General Physics

The course "Complementi di Meccanica Classica e Termodinamica" is held by Prof. Luigi Rolandi to the first-year students of Scuola Normale Superiore.

Topics covered are the following.

Vectors, reference systems and time law. Units of measurement and dimensional analysis. Particle kinematics and kinematics of the rigid body. Forces and torques. Statics. Friction forces. Tensions. Balancing forces and torques. Newton's laws. Oscillations: harmonic oscillator, driven oscillator, damped oscillator. coupled oscillators. Non-inertial reference systems. Fictitious forces. Conservation of energy in one dimension, conservative forces, work and potential energy. Small oscillations. Conservation of energy in three dimensions - Gravity. Tides. Equivalence Principle. Momentum conservation. variable masses. Center of mass. Kinetic energy. Collisions in one and two dimensions. Central forces. Angular momentum. Effective potential. Kepler's laws. Angular momentum with fixed direction. Case of a two-dimensional object. Non- planar objects. Moment of inertia. Torques. Angular momentum general case. Angular velocity. Tensor of inertia. Principal axes . Euler equations. Spinning tops and gyroscopes. Kinetic theory of gases - Pressure, temperature and kinetic energy, the ideal gas law, Boltzmann law, distribution of molecular velocities. Specific heat. Temperature and Heat - First and second law of thermodynamics - entropy - free energy.

Bibliography

• D. Morin, Introduction to Classical Mechanics.
• D.E. Rutherford, Classical Mechanics.
• R.P. Feynman, The Feynman Lectures of Physics (Vol 1).
• E. Fermi, Thermodynamics.
• Lev D. Landau and Evgenij M. Lifsits, Meccanica - Fisica Teorica 1 (my personal suggestion).