Fundamental of Physics

• Physics is a natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, motion, and behavior through space and time, and related entities of energy and force.
• Physics is one of the most fundamental scientific disciplines, aiming to explain how the universe behaves.

Core Concepts

• Mechanics deals with the study of motion and forces, including kinematics (the description of motion) and dynamics (the causes of motion).
• Thermodynamics studies heat and its relation to other forms of energy, dealing with the macroscopic properties of matter such as temperature, entropy, and energy.
• Electromagnetism involves the study of electric and magnetic fields and their interactions, including electromagnetism radiation such as light.
• Optics studies the behavior and properties of light, including reflection, refraction, diffraction, and interference.
• Quantum Mechanics deals with the behavior of matter and energy at the atomic and subatomic level, introducing concepts such as quantization, superposition, and wave-particle duality.
• Relativity, including special and general relativity, deals with the structure of spacetime and gravity.

Mechanics

• Kinematics describes motion without considering its causes, focusing on displacement, velocity, and acceleration.
• Dynamics relates motion to its causes, involving forces and Newton's Laws of Motion (Inertia, F = ma, Action-Reaction).
• Work is the energy transferred to or from an object by means of a force acting on the object.
• Energy exists in various forms, including kinetic (energy of motion) and potential (stored energy).
• Conservation laws state that certain physical quantities remain constant over time, such as energy, momentum, and angular momentum, in closed systems.

Thermodynamics

• Temperature is a measure of the average kinetic energy of the particles in a substance.
• Heat is energy transferred between objects due to temperature differences.
• Entropy is a measure of the disorder or randomness of a system.
• The Laws of Thermodynamics are fundamental principles governing energy transfer and entropy increase in the universe.
• Thermodynamic processes include isothermal (constant temperature), adiabatic (no heat exchange), isobaric (constant pressure), and isochoric (constant volume) processes.

Electromagnetism

• Electric charge is a fundamental property of matter that causes it to experience a force in an electromagnetic field.
• Electric fields exert forces on charged particles.
• Magnetic fields are created by moving electric charges and exert forces on other moving charges.
• Electromagnetic waves are disturbances that propagate through space, carrying energy and momentum; these waves include radio waves, microwaves, infrared, visible light, ultraviolet, X-rays, and gamma rays.
• Maxwell's equations describe the behavior of electric and magnetic fields, unifying electricity and magnetism.

Optics

• Reflection is the bouncing back of light from a surface.
• Refraction is the bending of light as it passes from one medium to another.
• Diffraction is the spreading of waves as they pass through an opening or around an obstacle.
• Interference occurs when two or more waves overlap, resulting in constructive (amplitude increase) or destructive (amplitude decrease) interference.
• Lenses are devices that refract light to form images.

Quantum Mechanics

• Quantization is the concept that energy, momentum, and other physical quantities can only exist in discrete values.
• Wave-particle duality is the concept that particles can exhibit wave-like properties and waves can exhibit particle-like properties.
• The Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle states that there is a fundamental limit to the precision with which certain pairs of physical properties of a particle, such as position and momentum, can be known simultaneously.
• The Schrödinger equation describes how the quantum state of a physical system changes over time.

Relativity

• Special relativity deals with the relationship between space and time for objects moving at constant velocity.
• Time dilation is the slowing down of time for a moving observer relative to a stationary observer.
• Length contraction is the shortening of an object in the direction of motion as its velocity approaches the speed of light.
• Mass-energy equivalence is expressed by the equation E=mc², which relates energy and mass.
• General relativity deals with gravity as a curvature of spacetime caused by mass and energy.
• Gravitational waves are disturbances in the curvature of spacetime that propagate as waves, predicted by general relativity.

Units and Measurement

• The International System of Units (SI) is the standard system of units used in physics, including meters (m) for length, kilograms (kg) for mass, seconds (s) for time, amperes (A) for electric current, kelvins (K) for temperature, moles (mol) for amount of substance, and candelas (cd) for luminous intensity.
• Scientific notation is used to express very large or very small numbers.
• Uncertainty in measurement is expressed as a range of values, reflecting the limits of precision.

Problem Solving in Physics

• Identify the relevant physical principles and concepts.
• Draw a diagram of the physical situation.
• List knowns and unknowns.
• Select appropriate equations.
• Solve the equations for the unknowns.
• Check the units and reasonableness of the answer.