Lecture 1 - Measurement

Lecture 2 - Gravitation

1. Fundamental Forces in Nature

There are four fundamental forces:

•Strong Nuclear Force: The strongest, holding atomic nuclei together; short-ranged.
•Weak Nuclear Force: Involved in radioactive decay; very short-ranged.
•Electromagnetic Force: Associated with electricity and magnetism; acts between charged
objects, with an infinite range.
•Gravitational Force: The weakest, yet always attractive, responsible for the force of attraction
between masses, and also has an infinite range.

2. Newton’s Law of Gravitation

•G: The gravitational constant - force of attraction between 2 masses of 1kg each separated by
distance of 1m.
•The force is always attractive and acts along the line connecting the centers of the two masses.

3. Gravitational Force Properties (holds us to Earth and Earth in orbit around the sun)

•Always Attractive: The force is always pulling objects together, never pushing them apart.
•Equal in magnitude and Opposite in direction : According to Newton’s Third Law, if object 1
exerts a force on object 2, object 2 exerts an equal but opposite force on object 1.
•Superposition Principle: Gravitational forces from multiple sources can be added as vectors to
find a net force.

4. Free-Fall Acceleration ()

•Objects near Earth’s surface experience a constant downward acceleration .

•This acceleration is independent of the object’s mass, shape, or density.
•Galileo demonstrated this by dropping two spheres of different masses from the Leaning Tower
of Pisa, showing they hit the ground simultaneously.
5. Mass vs. Weight
•Mass : A measure of the amount of matter in an object; measured in kilograms (kg).
•Weight : The gravitational force acting on an object; measured in newtons (N).

6. Gravity According to Einstein’s Theory of Relativity

•General Theory of Relativity: Gravity is not just a force but a result of the curvature of
spacetime caused by masses.
•Equivalence Principle: An observer in free-fall cannot distinguish between gravitational pull and
acceleration in space.
•Gravitational Lensing: Massive objects like stars bend the path of light passing nearby,
confirmed during a solar eclipse in 1919.
•Gravitational Waves: Detected in 2016, these are ripples in spacetime caused by massive
accelerating objects, such as merging black holes.
7. Unanswered Questions in Gravitation

•The fundamental source of gravity remains a mystery. It might be related to:

•Curved spacetime as Einstein suggested.
•A fundamental force between masses.
•A hypothetical particle called the graviton, which hasn’t been discovered yet.

Lecture 3 Summary: Engineering Materials – Fundamentals

[Link] to Engineering Materials

•Materials are fundamental to engineering, significantly impacting technological and economic

growth.
•Six major types: Metals, Ceramics, Glasses, Polymers, Composites, and Semiconductors.

[Link]

•Found in the periodic table, crucial in various applications due to conductivity, strength, and
durability.
[Link]

•Oxide-based (e.g., Al2O3, MgO), offering high chemical stability and melting points, though
they are brittle.
•Applications include furnace linings and transparent/translucent ceramics in lighting.

[Link]
•Amorphous, non-crystalline structures, primarily silicates (SiO2).
•Used in optical fibers for telecommunications due to light transmission capabilities.

[Link]
•Synthetic materials like plastics, significant in modern engineering.
•Examples include polyethylene, made from long-chain hydrocarbons.

[Link]
•Combinations of materials that enhance performance, like fibreglass.
•Used in applications requiring high strength-to-weight ratios (e.g., aerospace, automotive).

[Link]
•Materials with controllable electrical conductivity (e.g., Silicon).
•Essential for electronics, enabled by doping techniques to adjust conductivity.

[Link]
•Used in medical and biological applications, e.g., artificial joints.
•Emerging bio-inspired materials like spider silk and slug-inspired adhesives.

[Link] Structure and Bonding

•Types of bonds include ionic, covalent, metallic, and secondary (van der Waals).
•Bonding strength correlates with material properties like melting points and conductivity.

[Link] and Carbon Structures

•Unique carbon-based structures include graphite, buckyballs, carbon nanotubes, and
graphene.
•Graphene is notable for its extreme strength and conductivity, with vast potential applications.
Lecture 4 - Engineering Materials - Mechanical and Thermal Properties

Stress and strain

Under stress, materials can undergo elastic deformation (temporary, reversible when load
removed) or plastic deformation (permanent).
The yield strength

Yield strength is the stress at which a material begins permanent deformation, marking the shift
from elastic to plastic behavior. It’s identified as the point where the stress-strain curve departs
from linearity.

