Physics for engineering

This unit relates key principles of physics to engineering and technology, and shows how physics, including quantum and nano-science, creates useful new technologies. In the Newtonian mechanics topics you will explore the traditional concepts of dynamics, such as energy, momentum and angular momentum, and explore their connections of these topics to a variety of systems, including rocket propulsion, precession and planetary orbits. Within the Electromagnetism topics you will learn about electric and magnetic fields and their effects, as well as explore techniques for determining these fields and understanding their nature as light. In the Quantum physics topic you will explore modern physics concepts such as the uncertainty principle, the probabilistic interpretation of wave functions and atomic models and stimulated emission and the connection of these concepts to technologies like the atomic force microscope and lasers. During the activities for the practical component you will develop measurement, analysis, and communication skills.

Active learning - Expositional material is presented in the form of assigned pre-reading and/or pre-viewing videos, so that all face to face hours may be utilised to explore the nuanced detail and meaning of the material, to explore and build connections, and to gain a fundamental and concept driven understanding of the material. Problem solving applied sessions will allow you to interact in small groups aided by a lecturer or teaching associate (TA) and will facilitate building conceptual understanding, while collaborative laboratory investigations will demonstrate the material in action and test your ability to link theory to practice.

The workload to achieve the learning outcomes for this unit is 144 hours spread across the semester (roughly 12 hours per week) - approximately an even mixture of attendance at scheduled activities and self-scheduled study time. Learning activities comprise a mixture of instructor directed, peer directed and self-directed learning, which includes face-to-face and online engagement.