BASICS

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BASICS
In this set of notes, we will review some essential concepts by going through a discussion on the nature of science and the important principles of mechanics, beginning with kinematics to Newtons laws of motion.

1. Physics is a description of reality and experiences

Physics is a description of reality and experiences; in particular, it deals with the behavior and structure of matter. But how do we go about describing reality and experiences? How do we know about the behavior and structure of matter? To start to describe reality and experiences, we need to have good observational skills. Fundamental to science is observation. What do we observe? Events! The process of observing events involves seeing, describing and making judgments about what is relevant in observations and experiments. Models Once we can make good observations the next thing is to create models. So what are models? A model is an analogy or mental image of the phenomenon in terms of something else that we already know. And how do we do we benefit from having models? Modeling a phenomenon may help us understand it better by. For example it may suggest new experiment to perform or provide predictions about other related phenomena that might occur. Theories Models are usually simple and provide structural similarity to the phenomenon being studied. Theories on the other hand are much broader, more detailed and give quantitatively testable predictions, in short Theories are explanations of observations. Observations may inspire a theory on the other hand theories are accepted or rejected based on observation & experiment. What can we do with theories? As just pointed out, we can accept or reject a theory (i.e. in place of an older one, e.g. the sun-centered universe replacing the earthcentered universe). So when do we reject a theory? We accept a new theory in favour of an old theory when its predictions are quantitatively in better agreement with experiment or if it explains a greater range of phenomena. What methods do we use to accept/reject theories? We conduct an experiment. To answer the scientific question, we propose a hypothesis which is testable. We can implement the null hypothesis that, e.g. the mean values of x and y are not different versus the alternative hypothesis that x and y are different. Using an appropriate statistical model, at e.g. 5% confident interval, if the test statistic yields a corresponding p-value which is more than, e.g. 0.01, we will reject the alternative hypothesis in favour of the null hypothesis. Laws In science, there are times whereby you would refer to laws to support your theory. What are laws? Laws are general statements that explain concisely about how nature behaves experimentally valid over a wide range of observed phenomena. Statements means that they can be expressed in words, or an equation relating quantities.

2. Measurements are fundamental to the framework of science

So, what, how, why, and when do we measure? To answer these, we need to be clear about the ideas underlying uncertainty in a measurement. It is important to understand that no measurement is absolutely precise and that there is an uncertainty associated with every measurement (note that estimated uncertainty takes accuracy and precision into account).

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Accuracy How close a measurement is to true value? Suppose a ruler has 2% error (which is normally what you get), and if the width of board is ~ 8.8 cm, the accuracy of the measurement is (2/100) * 8.8 cm ~ 0.2 cm.

Precision Repeatability of measurement using a given instrument. Width of a board measured 4 times: 8.81 cm, 8.85, cm, 8.78 cm, 8.82 cm. The precision of this measurement is better than 0.1 cm.

Increasing accuracy

Increasing precision

(a)

(b)

(c)

(d)

Figure 1: This is a classic illustration of precision and accuracy. In this case, precision and accuracy are modeled by description of darts on a bull's eye board. Can you explain what it means?

Estimated uncertainty When measuring with a centimeter ruler (Figure 2) the precision is 0.1 cm, or 0.05 cm. Here we have 8.8 0.1cm .

Percent uncertainty The ratio of the uncertainty to the measured value, multiplied by 100, i.e. 100% 0.1 / 8.8 1%
Figure 2

Significant figures: Number of significant figures in a number is the number of reliably known digits. Example: 23.21 cm has 4 significant figures. 0.062 cm has 2 significant figures (the initial zeroes dont count). 80 km is ambiguous how many significant figures is there? Final result of a multiplication or division Retain least number of significant figures used in the calculation.

BASICS Example: Uncertainty in the final result of a multiplication operation 11.3 cm x 6.8 cm = 76.84 cm2 6.8 cm has the least number of significant figures, i.e. two. The final result 76.84 cm2 ~ 77 cm2.

