduction: adsorption, absorption, selective catalytic reduction.
3. CO2 reduction: capture and separation, sequestration in deep seas, extracted salt, oil and gas deposits, production and storage of CO2 clathrates, utilization of CO2, biochar, artificial weathering.
4. O3 reduction: adsorption, thermal and catalytic decomposition.
5. Hydrocarbon reduction: biofiltration, condensation, adsorption, thermal and catalytic oxidation, steam and dry reforming.
6. Particulate matter (PM) reduction: gravity settling chambers, cyclones, wet scrubbers, fabric filters, electrostatic precipitators.
7. Mobile sources of pollution: parameters influencing emissions, performance and fuel consumption. Three-way and oxidation catalysts and diesel particulate filter, NOx reduction (AdBlue).
8. Removal of pollutants by electric discharges and plasma, and catalyst systems.
Water Pollution Control
9. Drinking, utility and operating water and wastewater - characteristics and basic properties.
10. Overview of water and soil pollutants, their effects on the environment, organisms and humans.
11. Main sources of water and soil pollution.
12. Mechanical and biological processes for water purification and treatment.
12. Physical and chemical processes for water purification and treatment.
14. Advanced oxidation processes for water purification and treatment.
15. Wastewater treatment plants, commercial and industrial facilities - drinking and utility water.
16. Chemical and biological analysis of water.
Solid Waste Treatment
17. Characteristics of waste. Its composition, quantity, distribution and calorific value.
18. Waste prevention and reduction. Reduction of waste sources.
19. Waste recycling: aluminum, paper, plastics, glass, metals. Energy recovery. Waste collection, separation and treatment. OLO and ASA.
20. Incineration, gasification and pyrolysis of waste. Plasma waste disposal methods. Thermal plasma, transmitted and non-transmitted arc. Industrial installations.
21. Composting: types of compost, factors influencing compost quality, composting methods and compost use.
22. Landfilling: landfill classes, landfill gases and leachate, waste solidification, landfill operation, closure and reclamation. Waste legislation.
Final exam: oral
Indicative evaluation scale: A 90%, B 80%, C 70%, D 60%, E 50%
Slovak in combination with English (some of the suggested literature in English)
The syllabi of the exam, which are published in advance, are based on the content of compulsory and optional subjects of block A, but are not strictly linked to them.
0/100
The student consolidates the knowledge and skills acquired during his/her master's study and will understand their interrelationships and the context. He/she will pass the state exam in environmental physics and renewable energy sources.
Detailed lists of literature are in the information sheets of individual subjects
Block 1 Compulsory subjects - the student randomly chooses 1 question
Environmental physics:
1. Heat engines (maximum efficiency of heat engines, efficiency of real heat engines, efficiency of combined cycle systems)
2. Synthesis (Lawson's criterion)
3. Fission (principle, diffusion, absorption, neutron production, reactor equation, multiplicative factor k)
4. First and second Fick's law, diffusion coefficient and concentration distribution variance
5. Lagrange and Euler representations within continuum mechanics. What they express and how they differ.
6. Navier-Stokes equation, behavior characteristics of the solutions of Navier-Stokes equation
Methods of Data Set Analysis:
7. Binomial, Poisson and normal distributions.
8. Chi square distribution, Student distribution, Fischer distribution.
9. Uncertainties of measurements and their propagation (why there are Gaussian uncertainties, CLT, weighted average, combinations of uncertainties, relative uncertainties, systematic and random uncertainties).
10. Estimates - definition of an estimator, requirements for a good estimator, the principle of the maximum likelihood method and the principle of the least squares’ method.
11. Hypothesis testing (characteristics, type I and II errors, strength and significance of the test, chi square test, run test (sign test)
Spread of pollutants in the environment:
12. Pollutants in the environment, emissions and imissions, vertical thermal stratification and conditions for the dispersion of pollutants in the air.
13. Mean residence time of substances in the atmosphere, exchange times. Categories of environmental problems: local, regional and global.
14. Atmospheric aerosol, PM particles, benzo(a)pyrene, local heating and transport.
15. Long-distance transmission of pollutants in Europe, acid rains, photochemical smog.
16. Stratospheric ozone, occurrence of ozone holes, legislation on protection of stratospheric ozone layer.
17. Greenhouse effect of the atmosphere, greenhouse gases, GWP, legislation.
18. The cycle of substances on Earth, propagation of pollutants in water.
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Block 2 - Compulsory elective courses A - Synoptic meteorology – the student randomly chooses 1 question
1. Principles of synoptic analysis. Physical significance of surface maps, upper-level maps, relative topography maps. Advantages and disadvantages of the synoptic method. Description of the synoptic situation.
2. Air masses - basic types, properties, identification using synoptic maps and aerological measurements, transformation.
3. Atmospheric fronts - types, basic features, identification, possible severe weather events, connection with pressure formations, with surface and upper-level thermobaric field. The occlusion process.
4. Frontogenesis and frontolysis, physical description of individual influences of frontogenetical function.
5. Cyclones and anticyclones in mid latitudes - conditions of origin, properties, identification on synoptic maps at different stages of development.
6. Cyclones and anticyclones in mid latitudes - the influence of surface and season on development. Rapid cyclogenesis.
7. Lee and Mediterranean cyclogenesis.
8. Four-quadrant model, frontal zone. Jet stream and causes of its formation.
9. Principle of PV method, upper-level and surface PV anomalies, their origin and extinction.
10. Acquisition of satellite and radar measurements. RGB products, characteristics identification of air masses and objects of synoptic analysis through satellite measurements. The radar measurements utilization in synoptic and convective meteorology, basic radar
products.