Tensile strength is highest point reached by the curve. Max strength material can handle before
it starts to fracture.
Hooke’s Law

Hooke’s Law states that, within the elastic limit of a material, the deformation (strain) is directly
proportional to the applied force (stress).

Stress that remains within material when all stresses(loads) removed is residual stress.
Remaining stress after some form of damage.

Max value of stress in σ-ε curve is tensile strength. Basically max strength withstood before
material breaks.
Ductility and toughness
ductility is defined as the percent elongation of a material (under stress) at failure (fracture) =
100×εf:
Or how much a material can stretch or deform under stress before it fractures

Toughness measures a material’s ability to absorb energy before it fractures, combining strength
and ductility.
How much energy material absorbs before it breaks.
Toughness is represented by the area under the stress-strain curve (σ-ε curve)

The integral calculates the total energy absorbed per unit volume up to the point of fracture.

Poisson's Ratio (v)

A measure of the way a material deforms in perpendicular direction to applied stress.

When material is stretched/compressed then it changes in width as well as length.

Axial strain - change in length along direction of applied force

Lateral strain - change in width perpendicular to force direction
Shear Stress and Strain

Normal stress - force acts perpendicular to area of contact

Shear stress - force acts parallel to area

Shear strain - angular displacement caused by shear stress

Shear modulus of rigidity (G)

Hardness Test

Done by pressing (steel/diamond) indenter into a material, under a specific load and then
measuring the diameter of indent.

Brinell Hardness Number (Higher number = harder material)

Heat capacity
- amount of heat required to raise temp by 1K

Thermal expansion

Inc in temp - greater thermal vibration of atoms - increase in separation distance of adjacent
atoms
Particles gain KE and move further apart

As a result the overall dimension of the material, L will increase with increasing temperature, T.
This relationship is given by the linear coefficient of thermal expansion, α (measured in
mm/[Link] C)
- α is also a function of temperature
Thermal conductivity - Fourier’s Law

Relationship between the rate of heat transfer (dQ/dt) across an area A due a temperature
gradient (dT/dx)

For steady-state heat conduction through a flat slab, the derivatives become average values
Lecture 5 - Acoustics - Waves

1. Types of Waves
Wave is a vibration / oscillation transferring energy from one point to another

•Mechanical Waves: Require a medium (e.g., water, rock, air) and follow Newton’s laws.
•Electromagnetic Waves: don’t require any physical media (e.g., light, radio waves). Travel in a
vacuum at the speed of light .
•Matter Waves: Describe particles with wave-like behavior (e.g., electrons/protons).

2. Wave Classifications

•Transverse Waves: Particle motion is perpendicular to wave direction (e.g., waves on a string).
•Longitudinal Waves: Particle motion is parallel to wave direction (e.g., sound waves).

3. Transverse Sinusoidal Waves

•looks like graph of a sine function

•Describes wave displacement (y) based on position(x) and time (t)
4. Wave Quantities

•Amplitude ( ym) : Maximum displacement.

•Wavelength ( \lambda ): Distance between identical points in wave cycles. / repetitions
•Frequency ( f ): Oscillations per second.
•Period - time for one complete oscillation

5. Wave Speed (v)

•representing how fast a wave propagates through a medium

6. Interference and Superposition

•Principle of Superposition: When waves overlap, their displacements add algebraically to form
a resultant wave.
Types of Interference:

•Constructive Interference: Peaks align, doubling displacement

(not altering travel of each other )

•Destructive Interference: Peaks and troughs cancel, resulting in no displacement.

7. Standing Waves

•Formed when two waves traveling in opposite directions with the same amplitude and
wavelength interfere w eachother. (Eg. Guitar strings)
•Nodes: Points with no displacement.
•Antinodes: Points of maximum displacement.
•Resonance: Occurs at specific frequencies (resonant frequencies), causing distinct standing
wave patterns.
For a string of length L with fixed ends, resonant frequencies are:
8. Harmonics

•First Harmonic: Fundamental frequency (lowest frequency).