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Final result of addition or subtraction Retain one or more extra significant figures in your intermediate results; in the final result, round off to the least accurate number used. Example: Uncertainty in the final result of a subtraction operation 3.6 cm 0.57 cm = 3.03 cm 3.6 cm - the least accurate measurement, one decimal place. The final result 3.03 cm ~ 3.0 cm. Example: On the uncertainty arising from evaluating a function If you use a normal protractor to measure an angle to be 30o. The protractor, normally, has a precision of about one degree (not 0.1 degree). So quote the answer as 30o. When evaluating cos(30o), since the angle is know only to 2 sig. fig., so the result is to 2 sig. fig., i.e. 0.866025403 ~ 0.87. Scientific notations: Allows the number of significant figures to be expressed clearly. Example: If we write 36,900 units, what is it 3, 4 or 5 sig. fig.? If the number is known to an accuracy of: 3 sig. fig., we write as 3.69 x 104 units 4 sig. fig., we write as 3.690 x 104 units Percent Error Significant figures rule for ,,+,- is only an approximate. It may underestimate the precision of the final answer. 2 significant figures! Example: 97 / 92 1.05 1.1 But 97 and 92 imply an uncertainty of 1, so if no other uncertainty is stated we have 921 and 971, which implies an accuracy of ~ 1%, i.e. 1/92 ~ 0.01 = 1%. However our final answer above, 1.1, implies an uncertainty of 0.1, which is an uncertainty of 0.1/1.1 0.1 10 %. Thus in this case it may be more appropriate to stick to 3 significant figures, i.e. 97/92 1.05, since 1.05 implies an uncertainty of 0.01 which is 0.01/1.05 ~ 0.01 => 1 %. Quantity Unit
Length Time Meter

Standard

Mass

Length of the path travelled by light in 1/299,792,458 second. Second Time required for 9,192,631,770 periods of radiation emitted by cesium atoms, i.e. the frequency of the radiation emitted by Cs atoms when they pass between two particular states. Kilogram Platinum cylinder in International Bureau of Weights and Measures, Paris. Note for atoms, molecules, we use u. 1 u = 1.6605x10-27 kg

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Base quantities A base quantity must be defined in terms of a standard. There are 7 base quantities (table 1-5) consistent with the description of the physical world. A description of 3 of these base quantities are listed above. All other quantities are derived from the base quantities. Rapid estimates When to use rapid estimate? When an accurate calculation takes more time than it is worth or when it would require additional data that are not yet available. For example in order to do an order of magnitude estimate you round off all numbers to one significant figure and its power of 10 and keep only one significant figure after its calculation. The following is an example to test your perception of reality on a large scale problem. Note that to make this estimation, we model the lake as a uniform cylinder. This act of modeling is an important step to our evaluation. E.g. Volume of lake: How big is the lake? (This is a truly classic question for estimation.) Assume roughly circular, about 1 km across and has an average depth of about 10 m, i.e. the lake is model as a cylinder in shape. Volume of a cylinder V = hr2, r is the radius of the circular base and h the height of the cylinder. Based on our estimate of the distance across the lake, then r = 500 m. Therefore the volume: V = hr 2 [10m] [3] [5 10 2 m] 2 8 10 6 m 3 10 7 m 3 Note: Our value of was rounded off to 3. Based on all the estimates that went into this calculation, the order-of-magnitude estimate, 107 m3, is probably better as a quote than 8x106 m3. At a smaller scale, e.g. within the human body, we also make estimations to help provide some idea as we can see in the example below. Again, we have to come out with a model before we can evaluate the problem. Here, we assume that our heart beat could be high or low depending on the situation. And we also assume that our life-span is about 70 years (good for the Singapore Government in terms of providing sufficient facilities for the elderly). E.g. Total number of heartbeats a human heart makes in a lifetime. In order to estimate this, suppose you take your own heart rate. It could be about, e.g. 70 beats/min. But during exercise it could be a lot higher, e.g. 90 beats/min. By considering the upper and lower limit, if we take the average of these values, we have 80 beats/min. Now if an average person lives 70 years, in seconds, that is, 70 yrs 365days/yr 24hrs/day 3600s / hr 2 10 9 s Then the total number of heart beats is 80 beats / min (1 / 60 min/ s) (2 10 9 s) 3 10 9 beats 10 9 beats

3. Physical quantities
The world that we live in is dynamic, i.e. changing/in motion. But how do things move? Here are the elementary concepts that we will cover in order to understand how things move around.

