To show the organization of the course that includes this module, follow this link:  Course organization

Learning outcomes

The Course is designed to provide the student the basic knowledge of physics, taking particular account of those principles and laws that will be needed to comprehend and to have a deeper understanding of biomedical problems.

Program

Introduction
Physical quantities, Base physical quantities and derived physical quantities. Standards of lenght, mass and time. MKS and cgs systems of units. Cartesian frame of reference. Vector and scalar quantities. Components and magnitude of a vector. Addition and subtraction of vectors. Unit vectors. The scalar products of two vectors.
Mechanics
Displacement, Velocity, Acceleration. Average and instantaneous velocity. Particle under constant velocity. Average and instantaneous acceleration. Particle under constant acceleration. Forces . The principles of dynamics . Law of universal gravity. Weight. Definition of Work and Energy. Kinetic energy. Work-kinetic energy theorem. Conservative forces. Potential energy. Law of conservation of mechanical energy. Power.
Fluid
Definition of Fluid. Density. Pressure. Archimede’s principle. Variation of pressure with depth (Stevin’s Law). Pascal’s Law. Measurement of atmospheric pressure or Torricelli’s experiment. Pressure Units: atm, mmHg, Pa. Pressure measurements. Archimede’s principle. Fluid dynamics. Bernoulli’s equationU-tube manometers. Flow. Measurement of arterial blood pressure. Perfect fluid. Continuity equation for flow and its application to blood circulation. Bernoulli’s theorem and its application to stenosis and aneurysm. Real fluid and viscosity. Blood viscosity. Poiseuille’s Law. Physiological effects of hydrostatic pressure.
Thermal phenomena and gases
Temperatue, heat. Thermal expansion. Mercury thermometer. Celsius, Kelvin anf Farheneit Scale. Thermal capacity, specific heat. Mechanical equivalent of heat. Gas laws: First and second Gay-Lussac laws. The absolute temperature (Kelvin Scale). Boyle’s law. Avogadro’s law. Ideal gas law. Thermodynamic systems and process. First and second law of thermodynamics. Heat transport by conduction, convection and radiation.
Electrical phenomena
Electric charge. Coloumb’s law. Electic field, potential energy and electric potential. Electric current. Ohm’s law. Resistance and resistivity. Conductors and insulators. The electronvolt.

books:
1) Monaco V., Sacchi R., Solano A., Elementi di Fisica, McGrawHill
2) Borsa F., Introzzi G.L. Scannicchio D., Elementi di Fisica per Diplomi di indirizzo medico biologico, Edizioni Unicopli, 2003.
3) Borsa F., Lezioni di Fisica e Biofisica Medica, Milano, Ed. La Gogliardica Pavese, 1980
4) The test can be prepared using a physics textbook for secondary schools

Examination Methods

Written test (multiple choice test) followed by an optional oral test.