•Higher Harmonics: Occur at integer multiples of the fundamental frequency, creating complex
patterns.
Lecture 6: Acoustics – Sound

[Link] to Sound Waves

•Sound waves are longitudinal mechanical waves that require a medium (solid, liquid, or gas) to
propagate.

•Common applications include sonar, medical imaging, and material testing.

[Link] Propagation

•Point Source: Emits sound waves spherically in all directions.

•Wavefronts: Spherical near the source; planar at greater distances.

•Wave speed depends on medium properties like mass(for kinetic energy) and elasticity ( for
potential energy)

.
3. Speed of Sound

•Depends on bulk modulus (elasticity) and density of the medium.

•Faster in solids than liquids, and faster in liquids than gases.

[Link] Sound Waves

•Causes periodic expansions and compressions in a medium.

•Displacement and pressure functions of the wave are out of phase by 90°.

[Link] of Sound Waves

•Interference depends on phase difference (constructive or destructive).

•Path length differences cause phase shifts, affecting the resultant wave amplitude.
Path length
Interference of Sounds Waves

[Link] and Sound Level in

•Intensity () is the energy transfer rate per unit area.

•Sound level () is measured in decibels (dB), based on reference intensity ( W/m²).

[Link] Doppler Effect

•Observed frequency changes when the source or detector moves relative to the medium.

•Equation adjusts for source/detector motion directions.

[Link] Speed and Shock Waves

•When a source moves faster than the sound speed in a medium (), a shock wave is produced.

•The angle of the resulting Mach cone depends on the Mach number ().

Supersonic speed is when an object’s speed v_S is greater than the speed of sound v in the
medium (e.g., air). The speed of sound in air is about 343 m/s (or 1235 km/h).

•At supersonic speeds ( v_S > v ), sound waves behave differently, and the regular Doppler
Effect equations no longer apply.
Lecture 7 Notes: Electricity and Magnetism – Electrostatics

Introduction

•Electricity and Magnetism: Fundamental to modern life, enabling electric power and electronics.

•Electromagnetics: Studies electric and magnetic fields as measurable forces.

•Fields act at a distance (gravitational and electromagnetic) leading to the concept of a “field.”

•Focus: Fundamental concepts and applications of electricity and magnetism.

Electrostatics Basics

•Electrostatics: Physics of stationary charges.

•Charge Types: Positive and negative; unit = coulomb (C).

•Charge Conservation: Total charge in a closed system remains constant, can’t be created or
destroyed.

•Applications: X-ray machines, photocopy machines, ECG/EEG devices, industrial uses (e.g.,
electrostatic separation).

Key Concepts:

[Link] Charges Repel; opposite charges attract (demonstrated with glass and plastic rods).

[Link] View: Neutral atoms can lose electrons (positive ion) or gain electrons (negative ion).

Coulomb’s Law
Constant k is the force (of repulsion) between 2 charges of 1C each separated by distance of
1m.
Superposition Principle
Electric Field

•Definition: Region around a charge where force exists.

Electric Flux and Flux Density:

•Electric flux - rate of flow of electric field through a given surface

•Flux Density (D): Flux per unit area,

Electric Potential

•Work needed to move a charge against an electric field.

If several charged particles set up several electric fields, En at a point P, the net electric field, E
is the vector sum of individual electric fields at that point.

Gauss’s Law

•Statement: Total electric flux through a closed surface equals the enclosed charge.
Conductors and Dielectrics

•Conductors: Allow charge motion (carried by free electrons in metals, and ions in
electrolytes/liquids).

ability of a conductor to carry electric current is given by electrical conductivity σ measured in

siemens per meter (S/m)

•Perfect conductors: σ = infinity

•Perfect dielectric/insulator: σ = 0

•Dielectrics (Insulators): Resist charge motion (e.g., glass, paraffin).

•Semiconductors: materials whose conductivity falls between conductors and insulators. (e.g.,
silicon).

Energy in Electric Fields

Lecture 8 - Magnetostatics

Magnetostatics studies magnetic fields that are stationary in time.

Electromagnetic fields - regions where electric and magnetic force exists

- Magnetic fields produced by Permanent magnets (e.g., magnetite) and Electric currents.