BASICS Physical quantities: Vectors, scalars Linear motion: Kinematics, Newtons law Non-linear motion Energy; mechanical work done

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We will start our discussion of the dynamics underlying the physical world by looking at physical quantities. Physical quantities can be categorised as scalar or vector. Scalar quantities have information relating to only magnitude, e.g. distance x whereas vector quantities have information relating to magnitude and direction, e.g. r the displacement vector x . Usually if referring to a vector we use a letter with an arrow on top or we simply write 'vector x'. If we are only interested in the magnitude r of a vector, we enclose the vector by two vertical bars, i.e. x or simply use the letter x. Figure 3 (a) illustrates a vector v. The scalar multiplication of this vector v by -1 gives another vector but in the opposite direction to the original. This can be considered as scaling the vector by a factor of -1. Vector addition r r r r r As illustrated in Figure 3 (b), we have v1 + v2 = v2 + v1 = v . Figure 3 (c) illustrates a special case whereby vector v is regarded as comprising of two component vector which are at right-angled to one another. Vector multiplication Scalar multiplication of vector can be extended to more than one vector, e.g. r r r r r c[ x + y ] = cx + cy + = cr Dot product is another vector multiplication operation, i.e. r r r r r r x y = x y cos x y = xy cos Cross product is the third form of vector multiplication operation, i.e. r r r r x y = y x

(a)

(b)
Figure 3

(c)

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Dot product The operation can be viewed physically as a resolution of vectors, i.e. resolving vector A in the direction of vector B (Figure 4a), i.e.

A B = A B cos .

A cos
Figure 4

B
(a) (b)

A cos

Of course, this is easily understood if vector B is a unit vector (which we usually represent by the letter 'i'). In this case (Figure 4),

A i = A i cos = A cos
Here, unit vector i has a magnitude of unity. Then, multiplying vector A to vector i is like resolving a vector. Cross product Describes how two physical vector quantities interact. For example, (1) the magnetic field around a magnet and (2) the velocity of a charge particle. Important features of the cross product operation: 1. Resultant of this physical interaction is another vector, 2. i.e. the force on a moving charge particle in magnetic field

The resultant vector points into the slide

B
Figure 5

Figure 5 shows the resultant of A B , which points into the plane. If it were

B A then the resultant vector points out of the slide! Here are some important mathematical models of physical systems that are formulated based on the cross product: r r r Force on a moving charged particle equation F = qv B ;

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r r r Force on a current carrying conductor equation F = Il B ;

r r Electric flux equation electric = E A ; r r Magnetic flux equation magnetic = B A ,

And on the dot product,

where, r l = a displacement vector, r A = an infinitesimal area vector; the direction of this vector is perpendicular to the surface area.

4. Descriptions of motion
To help us understand the concept of motion, we will review the following idealised particle model; displacement; velocity; acceleration.

We shall start our discussion with reference to linear motion (motion in a straight line). Then we will apply the concepts used in linear motion to non-linear motion.

The idealized particle model To begin, we shall assume that any object can be reduced to a point particle in order to help us analyse the motion of the object. We shall call this approach the idealized particle model. (This point could be associated with the centre of mass of the object.) The idealized particle model is useful for solving problems not just in mechanics but also in electricity, e.g. electrostatic charge particle. Rate of change (magnitude, direction in 1D) What are average quantities? For instance, average acceleration: v f vi v . a= a= t f ti t Or average velocity, x f xi x . v= v= t f ti t But often we want to know about the quantity that happened at a particular instant of time. Can we talk about instantaneous quantities? Mathematically, yes. We use calculus to argue that in the limit as the change in time gets to an infinitesimally small value, we have instantaneous velocity, x , v = lim t 0 t and instantaneous acceleration,

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a = lim t 0

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v . t We also say that the instantaneous velocity is a first-order rate of change and that the corresponding acceleration is a second-order rate of change. It is important to know what leads to, e.g. a first-order rate of change or a second-order rate of change! We will discuss more about what causes change and hence, yielding first or secondorder rate of change, with respect to linear motion.

