In this course, we shall introduce the elementary mechanics to the first year physics-major undergraduate students. The following materials are covered: The motion of a single particle in terms of the Cartesian coordinates and the polar coordinates. Galileo’s relativity principle; Dynamics, including Newton’s laws, equation of motion, inertial frames and the center of mass for many-particle systems; The momentum conservation theorem and collisions between two particles; The concept of potential energy and the energy conservation theorem; The angular momentum conservation theorem and the motion of a particle in a central field; The motion of a rigid body, including its rotation about a fixed axis, its planar motion as well as the definitions of the inertia tensor and the principal axes of inertia; The basic knowledge of liquid such as the concept of the fluid velocity field, the equation of continuity, ideal liquid and Bernoulli’s equation; Oscillations and waves, including the harmonic oscillation, the damped oscillation, the forced oscillation under friction, the elastic waves such as the transverse plane wave in solids and the longitudinal sound waves in gas, the Doppler effect, the reflection of wave, the standing wave and the wave equation; The special theory of relativity, including the Michelson-Morley experiment, the Lorentz transformation, the dilation of time, the transverse Doppler effect, the concept of the space-time vector, the space-time vector form of momentum and energy for a single particle and the Einstein energy-momentum relation.
In the meantime, we shall also help students on making a smooth transition from their high-school experience to the college style of reading and thinking as quickly as possible. That is extremely important for their future success in research.
Physics
物理（Physics）是一门自然科学，也是绝大多数科学的基础学科，注重于研究物质、能量、空间、时间，尤其是它们各自的性质与彼此之间的相互关系。从广义来说，物理学探索分析大自然所发生的现象，以了解其规则。物理专业主要分应用物理、生物物理、原子物理、核物理、粒子物理、量子物理、凝聚态物理、等离子物理、高能物理、天体物理与宇宙学等多种专业分支。
