PHYS2006: Syllabus

Linear motion of systems of particles [5]

• centre of mass
• total external force equals rate of change of total momentum (internal forces cancel)
• examples (rocket motion...)

Angular motion [7]

• rotations, infinitesimal rotations, angular velocity vector
• angular momentum, torque
• angular momentum for a system of particles; internal torques cancel for central internal forces
• rigid bodies, rotation about a fixed axis, moment of inertia, parallel and perpendicular axis theorems, inertia tensor mentioned
• precession (simple treatment: steady precession rate worked out), gyrocompass described

Gravitation's and Kepler's Laws [7]

• law of universal gravitation
• gravitational attraction of spherically symmetric objects
• two-body problem, reduced mass, motion relative to centre of mass
• orbits, Kepler's laws
• energy considerations, effective potential

Non-inertial reference frames [6]

• fictitious forces
• motion in a frame rotating about a fixed axis, centrifugal and Coriolis terms --- apparent gravity, Coriolis deflection, Foucault's pendulum, weather patterns

Normal Modes [5]

• damped and forced harmonic oscillation, resonance (revision)
• coupled oscillators, normal modes
• boundary conditions and eigenfrequencies
• beads on a string