Kinematics (1D) Here are our beloved equations of kinematics. These are simple to use because for all we know, they help to relate motion quantities such as initial position x0 and velocity v0, final position x and velocity v and the instantaneous acceleration a to duration t. (Note: v is a velocity quantity describing the average of v0 and v.) v = v0 + at
v 2 = v 0 + 2a[ x x0 ] x = x 0 + v0 t + [1 / 2]at 2 v = [v + v 0 ] / 2 Note that in kinematics, we say nothing about the physical properties, such as mass and density, of the object in motion.
2

Newtons first law of motion However, the picture presented by the equations of kinematics is not complete because nothing is said about the physical properties of the object in motion. This missing link could only be completed by a law that seeks to establish how physical properties are related to the motion in question. This is where Newtons laws of motion become useful. The first law states that: A particle will remain at rest or in uniform motion in a straight line unless compelled to change its state by the action of an external force. Here are some implications (i.e. I am now going to discuss insights gain from this law): 1. Newton 1st law gives rise to the concept of inertia. Qualitatively, what do we know about inertia? Well, at the back of our mind, we know that, 2. A particle maintains a constant velocity if zero net force acts on it; 3. If that velocity is zero, then the particle remains at rest; 4. If an external force is applied, velocity will change because of the force. Here are more implications as a result of Newton's first law (note that one of the way to determine if a law is useful is if we can find many implications). First of all, this is about the idea of inertial frame of reference An inertial reference frame is one in which Newtons first law is valid! Inertial frame of references exclude rotating and accelerating frames.

Second, this is about the idea of Mass

BASICS which is the measure of inertia of a particle; which is a property of the particle;

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which is related to weight (weight is the force exerted on that particle by gravity).

Third, this is about the idea of Momentum, p, of an object = the product of its mass, m, and velocity, v. Newtons second law of motion Newton's first law predicts the motion of a particle as a result of a constant rate of change in displacement with respect to time (termed as velocity). What happens when this velocity quantity is changing with respect to time? It turns out that another law is needed. This is Newton's second law, i.e. For a particle with a constant mass m, the force F is the product of the particle's r r mass and its acceleration a: F = ma Newton's second law explains how velocity of a particle changes when the particle is acted on by an external force (Unit of force, Newton [N]). It relates force to rate of change of momentum r r p . F= t Here are some implications of the second law: an external force will cause a change in velocity; a change in velocity will generate a force; r r F = ma is valid in any inertial frame.

Newtons third law of motion Newton's third law tells us more about the nature of forces. Specifically, For every action (force) there is an equal and opposite reaction Just out of curiosity, would you have expected the third law to refer to the 'rate of change of acceleration' rather than this? After all, the second law refers to the rate of change of velocity and the first law refers to the rate of change of displacement. An implication of the third law is that if particle A exerts a force on particle B, then B exerts force on A, however, these forces are acting on different particles. Uniform circular motion So far we have discussed linear motion supported by equations of kinematics and Newton's laws of motion. Do we have equations for predicting non-linear (e.g. circular; Figure 6) motion? Do we have laws supporting non-linear motion? It turns out the equations of kinematics and the laws of motion are applicable to non-linear

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motion. The simplest non-linear motion that we would like to discuss is motion in a circle at constant speed. We can execute the motion in such a way that the particle moves at a constant speed but note that the instantaneous velocity is not constant; the velocity is not constant (Figure 7a-b) because the direction is changing at every point along the circular path. In circular motion, the instantaneous velocity is always tangent to circle, is it true?

Figure 6

(b)
Figure 7

With this concept of velocity in a circular motion, we can calculate the magnitude of the instantaneous acceleration. To calculate this magnitude, we shall consider the change in velocity in the limit as the time interval t becomes infinitesimally small: a = v 2 / r (Figure 7-c); this acceleration is called the centripetal (or radial, acceleration); the direction of this acceleration points towards the center of the circle.

