SylabUZ
| Course name | Physics of nature |
| Course ID | 13.2-WF-FizP-PN-S18 |
| Faculty | Faculty of Physics and Astronomy |
| Field of study | Physics |
| Education profile | academic |
| Level of studies | First-cycle studies leading to Bachelor's degree |
| Beginning semester | winter term 2018/2019 |
| Semester | 4 |
| ECTS credits to win | 5 |
| Course type | obligatory |
| Teaching language | english |
| Author of syllabus |
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| The class form | Hours per semester (full-time) | Hours per week (full-time) | Hours per semester (part-time) | Hours per week (part-time) | Form of assignment |
| Lecture | 30 | 2 | - | - | Exam |
| Class | 30 | 2 | - | - | Credit with grade |
The aim of the lecture is to show students how physics explains phenomena observed in nature. Students will apply physical laws from different branches of physics to explain various physical and astronomical phenomena. An additional goal is to educate students in the ability to formulate physical problems in the language of mathematics and to apply the mathematical formalisms.
Foundations of physics 1-IV, mathematical analysis and linear algebra.
1. General ideas of dimensional theory: dimensional and dimensionless quantities, fundamental and derived units of measurement, dimensional formulas, functional relations between physical quantities
2. Examples of dimensional theory applications: simple pendulum, fluid motion in pipes, motion of a body in a fluid, steady motion of a solid body in a compressible fluid, unsteady motion of a fluid
3. The apparent movement of the Sun on the celestial sphere, ecliptic, seasons, sunrise and sunset, polar day and night
4. Motion of Earth: shape, size and mass of Earth, rotational motion, orbital motion, system Earth-Moon, tides
5. Description of the movement of heavenly bodies, Kepler's laws, eclipses.
6. Basic concepts of fluid mechanics: the control volume, the flow of physical quantity, the rate of accumulation of physical quantity. Fluid properties: density, equation of state, thermal expansion, specific heat.
7. The law of conservation the physical quantity for an infinitesimal fluid volume and its applications:
the mass continuity equation, the equation of conservation of momentum with the various forces (pressure force, gravity, friction, Coriolis), Boussinesq approximation, the Venturi effect).
8. Similarity criteria (Buckingham theorem ( Pi theorem)), criteria of similarity, numbers: Strouhal, Froude, Richardson, Reynolds, Rossby'ego, Peclet, Euler.
9. Wave phenomena: surface gravity waves: limiting cases: waves in deep water, waves in shallow water, seiches, internal gravity waves, internal waves in lakes, the propagation of wave energy in motion.
10. Solar spectrum, radiative transfer, blackbody radiation, radiative properties of non-black materials, scattering by air molecules and particles, absorption and emission by gas molecules, optical phenomena
11. Cloud microphysics: water vapor condensation, clouds, growth of cloud droplets, freezing, nucleation of ice particles; growth of ice particles in clouds; thunderstorm electrification
12. Atmospheric dynamics: acting forces: centrifugal and Coriolis forces, gravity, the pressure gradient and frictional force, geostrophic, gradient thermal winds, primitive equations of of large-scale atmospheric motions, their solutions and applications, weather, numerical weather prediction
13. Global climate, energy bilans, atmosphere models, elements of climate and weather, changing of climate
Traditional lecture, conversational and with discussion of certain problems
Class during which students, leaded by the teacher, solve exercises and discuss problems. Students also prepare a 45-minute presentations on particular problems of environment physics, present them, answer questions, listen to presentations of colleagues and ask them questions.
| Outcome description | Outcome symbols | Methods of verification | The class form |
Class
The final grade of the class is issued on the basis of points obtained from two written tests (with tasks of varying degrees of difficulty, allowing to check whether the student has achieved the effects of learning ) and give the oral presentation on a given topic related to particular problems of environment physics.
Lecture.
The necessary condition of accede to the final written exam of the lecture is a positive evaluation of the class. The exam consists of theoretical questions and short exercises to be solved and verifies the effects of learning in the areas of knowledge and skills. Obtaining 50% of points guarantees a positive grade.
The final grade is the arithmetic mean of those of the class and the exam.
L.I. Sedov, Similarity and dimensional methods in mechanics, CRC Press, 1993.
J. M. Kreiner, Ziemia i Wszechświat, Wydawnictwo Naukowe UP, Kraków, 2011
J.W. Kane, M.M.Sternheim, Fizyka dla przyrodników, vol 1, 2 i 3, Państwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe 1988
S. Przestalski, Elementy fizyki, biofizyki i agrofizyki. WUW, Wrocław 2001
B. Cushman-Roisin, Environmetal Fluid Mechanics, available on the author's web page: http://engineering.dartmouth.edu/~cushman/books/EFM.html
D. G. Andrews, An introduction to atmospheric physics, 2 ed, Cambridge University Press, 2010
C. Smith, Environmental physics,
R.E. Gabler, J.F. Petersen, L.M. Trapasso, D. Sack, Physical geography, 9 ed, Brooks/Cole, Cengage Learning
J.M. Wallace, P.V. Hobbs, Atmospheric science, 2 ed, Elsevier, 2006
Materials provided by a lecturer
1. E. Boeker, R. van Grondelle, Fizyka środowiska, PWN 2002, English version E. Boeker, R. van Grondelle, Environmental Science, Wiley 2001.
2. F. Cap, Tsunamis and hurricanes, Springer-Verlag, 2006
Modified by dr hab. Maria Przybylska, prof. UZ (last modification: 01-10-2018 23:51)
