Teaching code

4S00004

Academic staff

Pietro Bontempi, Elisa Mosconi

Coordinator

Pietro Bontempi

Credits

8

Language

Italian

Scientific Disciplinary Sector (SSD)

FIS/07 - APPLIED PHYSICS

Period

1° semestre, 2° semestre

Location

VERONA

Courses Single

Not Authorized

Lessons timetable Moodle Seminars 0

Learning objectives

The Physics course aims to provide students with the fundamental concepts of classical mechanics, thermodynamics, and electromagnetism. It further seeks to provide students with those fundamental concepts of classical and modern physics that are applicable in medicine. Finally, it aims to show how the laws of physics underlie the physiology of the human body and some modern diagnostic and therapeutic technologies used in medicine.

Prerequisites and basic notions

Basic mathematics learned in secondary school courses.

Program

The course is divided into two modules: basic physics (60 h) and applied physics (36 h).

The basic physics module aims to provide students with the fundamental notions of classical mechanics, thermodynamics and electromagnetism.

Detailed program:

Introduction: The experimental method. Physical quantities and units of measurement. Scalars and Vectors. Units of measurement.
Kinematics: position and displacement, velocity and acceleration, linear motion (rectilinear and uniform, uniformly accelerated). Free fall and projectile motion.

Dynamics: Forces, inertial reference systems and Newton's first law. Newton's second law and free-body diagram. Systems and interactions: Newton's third law. Mass and weight. Interaction with surfaces: friction forces. Spring force.

Energy and law of conservation of energy: Work of a constant force, work and kinetic energy. Work of a variable force. Conservative forces and dissipative forces. Potential energy. Mechanical energy and its conservation. Dissipative forces and thermal energy. Elastic potential energy. Conservation of energy. Relationship between potential energy and force.

Momentum: momentum and impulse. Conservation of momentum. Collisions. Momentum of momentum (angular momentum) and its conservation. Circular and rotary motion: uniform circular motion, central forces. Examples of circular and uniform motion. Rigid body. Momentum of a force or system of forces. Rotation of a rigid body. Angular velocity and angular acceleration. Rotational dynamics and moment of inertia. Rigid body in rotation with constant acceleration. Energy for rotary motion.

Law of Universal Gravitation and gravitational potential energy.

Oscillations and Waves: Simple harmonic oscillator. Harmonic oscillator and circular motion. Energy of the harmonic oscillator. Damped and forced oscillations. Resonance. Propagation of waves.

Thermodynamics: Temperature and thermometers. Heat and the first law of thermodynamics. Thermal expansion and transformations of state. Specific heat and latent heat of transformation. Calorimetry, heat transfer. Ideal gases. Absolute temperature. Kinetic theory of gases, internal energy and specific heat. The Boltzmann distribution. Reversible and irreversible processes. Second law of thermodynamics and entropy.

Electrostatic phenomena: Electric charge and Coulomb's law, the electric field. Gauss's law. Motion of a charge in an electric field. Potential energy and electric potential. Capacitors, series and parallel of capacitors, energy of capacitors. Dielectric materials.

Current and electric circuits: Electric current. Ohm's laws. Resistance, series and parallel of resistances. Electric energy. Kirchhoff's laws.

Magnetism: Static magnetic fields. Motion of charges in magnetic fields. Magnetic field generated by currents. Ampere's law. Electromagnetic induction. Magnetic flux and Faraday and Lenz's laws. Inductance. Maxwell's equations. Electromagnetic waves. Energy and intensity of the wave. Principle of superposition. The spectrum of em. waves.

The Applied Physics module aims to provide students with the fundamental notions of classical physics and modern physics that find application in medicine. It also aims to show how the laws of physics are the basis of the physiology of the human body and of some modern diagnostic and therapeutic technologies used in medicine.

Detailed program:

Dynamic aspects and balance of the human body: moment of force, weight and balance of the human body. Center of gravity. Balance of the joints of the human body. Levers.

Fluids: properties of fluids, pressure. Archimedes' principle, Pascal's principle. Hydrostatic pressure. Dynamics of fluids, flow rate, continuity equation. Fluids in motion. Dynamics of ideal fluids, Bernoulli's theorem. Viscous fluids, dynamics of viscous fluids, Hagen Poiseuille equation. The circulatory system. Laplace's law. Surfactants and respiration. Transport of molecules by diffusion. Diffusion through membranes. Filtration and osmosis.

Mechanical waves in medicine: Sound and ultrasound. Production and detection of ultrasound. Propagation of ultrasound in biological tissues. Doppler effect, Ultrasound. Use of ultrasound for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes.

Electrical phenomena in medicine: Difference in potential of the cell membrane and action potential of cells. Transmission of the electrical signal in neurons. Polarization and depolarization of cardiac cells. The electric potential of the dipole. The electrocardiogram. Examples of electrical circuits used in medical equipment.

Optics and Geometrical Optics: Light and the wave/corpuscular theory. Snel's laws. Approximation of geometrical optics, Reflection, Refraction and Transmission of light. Mirrors and lenses. Equation of thin lenses. Formation of the image by refraction. Formation of the image by reflection, flat mirror and spherical mirror. Color and dispersion. Combination of lenses, the optical microscope, the human eye. Resolution of optical instruments. Modern optical microscopy instruments.

The atom and the nucleus: photoelectric effect, photons, matter waves, quantization of energy. Energy levels and quantum jumps. The uncertainty principle. The model of the hydrogen atom and hydrogen-like atoms. Excited states and spectra, fluorescence. Stimulated emission and lasers. Use of lasers in medicine. Nuclear structure and stability of the nucleus. Nuclear forces. Radiation and radioactivity. Types of radioactive decay. The interaction of ionizing radiation with matter. Biological effect of ionizing radiation and dosimetry. Nuclear medicine. Production and detection of X-rays. Use of X-rays in diagnostics: radiography and computerized axial tomography.

Magnetic properties of the nucleus: the nuclear magnetic spin moment and the interaction with a magnetic field. Energy levels and transitions, the phenomenon of resonance. Magnetic resonance imaging (notes).

Bibliography

Didactic methods

Frontal lessons

Learning assessment procedures

Written test consisting of exercises on the topics covered during the course. Optional oral test.

Evaluation criteria

To pass the exam, students must demonstrate:
- knowledge and understanding of the fundamental physical principles and phenomena of classical mechanics, thermodynamics and electromagnetism;
- ability to understand problems and formulate clear, exhaustive and synthetic solutions.

Criteria for the composition of the final grade

Basic Physics
The final grade will be the sum of the scores obtained on each exercise reported in thirtieths. The optional oral test may modify the grade determined by the written exam.

Exam language

Italiano