Physics

The course is based on the chapters 14-35 of the book “Physics for Scientists en Engineers (with Modern Physics), Fifth Edition, Pearson, by Douglas C. Giancoli. For the course Pearson made a customized edition called "Thermodynamics, waves and electromagnetism" containing these chapters only. The book contains a code which is mandatory for participation in the practical sessions. Therefore a new book is required.

Waves part (chapters 14-16):

- simple harmonic motion, energy of harmonic motion, simple and physical pendulum, damped harmonic motion, forced oscillation (resonance)

- wave motion (transverse and longitudinal), energy transported by waves, wave equation, superposition, reflection, transmission, interference, refraction (Snell's law), diffraction, standing waves (resonance)

- sound, sound level (decibel scale), vibrating strings and air columns, quality of sound, noise, superposition, interference (beats), Doppler effect

Thermodynamics part (chapters 17-20):

- temperature, thermometers, thermal equilibrium, zeroth law of thermodynamics, thermal expansion, gas laws (Boyle, Charles and Guy-Lussac), absolute temperature, ideal gas law, ideal gas temperature scale (triple point), Avogadro's number

- kinetic theory of gases, molecular interpretation of temperature, Maxwell distribution of molecular speeds, real gases and changes of phase, critical temperature, phase diagram, triple point, vapor pressure and humidity, Van der Waals equation of state, mean free path, diffusion (Ficks law)

- heat as a transfer of energy, internal energy (of ideal gas), specific heat, calorimetry, open, closed and isolated systems, latent heats, first law of thermodynamics, work, state variables, work done for isothermal, adiabatic, isobaric and isovolumetric processes, molar specific heat of a gas (at constant pressure and constant volume), principle of equipartition of energy, equation of state for adiabatic expansion/compression of an ideal gas, heat transfer by conduction, convection and radiation (Stefan-Boltzmann law)

- Clausius statement of the second law of thermodynamics, heat engines, Kelvin-Planck statement of the second law, reversible and irreversible processes, Carnot cycle, Carnot efficiency, Otto cycle, heat pumps, refrigerators and air conditioners (coefficient of performance), entropy and why it is a state variable, general statement of the second law of thermodynamics (in terms of entropy), order and disorder, statistical interpretation of entropy (Boltzmann formula), microstates and the macrostate of a system, third law of thermodynamics, thermal pollution, energy resources and global warming

Electromagnetism part (chapters 21-31):

- electrostatics, Coulomb's law, electric field, electric dipole, electric flux, Gauss's law, electric potential, equipotential surface, capacitance, capacitors in series and in parallel, electric energy storage, dielectrics

- electric battery, electric current, resistance (Ohm's law), resistors is series and in parallel, electric power, DC circuits, Kirchhoff's rules, RC circuits

- magnetism, force on electric current and electric charge in magnetic field, torque on a current loop, magnetic field due to straight wire, Ampères law, Biot-Savart law, magnetic materials, electromagnets

- electromagnetic induction, Faraday's law, Lenz's law, electric generators, transformers

- mutual and self inductance, electromagnetic oscillations, AC circuits containing resistance, inductance and capacitance (resonance), impedance matching

- above mentioned laws of electromagnetism are revisited in the form of Maxwells equations, Gauss's law for magnetism

- electromagnetic (EM) waves as solutions of Maxwells equations, light as EM waves, EM spectrum, speed of light, Poynting vector, radiation pressure, wireless communication

Optics part (chapters 32-35):

- The ray model of light, reflection; image formation by a plane mirror, formation of images by spherical mirrors, concave and convex mirrors, index of refraction, Snell’s law, visible spectrum and dispersion, total internal reflection, fiber optics, refraction at spherical surfaces.

- Thin lenses, ray tracing and focal length, the thin lens equation, lensmakers equation, cameras, film and digital, the human eye, magnifying glass, telescopes, compound microscope, aberrations of lenses and mirrors.

- Waves vs particles, Huygens principle and diffraction, the Law of refraction, mirages, interference, Youngs double slit experiment, interference in thin films, Michelson interferometer, polarization, liquid crystal displays (LCD), scattering of light by the atmosphere, brightness, lumens and luminous intensity, efficiency of light bulbs.

- Diffraction by a single slit or disk, intensity of single slit diffraction pattern, diffraction in the double slit experiment, interference vs diffraction, limits of resolution, circular apertures, resolution of telescopes, the en#955; limit, resolution of the human eye and useful magnification, diffraction grating, spectrometer and spectroscopy, peak widths and resolving power for diffraction grating, X-rays and X-ray diffraction, X-ray imaging and Computed Tomography (CT Scan), microscopes and contrast.