Physics: Additional Topics

Description

This course focuses on 3 topics: fluid mechanics, thermodynamics, and sound.  During this course the student learns to: describe, explain and predict the properties and behavior of a fluid in dynamic (flowing) circumstances calculate and explain the velocity profile of a flowing fluid with internal friction and confined between boundaries, and subject to gravity, using the Navier-Stokes equations (for which a derivation can be given) derive and explain various static and dynamic properties of fluids, including phase transitions and diffusion, using the principles of statistical mechanics demonstrate insight into the concept of heat and heat transport, and relate it to mechanical energy (transport) in the frame-work of the first law of thermodynamics; describe and explain specific heat for ideal gases, and discuss calorimetry, including equipartition of energy and quantum mechanical effects related to the temperature-dependent active degrees of freedom demonstrate insight in the various modes of heat transfer formulate various versions of the second law of thermodynamics and describe their implications, especially the entropy formulation of the second law calculate the properties of thermodynamic cycles for heat engines (motors) as well as refrigerators and heat pumps, using the concept of cyclic transformations in thermodynamic variables describe and explain entropy from the point of view of statistical mechanics and microscopic degrees of freedom derive and explain the wave equation by using concepts from fluid mechanics, thermodynamics and kinetic gas theory compute, sketch and interpret sound fields, e.g. by solving the Helmholtz equation understand, interpret and apply the representation of harmonic sound quantities by complex numbers, e.g. in problems related to reflection, transmission and radiation of sound decompose nonharmonic sound fields into pure tones, and reconstruct the time domain signal after further processing in the frequency domain show aptitude in conducting simple physics experiments by participating interactively in demonstrations during the lectures