Physics for information technology

Aim

The course aims to give a basic orientation in selected parts of physics of relevance for a Master of Science in Information Technology: classical mechanics, electromagnetic waves and quantum physics. The course will provide knowledge in using, assessing and creating models of processes related to these areas of physics.After completing the course, the student should:

• know the basic concepts, main ideas and theories in the fields and examples of the results and consequences of these
• be able to apply the theories by solving problems in the fields, thereby choosing appropriate methods and assessing the reasonableness of results obtained
• be able to perform experiments and interpret data concerning electromagnetic waves, interference, and polarization.

Content

• Particle mechanics: Kinematics: position, time, velocity, acceleration, angular position, angular velocity, angular acceleration, equations of motion and relative motion. Kinetics: mass, momentum, force, impulse, angular momentum, torque. Work, kinetic energy, power, conservative forces, potential energy, conservation of mechanical energy.
• Mechanics of particle systems and dynamics of rigid bodies: center of mass, conservation of momentum, conservation of angular momentum, kinetic energy of particle systems, moment of inertia.
• Wave physics: electromagnetic waves, polarization. superposition, interference, diffraction.
• Quantum physics: Wave-particle dualism, photons, uncertainty relations, Schrödinger equation, energy levels, probability distributions and measurement, spin.