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(a)
Figure 8

(b)

(c)

Figure 8a-c illustrates an object in uniform circular motion; the object is experiencing a resultant force acting on it. The acceleration is not a constant; the force associated with this acceleration changes in direction at every instant of the motion. From the centripetal acceleration, we can write down the force: F = ma F = mv 2 / r . The force must be inward (why?). If the centripetal force vanishes, object flies off tangent to the circle as depicted in Figure 9. (Now do you know why the velocity is always tangent to the circle.)

Figure 9

For a particle in rotation, the angle in radians (Figure 10a) is defined: l = r = l / r where l is the arc length (Figure 10b). Then the analogy to linear motion, we can establish the following non-linear motion quantities which we termed as 'angular'. We have, as tabulated below, Angular displacement = f i Average angular velocity = t Instantaneous angular velocity = lim t 0 t Average angular acceleration = t Instantaneous angular = lim t 0 acceleration t Now, there is an important relation relating the angular quantity to the linear quantity of motion; this is the relationship between angular velocity and linear velocity v, v = r .

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The quantities and v are depicted in Figure 10c. This is almost like saying that there is the equivalence of linear motion in non-linear motion, e.g. there are two pictures to the description of motion (just like there are descriptions of some physical, i.e. in control theory, systems in the time domain but on the other hand, we can also choose to understand these system in the frequency domain; the different approaches allow us to gain more insights in the system). Frequency is the number of complete revolutions per sec, . f = 2 Frequencies are measured in hertz: 1 Hz = 1 s-1. Period is the time one revolution takes: T = 1/ f .

Figure 10

(c)

Torque: makes an object rotates a force is needed; the position and direction of the force matter as well Define torque: = r F

(a)
Figure 11

(b)

Figure 11a-b illustrate the concept of torque. In (a) the force causing the torque is applied at an angle of to the plank; in (b), there are two forces FA and FB at different points on the plank. These also address the concept of the Lever arm which refers to the distance from axis of rotation to line along which force acts. Before we wrap up the subject on the description of motion here, we would like to point out that while the concepts discussed here use everyday macroscopic example to

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support our argument, there are wider significance to these concepts. At very small length scale, on the order of atomic distances, interactions of atoms are also described by concepts of linear and angular motion (for further details, refer to computational chemistry). Even the concept of torque is significant in our study of molecular system, such as the mechanism of protein folding; here the idea of 'lever arm' could refer to the bond arising from the interaction of two atoms. Thus, do not underestimate the concepts that we have just discussed.

5. Work done by a constant force

The equations of kinematics and the laws of motion allow us to understand the nature of motion of a particle system. There is another approach to understanding the nature of motion of a particle system. This is the 'energy' approach. For simplicity, in our manual labourer example (Figure 12) suppose the box is reduced to a point particle. Let F be the force acting on a particle, d be the displacement of the particle. The work done (units of work :joules; 1 J = 1 N.m) to displace the particle is,

r r W = F d W = Fd cos .

Figure 12: Since the concept of W involves forces, that means we have to distinguish between work done arising from forces of action and reaction. Very simply, work done by forces that oppose direction of motion, e.g. friction, is given a negative sign. Work done arises from forces. So work done implies forces 'at work'. However, there are forces that do no work. For example, centripetal forces, which are always to the direction of motion.

Work done by a varying force So far, we have referred to work done by a constant force. To evaluation this quantity, W, we consider the area under a curve on the force-displacement graph. For a constant force, this is simply the area of a rectangle. If there is a mathematical relationship between the force and distance, W is simply the area under force-distance curve (Figure 13a). In general, for a force that varies, on the force-displacement graph W can be approximated by a simple and useful trapezoidal rule as follows,

BASICS divide the distance up into small pieces (Figure 13b),

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evaluate the area of each strip of interval to get the work done during each distance interval, and adding up the work done corresponding to each strip to get the total work done, W.

(a)
Figure 13

(b)

Work-energy principle Here are some important points to take note with regards to the work-energy principle. Energy is traditionally defined as the ability to do work. Energies that do work, e.g. mechanical energies. Not all energies (i.e. thermal) are able to do work but since energy is 'interconvertible', the thermal energy can be converted into mechanical energy to do work.

