Physics review

Measurement in physics
Physics = deals with the interaction of matter, force and energy.
= divided into classical and modern physics
= a science of measurement.

Physicists observe the phenomena of nature and try to find and invent patterns and principles that
relate these phenomena.

+ what are phenomena?

We see things that are filled with wonder. For example: a spider creating its own
web, an ice sheet collapsing, a rising moon to a setting sun. a school of birds flying in the sky.

“when you can measure what you are speaking about and expressed it in numbers, you know
something about it; but when you cannot express it in numbers, your knowledge is of a meagre
and unsatisfactory kind; it may be the beginning of knowledge, but you have scarcely, in your
thoughts, advanced to the stage of science.”
- Lord Kelvin, a British physicist,
emphasized the importance of
measurement.

“if arithmetic, measurement, and weighing is taken away from any art, that which remains will
not be much.”
- The Greek philosopher Plato

Modern physics = started in 1900 with Max Planck’s discovery

of blackbody radiation.

+ so all inventions, discoveries, principles prior to 1900 are considered classical

physics while those beyond 1900 are considered modern physics.

Classical physics
== deals with deals with microscopic objects moving at speeds very small compared to the speed
of light in vacuum. The speed of light in vacuum
is 3x108 m/s.

Main branches of classical physics

> mechanics = deals with motion, force, work, energy and fluids
> heat = deals with effects of heat when added or removed from a system, the
methods of heat transfer, and the transformation of heat energy to
mechanical energy or work and vice versa
> thermodynamics = deals with effects of heat when added or removed from
a system, the methods of heat transfer, and the transformation of heat
energy to mechanical energy or work and vice versa.
> optics = deals with the study of light and its properties
> electricity = deals with phenomena associated with electrical charges
(whether at rest or moving), magnetism and the relationship
between electricity and magnetism.
> magnetism = deals with phenomena associated with electrical charges
(whether at rest or moving), magnetism and the relationship
Between electricity and magnetism.
> wave motion = deals with properties, transmission and perception of different
types of waves.
> sound = deals with properties, transmission and perception of different
types of waves.

Modern physics

Major areas in modern physics

> nuclear physics = deals with properties of and the reactions within the atomic
nucleus.
> general relativity = tells how matter curves space-time and how the curvature
of space-time dictates the trajectory of matter and light.

> special relativity = deals with phenomena associated when an object moves
with speeds approaching the speed of light in vacuum.
> particle physics = deals with the building blocks of matter called elementary
particles.
> quantum mechanics = deals with the nature and behavior of matter and energy on the atomic
and subatomic levels.

The Measuring Process

Measurement = the process of comparing something with a standard. To carry
Out measurements, a system of standards and a system of units
should be defined.

System of Units
Two systems have evolved: the metric system and the English system

Metric system = has two variations: the mks and the cgs systems.
English system = known as the fps system

Each system is represented by the abbreviation of its three basic units:

mks = stands for meter, kilogram, and second

cgs = stands for centimeter, gram, and sound
fps = stands for foot, pound and second

+ the fps system considers pound-force as a fundamental quantity.

The counterpart of pound-force in the metric system is mass.

The international system of units, abbreviated SI from the French Le Systeme International
d’Unites, is the modern form of the metric system.

Physical quantities = may either be fundamental or derived.

Fundamental quantities = are basic quantities which are independent of one another.

The SI fundamental quantities are:

> length
> mass
> time
> thermodynamic temperature
> electric current
> luminous intensity
> amount of substance

Derived quantities = combinations of fundamental quantities

Example:
Speed may be defined as distance, traveled divided by time. Other
familiar examples of derived quantities are acceleration, density,
work, and energy.

+ units corresponding to the fundamental quantities are called base or fundamental units,

The SI fundamental units are:

> meter
> kilogram
> second
> kelvin
> ampere
> candela
> mole
+ the units for derived quantities are combination of these fundamental units.
UNCERTAINTY AND ERROR ANALYSIS

Error = the deviation of a measured value from the expected or true value.
Uncertainty = a way of expressing error.

This equation shows the relationship of these factors

Measured value = (true value – + uncertainty) units

Accuracy versus Precision

Accuracy = refers to the closeness of a measured value to the expected or
true value of a physical quantity.
Precision = represents how close or consistent the independent measurements
Of the same quantity are to one another.

+ the distinction between accuracy and precision is demonstrated below

Random versus Systematic Errors

Random errors = result from unpredictable or inevitable changes during

measurement.
Examples:
- Electronic noise from an electronic device
- Slight variation of temperature when the volume of a gas is being measured
- Uncontrollable presence of measurements.

+ these errors may be reduced by increasing the number of trials of a measurement and
averaging out results.

Systematic errors = usually come from the measuring instrument or in the design of the
experiment itself. These errors limit the accuracy of one’s results.