Learn about Practical Applications for Physical Sciences

Professional development or a foundation

Anyone working with physical equipment or machines; making or building things 

Course Structure

This course is broken up into ten lessons as follows:

Lesson 1. Electromagnetic Induction 

• Introduction to Electricity 
• Rules of charge 
• Coulomb’s law
• Magnetism 
• Electromagnetism 
• Electromagnetic induction 
• Faraday’s Law of electromagnetic induction
• Lenz’s law
• Fleming’s Rules
• Eddy currents
• Transformers 
• Generators 
• Motors

Lesson 2. Power Generation and Transmission

• Primary sources of electrical energy
• Energy from the water head 
• Energy from burning fuels 
• Nuclear energy 
• Wind energy 
• Solar energy
• Types of power plants 
• Hydroelectric power plants 
• Thermal power plants
• Nuclear power plants
• Wind power plants 

Lesson 3. Circular Motion and Gravitation

• Lesson introduction  
• Review of circles – radius, diameter, tangent, arc, circumference 
• Important equations for working with circles
• Circular motion 
• Uniform circular motion 
• Time, frequency, position, speed, tangential velocity, centripetal force
• Centripetal acceleration 
• Newton’s law of gravitation 
• Satellites and Kepler’s Laws 

Lesson 4. Engineering Physics – Rigid Bodies and Rotational Dynamics

• Rotational Motion
• Degrees and Radians 
• Angular Position 
• Angular Displacement 
• Angular Velocity 
• Angular Velocity & Linear Velocity 
• Angular Acceleration 
• Kinematic Equations (Angular Acceleration)
• Torque 
• Moment of Inertia 
• Angular Momentum 
• Kinetic Energy of Rotation 
• Rotational Energy, Work and Power 

Lesson 5. Engineering Physics- Fluids and fluid dynamics

• Fluid and dynamics introduction 
• Definitions and Properties 
• Density
• Pressure 
• Flow 
• Steady and Unsteady Flow
• Laminar Flow and Turbulent Flow
• Open Flow 
• Open-channel flow
• Compressible and Incompressible Flow
• Forces on Fluids
• Pressure and Atmospheric Pressure
• Water Pressure
• Pressure Difference 
• Buoyant Forces
• Pascal’s Law
• Principles of Fluid Dynamics
• The Equation of Continuity 
• Flow Rate and Its Relation to Velocity 
• Archimedes’ Principle 
• Bernoulli’s Theorem 
• Viscosity
• Turbulence

Lesson 6. Relativity

• The Principle of Relativity 
• Special Relativity 
• Space-time 
• Universal Speed Limit 
• Relativistic Mass 
• Time Dilation
• Length Contraction 
• Doppler Effect on Wavelength 
• Applications 

Lesson 7. Introduction to Imaging

• Electromagnetic Radiation 
• Electromagnetic Spectrum 
• Comparison of EM Waves 
• Relationship Between Frequency and Wavelength 
• Relationship Between Frequency and Energy 
• Visible Light
• The Wave Nature of Light 
• Properties of Light 
• Speed of Light 
• Reflection of Light 
• Refraction of Light 
• Snell’s Law 
• Diffraction of Light and Interference 
• Dispersion 
• Optional Image Formation 
• Lens Types 

Lesson 8. Imaging instrumentation and Medical imaging

• Types of Medical Imaging 
• Radiography 
• Computerised Tomography 
• Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)
• Ultrasound Imaging 
• Electron Microscopy 
• TEM
• SEM
• Nuclear Medicine 
• Positron emission Tomography
• Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography 
• Bone Scan 
• Photoacoustic Imaging 
• Medical Imaging Instruments 
• CT, PET and MRI Scanners 
• Ultrasound Machine 
• Advantages and Disadvantages of Medical Imaging 

Lesson 9. Fibre optics

• Introduction 
• Definitions 
• Construction of Optical Fibre Cable 
• Advantages and Disadvantages Fibre Optics 
• Fibre Characteristics 
• Mechanical Characteristics 
• Transmission Characteristics 
• Different Types of Fibres and Their Properties 
• Single and Multimode Fibres 
• Step Index and Graded Index Fibres 
• Principles of Light Propagation Through a Fibre 
• Refractive Index
• Total Internal Reflection 
• Numerical Aperture 
• Acceptance Angle 
• Skew Mode 
• Applications of Fibre Optics 

Lesson 10. Engineering Physics in Construction

• Introduction to physics in construction
• Surveying
• Building Roads and Paths 
• Constructing Buildings 
• Basic Principles in Building Engineering Physics 
• Acoustics 
• Air Movement 
• Building Services 
• Climate 
• Construction Technology 
• Control of Moisture 
• Lighting 
• Thermal Performance 
• Properties of Common Materials 
• Definitions 
• Simple and Damped Harmonic Motion 
• Forced Oscillations 
• Vibrations inside built structures 
• Vibrations from outside built structures 
• Resonant Response and Damping