The Department of General Physics conducts scientific research in the following areas: condensed matter physics, low temperature physics, physics of magnetic phenomena, physics of magnetic nanostructures and spintronics, nanostructure technology, atomic and molecular physics, nonlinear optics, instruments and methods for monitoring the environment, substances, materials and products, theory and methodology of teaching and upbringing (by areas and levels of education), theory and methodology of vocational education.

Teachers and staff of the department closely cooperate with the scientific groups of other departments of the Institute of Physics: Theoretical Physics, Solid State Physics, Quantum Electronics and Radiospectroscopy, Physics of Molecular Systems, Optics and Nanophotonics. Joint scientific work and scientific internships form a strong link with the Kazan Physicotechnical Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences and with foreign partners.

Employees and teachers of the Department of General Physics deliver reports at international and All-Russian conferences on condensed matter physics, low temperature physics, superconductivity, physics of magnetic phenomena, magnetic nanostructures and spintronics, nonlinear optics, fractals, theory and methods of teaching, etc. Scientific works are published annually in articles both in the central scientific journals of the country and abroad. Extensive international contacts of the department allow for a scientific internship in Japan, Germany and France. The Department of General Physics has long-term scientific and educational contacts with theoretical and experimental groups, both Russian and foreign. The staff of the department lectured and delivered reports at international congresses in Japan, USA, France, Germany, England, Austria, Poland, Turkey, Korea, Sweden, Spain, Malaysia and many other countries.

A large research work is carried out with students and graduate students, actively involving them in research activities. Annually students of the department take part in the Student Conference of the KFU on Physics.

Directions of scientific work of the Department of General Physics:

• Condensed matter physics
  • A field of fundamental science that studies the behavior of complex systems (systems with a large number of degrees of freedom) with a strong connection, the evolution of which can not be "divided" into the evolution of individual particles. Theoretical and experimental research is aimed at studying the physical nature of the properties of crystalline and amorphous, inorganic and organic substances in the solid and liquid states, depending on their chemical, isotopic composition, temperature and pressure, and their variation under various external influences. Examples of condensed media with a variety of properties: materials with a complex internal structure (soft condensed media), quantum liquids (superfluid media, electronic liquid in metals), spin chains, strongly correlated systems, complex networks, magnetic moments, physics of disordered systems, etc. Research area: development of mathematical models for constructing phase diagrams of the state and forecasting changes in the physical properties of condensed matter depending on the external conditions of their location; the development of experimental methods for studying physical properties and the creation of the physical foundations of industrial technology for obtaining materials with certain properties (the passport of the specialty VAK 01.04.07).
  • Area of future activity - is the study of the properties of solids and processes occurring with them (organic materials, various nanostructures, fullerenes, semiconductors and superconductors, magnetic materials, clusters of molecules and atoms). Employment is possible at enterprises, institutions and research centers in those sectors of the economy where research results are used and developed.

• Low Temperature Physics
  • a field of fundamental science that studies physical phenomena and states of matter, characteristic of temperatures close to absolute zero. It includes theoretical and experimental studies of the structure and properties of matter in the ground quantum state and the physical nature and characteristics of various elementary excitations, as well as quantum cooperative phenomena such as superfluidity, superconductivity, Bose condensation, magnetic, charge and other types of ordering. Areas of research: Quantum liquids and crystals; Superconducting systems, including high-temperature superconductors; quantum gases; strongly correlated electron and phonon systems; low-temperature magnetism: magnetic structures, phase transitions, magnetic resonance; low-dimensional quantum systems and systems with disorder; mesoscopic systems; study of mechanical, electrical, magnetic, optical, thermal and other physical properties of matter at low temperatures; development of methods for obtaining and measuring low and ultra-low temperatures (the passport of the specialty VAK 01.04.09).
  • Area of future activity - scientific developments in the leading scientific centers of Russia: power engineering, nuclear physics, cryogenic medicine, refrigeration; specialists produce cold neutrons for consumers, create unique technologies, including medical equipment.

• Computer design of new materials
  • The field of physics, which is only a few years old, has united the aspirations of many scientists of different fields for several decades. Fundamental knowledge in physics, chemistry, materials science and technology of materials production allow predicting the crystal structure of new materials with the help of specially developed approaches in software. Prediction of a substance with the desired properties implies that the new material will have a certain composition and structure. A rather complicated task is to describe all the variations in the arrangement of atoms in the crystal structure of a new material, each of which will have different properties. One of the directions of solving this problem is the approach of a consistent improvement of the system of solutions. In other words, the approach involves predicting on the basis of so-called expert training, when the most effective and interesting variations in the structure, morphology, and properties of the new material are taken as the basis for creating even more interesting options.
  • Area of future activity - specialists can engage in scientific research in research laboratories, institutes, centers of high-technology production in any field and any profile, including in such a topical direction as pharmaceuticals, as well as in research laboratories of enterprises for recycling.