- Magnetic fields arise from the rate of charge flow (current), unlike electric fields, which
depend on charge.

Magnetic Flux Density (B)

The strength and direction of a magnetic field at a point, denoted by {B}

- SI Unit : Tesla (T).

- Vector Nature: Magnetic field lines visualize \( \mathbf{B} \). These lines form closed loops,
emanating from the north pole to the south pole of a magnet.
Magnetic Force - On a Charge

The existence of a magnetic field is detected by the force it exerts

on a charge or a current-carrying conductor

 - On a Current-Carrying Conductor

A conductor carrying current experiences force in a magnetic field, called the motor force

Direction of F given by right handed cork screw, force Fm is direction screw is pushed, or using
Flemings left hand rule.

Magnetic Flux (Φ)

Magnetic flux is the total magnetic field passing through a given surface. It is measured in
webers (Wb).

If the field lines are not perpendicular to surface S, then

Magnetic Field Intensity

Magnetic field of a current element(short wire).

Ampère’s Law

- Explains the relationship between the magnetic field and the current that produces it.
Faraday’s Law of Electromagnetic Induction
Lecture 9: Optics – Light

•Definition: Optics is the study of visible light, an electromagnetic (EM) wave with electric (E)
and magnetic (B) field components.

2. Energy and Power of Light

•Poynting Vector: Rate of energy transfer per unit area:

•Intensity: Time-averaged energy transfer rate per unit area:

The intensity I of an EM wave is the time-averaged rate per unit area, Savg at which energy is
transported
3. Radiation Force and Pressure

- light has a linear momentum , thus can exert a force and pressure on an object .

Radiation pressures measured in N/m2 or Pa.

4. Polarisation

Light/EM vectors are polarised if electric field vectors, E, are aligned in a single plane (plane of
oscillation).

Light waves from common sources (sun, bulb) are unpolarised.

Polarising sheets: Convert unpolarised light to polarised light by allowing only one component of
the electric field to pass.
5. Laws of Reflection and Refraction
6. Huygens’ Principle

- light waves also exhibit fully constructive/destructive interference.

•Wavefronts: Every point on a wavefront acts as a source of spherical secondary wavelets, so

new position of wavefront is a surface tangent of the secondary wavelets.

Each point creates a secondary wave, and we use tangent of that secondary wave.
At the ends, the line is curved because the shape is a sphere, so the first and last secondary
wavelet will be round as such.

•Refractive index:
7. Interference of Light

8. Thin Film Interference

•Cause: Phase difference between light reflected from the front and back surfaces of a film.

•Special case: For very thin films (L << lambda ), interference is dominated by reflection phase
shifts.

9. Diffraction
10. Young’s Double-Slit Experiment

Proving light is a wave

With constructive interference, a bright spot of light is visible , for destructive it will be dim/dark
and in the middle, will be in the middle.
Diffraction Grafting
Lecture 10 - Energy, Work, and Power

•Definition: Energy is the capacity to do work. It is a scalar quantity and can transform between
types.

•Conservation of Energy: In a closed system, total energy remains constant.

•Forms of Energy:

•Kinetic Energy (K): Energy of moving objects.

•Potential Energy (U): Energy stored due to position in gravitational, electric, or magnetic fields.

•Combination Energy: Such as electromagnetic radiation.

•Unit: Joule (J), .

2. Work (W)

•Definition: Work is energy transferred via a force acting on an object.

Work,W, done by a constant force, F in moving a rigid object by a distance, d, (displacement) is

given by :
3. Work-Kinetic Energy Theorem

•Statement: The change in kinetic energy (∆K) is equal to the net work (W) done:

4. Work by Gravitational Force

Work done in lifting and lowering an object

Assume particle lifted by applying vertical force,F

During upward displacement, applied F does positive work Wa on object.

Gravitational force does negative work Wg on it.

During lifting, applied force transfer energy to object gravitational

5. Work by a Spring Force

Hookes law- force exerted by a spring is proportional to displacement from its equilibrium
position.

Negative sign - Force always opposes displacement.

For a spring along x-axis we use below equation.

6. Work by Variable Force

Found by integrating force F(x) with respect to initial (xi) and final (xf) positions.

7. Power (P)
8. Potential Energy (U)