There are two forms of mechanical energy: kinetic (KE) and potential (PE) energies. For an accelerating particle, we can formulate a mathematical model for the work done based on the force-displacement relationship (noting that force is relating to momentum). It turns out that W is 1 1 2 2 W = mv f mvi , 2 2 which we can re-write as W = KE where KE = KE f KE i . KE is given by:
KE = 1 2 mv . 2

Figure 14: A bus has an initial velocity of v1 and final velocity of v2; the work done (W) is equal to the change in the kinetic energie (KE), i.e. if W is positive, KE goes up and if W is negative, KE goes down.

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Let us move on to the concept of potential energy (PE). Now, an object can have PE by virtue of its surroundings. Here are some examples of PE and suggested analogies: (1) wound-up spring; by analogy, we could use this model to understand torsion between atoms in a molecule; (2) stretched elastic band; by analogy we could use it to evaluate linear vibration between atoms in a molecule; (3) object above ground; by analogy we could use it to describe the energy state of a bond in an atom.

How do you evaluate PE? Consider raising a mass m to a height h (Figure 15). The work done by the external force is W = Fd cos

W = [mg ][ y2 y1 ] cos 0 o W = mgh Here, we can define the gravitational PE as, PE grav = mgh .

Figure 15

Conservative and non-conservative forces What are conservative and non-conservative forces? So far what we have addressed is the mechanical work done arising from a force which acts in such a way that the work done is always the same and does not depend on the path taken. Figure 16 illustrates the paths (a straight one and a non-linear/curve path) taken by the box.

Figure 16:

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Now, in practice we know that cant be possible in our everyday life. What we havent said so far is the force associated with friction. Now, if friction is present, work done depends on: the starting and ending points, the path taken.

Thus, friction is called a nonconservative force. Gravity and elastic force of a spring are conservative forces. Note that PE can only be defined for conservative forces. Work done (WC) by a conservative force can be written in terms of PE, i.e. WC = PE From the work-energy principle which we pointed out earlier, W = KE , we will now extend the principle to include PE. Consider a particle acted upon by several forces (conservative and non-conservative) to cause the particle to undergo translation motion. The total work is the sum of work-done from conservative and nonconservative forces WNC, Wnet = W NC + WC . Thus from work-energy principle, we re-write W = KE as Wnet = KE , so that KE = W NC + WC . Then, W NC = KE WC . As I have just pointed out, work done by a conservative force can be written in terms of potential energy, WC = PE , thus, we get, W NC = PE + KE . Thus the work done by non-conservative forces on a particle is equal to the total change in KE and PE, i.e. W NC = PE + KE .

If non-conservative forces, e.g. friction, are present, where do KE & PE go to? (Answer: e.g. Heat, sound) Conservation of energy We have pointed out that energy comes in various forms. So, the other forms of energy are chemical, electric, nuclear, thermal. Work is done when energy is transferred from one object to another. Accounting for all forms of energy:

BASICS Total energy neither increases nor decreases; Energy as a whole is conserved.

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It is important to note that we use the concept of energy conservation for systems that are isolated (or when we are modeling an isolated system, e.g. simulation of a molecular system). At astronomical scale, our universe can be assumed as an isolated system. That means, there is a fundamental quantity in our universe which is invariant (does not change), and that could be energy. Back to our mechanical energies KE and PE. If only conservative forces are acting on the particle in the system (i.e. the environment and the particle), W NC = 0 , so that PE + KE = 0 or, PE 2 - PE 1 + KE 2 - KE1 = 0 , which we re-write as, PE 1 + KE1 = PE 2 + KE 2 . We can define a quantity E called the total mechanical energy of the system as the sum of the KE and PE at any moment, E = PE + KE . We can re-write the equation PE 1 + KE 1 = PE 2 + KE 2 as E1 = E 2 = constant . Thus the total mechanical energy E remains a constant as long as no nonconservative forces act on the system. If no nonconservative force were present the sum of changes in KE & PE is zero and the changes in KE & PE are equal but opposite in sign. Power Power (Unit: watts [W]; 1 W = 1 J/s) is the rate at which work is done,

Energy transformed W , i.e. P = t t An everyday example is that you probably noticed that walking up the stairs is more comfortable than running up the stairs. The difference between walking and running up these stairs is power the change in gravitational PE is the same.
P=