• Physics of magnetic phenomena
  • ​the field of science dealing with the study of the interactions of substances and their structural elements (molecules, atoms, ions, nuclei, electrons) that have a magnetic moment, with each other or with external magnetic fields; magnetic phenomena, as well as the development of materials with specified magnetic properties, magnetic installations and devices. Application is possible in the field of magnetic resonance for the study of quantum liquids, single crystals and nanocrystals, materials of quantum electronics, high-temperature superconductors, oil, and interdisciplinary problems at the intersection of physics and chemistry, biology and medicine (the passport of the specialty VAK 01.04.11).
  • Area of future activity - the development of magnetic installations in design bureaus, materials with magnetic properties, devices using magnetic materials, the improvement of technological processes based on magnetic phenomena in institutions, research centers in those sectors of the economy where research results are used and developed.

• Theoretical physics
  • ​The field of physics that deals with the mathematical formulation of the laws of physical phenomena observed experimentally. Theoretical physics is a unified science, internal connections in which are established by analytical calculations or numerical calculations and by comparison with experimental data. The aim of the research is the most complete description of fundamental physical laws. Areas of research: the theory of the condensed state of classical and quantum systems, as well as macroscopic and microscopic; study of various states of matter and physical phenomena in them; statistical physics and the kinetic theory of equilibrium and nonequilibrium systems; quantum information theory and quantum computing; the development of the theory of mesoscopic systems; development of the theory and investigation of general properties and regularities of nonlinear dynamics of strongly nonequilibrium systems; the development of the theory of chaos and turbulence (the passport of the specialty VAK 01.04.02).​
  • Area of future activity - scientific and research leading centers of the Russian Academy of Sciences, highly skilled programmers of the processes of modeling systems of quantum memory and quantum computing, departments of non-destructive testing, experts in those areas of the economy where the results of fundamental and applied science-intensive research are used.

• Physics and technology of nanostructures, atomic and molecular physics
  • ​the field of fundamental and applied science and technology, including experimental and theoretical studies of the physical properties of objects with characteristic dimensions of the order of 100 nm or less, at least in one direction, and systems of such objects for which the key characteristics are determined by the size of the system. This area includes both the study of fundamental physical phenomena, and the development of technological processes for obtaining such systems, as well as the creation of original instruments and integrated devices based on them. Areas of research: research methods and technological methods for obtaining nanomaterials and composite structures, structures of reduced dimensionality, instruments and integrated devices based on them; structural, morphological and mechanical properties; atomic-molecular engineering, self-organization, topologically-oriented, biomimetic, biofunctionalized, energy-collecting and adaptive (self-adapting) nanostructures and nanomaterials; electronic transport in nanomaterials and composite structures, etc. (the passport of the specialty VAK 01.04.15).
  • Area of future activity - nanotechnologist of the interdisciplinary area, engaged in the creation of materials with a given atomic (molecular) structure; controlled impact on individual molecules (atoms) for the "assembly" of new materials using high-resolution electron microscopes; the development of electronic circuits the size of an atom; creation of nanorobots. Employment in research centers, laboratories, enterprises of those advanced sectors of the economy, where the results of applied and fundamental research are developed and used.

• Instruments and methods for monitoring the environment, substances, materials and products
  • the field of science and technology engaged in the creation of scientific principles for analytical and non-destructive testing of the environment, substances, materials and products, the development and implementation of instruments, facilities and systems for environmental, analytical and non-destructive testing of these facilities with improved characteristics; improving the quality of products and the natural environment, increasing the safety of man-made facilities and the period from service, expanding the automation of production processes. Areas of research: the scientific substantiation of new and improvement of existing methods of analytical and non-destructive testing of the natural environment, substances, materials and products; development and optimization of methods for calculating and designing elements, means, instruments and systems for analytical and non-destructive testing, taking into account the features of the objects of control; development, implementation and testing of instruments, means and systems for monitoring the environment, substances, materials and products with better characteristics than prototypes; the development of algorithmic and software-technical support for the processing of informative signals and the presentation of results in instruments and means of control, automation of control devices, etc. (the passport of the specialty VAK  05.11.13).
  • Area of future activity - creation of control systems for environmental auditing of environmental objects, as well as systems for environmental self-control of enterprises; the development of systems for monitoring the quality of food products, as well as the detection of poisonous substances; the development of atmospheric monitoring systems; development of non-contact methods of monitoring the environment and etc.

• Multimedia educational manuals in physics
  • ​an integral part of electronic educational resources, which includes multimedia auxiliary materials that provide accessibility and stimulating students' cognitive activity in studying basic physical phenomena, laws and concepts. The development of modern information technologies, their technical and didactic capabilities leads to a rapid growth in the number of multimedia educational publications in physics, in which interactive models, virtual physical laboratories, video fragments of experiments from all areas of physics that can not be repeated or carried out in the laboratory have appeared. Research area: e-learning resources and e-learning aids; electronic textbooks-simulators; controlling environments; adaptive electronic teaching aids with elements of artificial intelligence, taking into account the individual characteristics of students; creative multimedia environments that allow students to put forward their own versions, form their virtual worlds.

Supported scientific projects:

• New micro- and nanodevices based on low-dimensional systems of strongly correlated electrons
• New materials for quantum technologies. Quantum liquids and quantum gases (Riplon)
• Development of the instrumental and methodological base for the atomic absorption analysis of oil and oil products for the content of microelements
• Tunnel magnetoresistance and spin-moment transfer in layered magnetic nanostructures
• Complex of electronic educational resources in physics "Learning environment 21+"