Learning objectives
The course aims to provide the student with fundamental knowledge of the laws of
physics and of the application of the laws to the study of the most common
phenomena in order to be able to describe and interpret investigation and
measurement techniques, which will then be used in research or working
laboratories. Particular attention will be placed on units, orders, appropriate use of
terms and development of ability to synthetize. The fundamental equations will be
explained and applied, with acknowledgement of the limits of their validity, to the
case of simple problems.
Prerequisites
Attendance to the basis Mathematics course is recommended
Course unit content
Mechanics-Fluids-Thermodynamics-Electromagnetism-Optics - Modern Physics
Full programme
Particle mechanics
Measurements - Units - Physical quantities - Vectors Operations on vectors - Motion
- Scalar and vector velocity - Acceleration - Motion in two and three dimensions -
Velocity and mean velocity - Acceleration and mean acceleration - Projectile motion
- Uniform circular motion - Relative motion - Newton's laws - Forces - Mass -
Applications of Newton's laws - Kinetic energy and work - Power - Potential energy -
Conservative forces - Work done by non-conservative forces - Conservation of
energy
System mechanics and rigid body mechanics
Particle systems - Centre of mass - Newton's second law for a particle system -
Momentum of a particle system - Conservation of momentum - - External forces
and internal energy changes - Collisions - Impulse and momentum - Elastic
collisions in one dimension - Inelastic collisions in one dimension - Rotation -
Rotational variables - Rotation with constant angular acceleration - Linear and
angular variables - Rotational kinetic energy - Moment of inertia - Moment of a force
- Work, power and work-kinetic energy theorem - Rolling - Angular momentum -
Conservation of angular momentum
Fluid mechanics - Waves in elastic media
Fluids - Density and pressure - Fluids at rest - Measurement of pressure - Pascal's
law - Archimedean principle - Ideal fluids in motion - Streamlines and continuity
equation - Bernoulli equation - Oscillations - Simple, damped and forced harmonic motion, Pendulums - Resonance - Waves -
Transverse and longitudinal waves - Wavelength and frequency - Speed of a
moving wave - Energy and power of a moving wave - The superposition principle -
Interference - Phase vectors - Stationary waves and resonance - Acoustic waves -
Speed of sound - Interference - Sound intensity and level - Sources of musical
sounds - Beats - Doppler effect
Gravitation
Newton's law of gravitation - Inertial mass and gravitational mass - Terrestrial
gravitation: the weight of bodies and the fall of bodies - Kepler's laws of planetary
motion - Gravitational potential energy - Artificial satellites and interplanetary probes
- Gravitation, astrophysics and cosmology
Heat and temperature
Thermal equilibrium and zeroth law of thermodynamics - Temperature and heat -
Temperature measurement and temperature scales - Thermal expansion - Heat
capacity and specific heat - Changes of state and latent heat - Propagation of heat
The first law of thermodynamics
Heat and work - Thermodynamic system - Internal energy - Thermodynamic
transformations - Reversible and irreversible processes - Graphical representation
of a transformation - Gas as a thermodynamic system - Work of pressure forces -
Molar specific heat at constant volume and at constant pressure - Ideal gas law -
Real gases and van der Waals equation - The first law of thermodynamics - Heat,
work and internal energy in the thermodynamic processes of the ideal gas:
isothermal, isobaric, isochoric and adiabatic.
The second law of thermodynamics
Operation of heat engines - Reversible engines and the Carnot cycle - Irreversibility
of thermal processes - The second law of thermodynamics in the Kelvin and
Clausius formulations - Efficiency of heat engines - Absolute thermodynamic
temperature and efficiency of the Carnot cycle - Refrigerators - The entropy function
- Entropy changes in reversible and irreversible thermodynamic processes - Entropy
and heat engines - Natural processes and energy degradation.
Kinetic theory of gases
Ideal gas model - Mean free path - Distribution of molecular velocities - Kineticmolecular
interpretation of the pressure and temperature of a gas - Internal energy
and equipartition principle - Molar specific heats of an ideal gas - Statistical
interpretation of the second law of thermodynamics - Entropy and probability:
disorder and information.
The electric field
Introduction to electrostatics - Electric charges - Conducting and insulating materials
- Coulomb's law - Electric force and electric field generated by monopoles - Lines of
force of an electric field - Field generated by charge pairs - Electric dipole -
Definition of flux of a vector field - Gauss' theorem - Equivalence: Coulomb's law -
Gauss' theorem - Examples for the application of Gauss' theorem - Electric potential
- Calculation of the potential starting from the electric field - Calculation of the
electric field starting from the electric potential - Equipotential surfaces - Capacitor
concept - Electrical capacity - Examples of capacitors - Polarization - Dielectrics and
dielectric constant - Gauss' law in the presence of dielectrics - Electric current -
Current density - Ohm's law - Microscopic explanation of Ohm's law -
Semiconductors and superconductors - Power - Joule effect - Electromotive force -
Mesh theorem - Series and parallel resistance - Node theorem - Charge and
discharge of an RC circuit
The magnetic field
Introduction to magnetism - Magnetic field - Magnetic force acting on a particle -
Lorentz force - Lines of force of a magnetic field - Magnetic field generated by current-carrying wires - Electric dipole-magnetic dipole analogy -
Magnetic force generated by current-carrying wires - Definition of the Ampere -
Field generated by a solenoid and by a toroid - Induction phenomenon - Faraday's
law - Lenz's law - Examples and applications - Inductance - Inductance calculation -
Examples and applications - RL circuits - Energy considerations - Circuits in
alternating current - Alternating current generator - Phasor method - RLC circuits -
Magnetic properties of matter - Atomic and nuclear magnetism - Paramagnetism -
Diamagnetism - Ferromagnetism - Hysteresis cycle
Electromagnetic waves and light
Maxwell's equations - EM wave propagation equation - EM wave propagation
velocity - EM wave spectrum - EM wave generation - EM wave energy - Poynting
vector - References to electric dipole emission - Definition of polarized wave -
Huygens' principle - Light ray approximation - Reflection and refraction - Dispersion
and prisms - Total reflection
Geometrical optics
Mirrors and spherical dioptres, thin lenses – Reference to lens aberrations - Centred
optical systems
Wave optics and polarization
Interference - Multiple slit and thin film interference - Michelson interferometer -
Fraunhofer diffraction - Diffraction grating - Dispersive power and resolving power of
optical devices - Polarization of light: polarization by reflection and by selective
absorption.
INTRODUCTION TO MODERN PHYSICS
Bibliography
Giancoli - FISICA - CEA
Walker - Fondamenti di Fisica - Zanichelli
Teaching methods
Oral lesson
with many numerical examples
Assessment methods and criteria
Joined oral written exam with intermediate written tests used for admission to the oral examination.
Other information
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2030 agenda goals for sustainable development
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