58200 - Applied Physics

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course the student would: - know the fundamental principles of mechanics, - know the fundamental principles of thermodynamics, - know the fundamental principles of acoustics,- know the fundamental principles of electromagnetic waves and fields, - know the fundamental principles of ionizing radiation and non-ionizing radiation

Course contents

Prerequisites

Students participating in this course have a basic knowlege background in mathematics. They know about simple equations and cartesian geometry, basic geometrical shapes in 2D and 3D. The first lecture deals briefly with a review of this basic requirements.

Basic elements of mathematical analysis

Power laws. Logarithms. Equations. Reference systems. Geometric angles. Functions. Geometry.

Contents

Introduction

What is physics? The experimental method and physical quantities and laws. Measurment and uncertainty. Measurement units. Dimensional analysis.

Kinematics in one direction

Reference systems. Displacement. Scalar mean velocity. Vector velocity. One dimensional straight movement. Acceleration. Accelerated movement. Falling objects.

Vectors

Definition of a vector. Components of a vector. Sum, difference and scalar and vector product.

Dynamics

Newton's laws. Force. Mass and Newton's second law. Force diagrams. Gravitation.

Circular movement

Work and energy

Work with a constant force and with a variable force. Teorem of the kinetic energy. Potential energy and gravitation. Elastic potential energy. Conservative and non-conservative forces. Conservation of energy. Dissipative forces. Power.

Forces

Normal force. Frictional force. Inclined plane. Elasticity and Hooke's law.

Elements of Statics of Rigid and Deformable Bodies

Moment of a Force. Levers. Efforts.

Electrical Phenomena: Electrostatics

Static electricity. Electric charge, insulators and conductors, charge induction. Coulomb's law. Electric field, its field lines. Electric potential.

Electrical Phenomena: Electric Current

Capacitors. Electric cells and batteries. Electric current. Electrical circuit. Ohm's first law. Ohm's second law. Power dissipated in the conductor. Continuous current circuits. Series resistors. Resistors in parallel. Notes on electrical risk.

Waves

Elastic Waves. Electromagnetic waves

Readings/Bibliography

The teacher prepares the material used for the theoretical teching in class and for the exercises available online.

It is fundamental to use a reference text. Among others available in university libraries, this provides the necessary information:

Giancoli D., "Physics with Modern Physics", Ambrosiana Publishing House

Teaching methods

The course is based on lectures accompanied by exercises for applying the concepts presented. The material will be made available on "virtuale.unibo.it".

Assessment methods

The assessment jointly takes into account the level of knowledge and skills acquired by the student in relation to all the contents illustrated above. In particular, the knowledge and skills imparted by the Applied Physics module are assessed through a written exam lasting two hours without the aid of notes or books in the presence of the teacher; the knowledge and skills imparted by the Technical Physics module are assessed through a written test containing three open-ended questions. Two hours of time are allocated for the technical physics test. During the course, it is not possible to use notes, handouts, books or other bibliographic material.

The final mark of the Principles of Physics course is given by the arithmetic average of the marks obtained in the Applied Physics and Technical Physics tests

Teaching tools

PC, video projector, slides with theory and exercises explained and commented in the classroom.

Office hours

See the website of Francesco Decataldo