27996 - General Physics T-1 (L-Z)

Course contents

THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD

Science and knowledge. The meaning of measurements . Physical quantities. The experimental method. The construction of theories. Units of measurement and systems of units. Measurement errors.

VECTOR QUANTITIES Vectors and scalars. Versors. Sum, difference and decomposition of vectors. Multiplication of vectors. Cartesian representation of vectors. Applied vectors. Moments of the vectors. Vectors and physical laws.

 

MOTION OF BODIES FROM THE KINEMATIC POINT OF VIEW.

Space and time. Motion and reference frames. Concept of material point and representations of its motion. Displacement, velocity and acceleration of the material point. Areolar velocity and acceleration. The intrinsic components of acceleration. The direct problem and the inverse problem of kinematics. Study of rectilinear motions. Simple and damped harmonic motion. Composition of harmonic motions. Definition of rigid system. Translation, rotation and roto-translation motions of a rigid body.

 

THE DYNAMICS.

The search for the causes that generate the motion of bodies. Definition of force. The fundamental forces. -The absence of forces and the principle of inertia. Inertia, inertial systems and the first principle of dynamics. The inertial mass. -The second principle of dynamics. Motion in non-inertial systems and forces of inertia. Dynamics of the material point: momentum and angular momentum; central motions; the mathematical pendulum. -Study of the motion of systems of points: the concept of interaction; the third law of dynamics in Newton's statement. Conservative statement of the third law of dynamics. The fundamental interactions in nature. -Gravitational interaction: Newton and the first unification of forces; gravitational mass and inertial mass. The motion of the planets. Notes on the electromagnetic interactions, weak and strong and on their unification. -The cardinal equations of mechanics and the necessary and sufficient conditions to describe the motion of mechanical systems. -The center of mass. -The dynamics of rigid systems. The moment of inertia. The Huyghens-Steiner theorem. Motion of a rigid body with a fixed axis. The physical pendulum. -Work and energy: the work done by a force on a material point. The power. The concept of energy. Relationship between work and motion. The theorem of kinetic energy for a material point. The gradient of a scalar field. The rotor of a vector field. The flow of a vector field, Gauss' theorem and divergence. Null rotor fields and the potential of a field. Conservative force fields and potential energy. the theorem of conservation of mechanical energy. The potential of the gravitational force field.

The work and energy for a system of points. Expression of work for a rigid point system. Kinetic energy for systems of points. Koenig's theorem. Expression of kinetic energy for a rigid system. The potential energy for point systems. Energy conservation theorem for systems. The systems of material points in the presence of conservative and non-conservative forces: the principle of energy conservation.

Readings/Bibliography

GIANNI VANNINI, Gettys-Fisica1, Meccanica-Termodinamica, Ed. McGraw-Hill.

Teaching methods

Classes are hold in italian, with chalk and blackboard

Office hours

See the website of Pierbiagio Pieri

See the website of Daniele Bonacorsi