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Block 3 - Compulsory elective courses A - Dynamic meteorology - the student randomly chooses 1 question
Physics of the lower atmosphere
1. Geostrophic, gradient, cyclostrophic wind and inertial flow.
2. Ageostrophic wind.
3. Changes in geostrophic wind with altitude.
4. Thermal wind.
5. Equation of pressure tendencies.
6. Slope of the frontal surface. Speed of frontal line.
7. Vorticity equation.
8. Bjerknes, Kelvin circulation theorem.
Dynamic Forecasting Methods
9. Assimilation cycle.
10. Lagrange equations of motion of the second kind for the atmosphere. Main thermodynamic theorems.
11. Energy conservation laws. Continuity equation. Metric and potential simplification, governed equations of motion.
12. Sound waves and surface gravitational waves.
13. Buoyancy gravitational waves.
14. Inertial and Rossby waves.
Solution of atmospheric dynamics equations
15. Barotropic and baroclinic atmosphere. Barotropic instability of atmospheric waves.
16. Shallow water model, conservation of potential vorticity.
17. Numerical conditions of stability in solving differential equations in 1D and 2D dimensional grid.
18. Nonlinear instability and aliasing in numerical solution of differential equations.
19. Spectral methods.
20. Finite element method.
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Block 4 - Compulsory elective courses A - Climatology - the student randomly chooses 1 question
General Climatology and Regional Climatology
1. General circulation of the atmosphere. Monsoons. Climatic characteristics resulting from the general circulation of the atmosphere.
2. Radiation in the atmosphere, spectral composition of solar radiation. Solar constant. Changes in solar radiation in the atmosphere (absorption, scattering). Sunshine duration.
3. Temperature of the air and the earth's surface and their daily and annual course. Temperature amplitude changes with height and depth. Spatial distribution of air temperature.
4. Water vapor in the air and its importance. Daily and annual course of air humidity characteristics and their spatial distribution.
5. Atmospheric precipitation. Daily and annual course of precipitation and its distribution on the earth's surface. Snow cover.
6. Local wind systems. Daily and annual wind direction and speed.
7. Characteristics of different types of local climate and microclimate. The impact of orography on the local climate. Anthropogenic influence on the urban climate.
8. Climate change in the geological and historical past of the Earth. Climate change in the 20th century and its causes.
9. Anthropogenic effects on climate. Climate system modeling. Scenarios of changes in individual climatic elements until 2100. Consequences of climate change.
10. Principles and types of climate classifications - conventional climate classifications (Köppen) and genetic climate classifications (Alisov).
11. The climate of Europe, with special regard to the climate of Central Europe.
12. Climate classification of the Slovak Republic and climatic regions according to Konček
Block 5 - Compulsory elective courses A - Atmospheric physics - the student randomly chooses 1 question
Atmospheric boundary layer physics
1. Vertical division of the troposphere. Atmospheric boundary layer and its properties.
2. Turbulent state of the atmosphere. Richardson's number.
3. Turbulent diffusion equation, turbulent diffusion coefficient.
4. Prandtl's theory of turbulent momentum transfer, mixing length, roughness parameter.
5. Wind profile in the ground layer of the atmosphere at indifferent stratification. Lajchtman's exponential law.
6. Distribution of temperature and humidity in the ground layer of the atmosphere. Methods for determining individual turbulence characteristics.
7. Turbulent flow of heat and water vapor in the atmosphere.
8. Total radiation balance and methods for determining its components.
9. Methods for determination of evaporation from soil surface.
10. Ekman's spiral.
Physics of clouds and precipitation
11. General conditions of water vapor condensation in the atmosphere. Condensing cores. Dependence of saturated water vapor pressure on surface curvature.
12. Equilibrium of two phases. Clausius and Clapeyron's equation.
13. Vertically air movements. Adiabatic method of vertical velocity calculation.
14. Kinematic method of vertical velocity calculation. The role of latent heat in the process of cloud and fog formation.
15. Condensation on the ground. Thermodynamic conditions of mist formation.
16. Formation of a cloud drop by condensation of water vapor. Coagulation of condensation nuclei. Cooling and freezing of water drops.
17. Convection in the atmosphere. Microstructure of convective clouds. CAPE and CIN quantities. Physical processes in the clouds.
18. Type and shape of precipitation. Theory of atmospheric precipitation (Bergeron and Findeisen theory, coalescence theory). Artificial clouds and weather.
19. Dependence of saturation vapor pressure on various factors. The calculation methods of condensation level height.
20. Formation of mist, their structure, water content of fog. Mists formation from radiative cooling and from evaporation.
Final exam: oral
Indicative evaluation scale: A 90%, B 80%, C 70%, D 60%, E 50%
Slovak in combination with English (some of the suggested literature in English).
The syllabi of the exam, which are published in advance, are based on the content of compulsory and optional subjects of block A, but are not strictly linked to them.
0/100
The student consolidates the knowledge and skills acquired during his/her master's study and will understand their interrelationships and the context. He/she will pass the state exam in meteorology and climatology.
Final exam: oral
Indicative evaluation scale: A 90%, B 80%, C 70%, D 60%, E 50%
Slovak in combination with English (some of the suggested literature in English)
Presentation, defense, and discussion of own results in the field of environmental physics, renewable energy sources, meteorology, and climatology in front of the commission.
0/100
Students will be able to present, defend and discuss the results of their own diploma thesis in the field of environmental physics, renewable energy, meteorology, and climatology.