• Print

 

Fundamentals of medical physics
academic year 2019-2020
1st semester

elective course

COURSE DATA

Course title: Fundamentals of medical physics

Credits: 1

Course code: AOK-KUA441

Assessment: report (five-scale)

Large-group seminar: 16 periods/semester, in blocks

AIM OF THE COURSE

To complete the course Medical physics successfully, students are supposed to be conversant with the secondary-school minimum material in physics, since 25% of the questions will test the general physics background on which the lectures rely.

We shall have a knowledge survey in the first two weeks of the semester, and offer this elective course to students with lower scores to give them the opportunity to bridge their knowledge gap.

REQUIREMENTS FOR THE SUCCESSFUL COMPLETION OF THE COURSE

The classes are held in blocks of 1+3 units per week from week 3 to week 5. Attending these large-group consultations is mandatory for students who have taken this course.

Teaching materials for the course are available on the homepage of our institute (http://www2.szote.u-szeged.hu/dmi/eng/index.php/handouts) and in the respective CooSpace scene.

The course is worth 1 credit. Assessment is in the form of a five-scale report, awarded on the basis of a test identical to the knowledge survey, written at the beginning of October. The grading is based on the percentiles of student results as follows:

  • lowest 20%: failed (1)
  • 20–40%: passed (2)
  • 40–60%: accepted (3)
  • 60–80%: good (4)
  • best 20%: excellent (5)

SYLLABUS

  1. Mathematical foundations. Normal form of numbers. The SI system of units: base units and prefixes. The use of symbols. Angles. Functions: linear functions, powers, exponential, logarithmic and trigonometric functions. Derivative and integral. Geometry: circumference, area, surface area and volume. (3 periods)
  2. Kinematics and dynamics. Vectors. Kinematics: uniform motion and circular motion. Dynamics: interactions, Newton’s laws, inertial systems, types of forces. (3 periods)
  3. Energy. Work. Kinetic energy. Potential energy: gravitational, elastic. Mechanical energy and its conservation. Power. (1.5 periods)
  4. Hydrostatics. Density. Pressure. Hydrostatic pressure (0.5 periods)
  5. Oscillations. Fundamental concepts: amplitude, period, frequency, angular frequency. Harmonic oscillations. Damped oscillations. Natural angular frequency. Driven oscillations and resonance. (2 periods)
  6. Waves. Fundamental concepts: wavelength, (angular) wave number, speed of propagation. Types of waves: longitudinal and transverse. Wave propagation: reflection and refraction (Snell’s law). Interference, standing waves. Diffraction. Linear polarisation. Fundamentals of acoustics. (2 periods)
  7. Electricity. Stationary charges, electrostatics: Coulomb’s law, electric field, electric field lines. Electric potential and voltage. Dipole. Accumulating charges: capacitance, capacitors in series and in parallel. Moving charges, electric current: Ohm’s law, resistance and conductance, resistors in series and in parallel, Kirchhoff’s laws. Electric power. Direct current and alternating current, capacitors in alternating current circuits. (2 periods)
  8. Magnetism. Magnetic field and magnetic field vector. Interaction between moving charges (currents) and the magnetic field (Lorentz force). Magnetic properties of matter: permanent magnets, ferro-, para- and diamagnetic substances. Magnetic moment, intrinsic magnetic moment of charged particles (electron and proton spin). Magnetic effects of currents. Electromagnetic induction: magnetic flux, Faraday’s law, Lenz’s law. Electric motor and electric generator. Self-inductance, inductors in an alternating current circuit. (2 periods)

RECOMMENDED READING

  • course handouts
  • lecture notes