Introduction to Continuum Physics

Instructor

Roman Grigoriev
Office: Howey W304 (office hours: Tuesday 2-3pm)
Phone: (404) 385-1130
E-mail:

Tuesday & Thursday, 12:05pm-1:25pm
Room L5, Howey Physics Building

Continuum physics describes the macroscopic physical world around us. The enormous progress of quantum (read microscopic) physics in the 20th century has almost eliminated macroscopic phenomena from the core physics curriculum. Nonetheless, research in engineering, geophysics, and biology demands increased mastery of its methodology. The course aims to redress the balance by offering a modern, unified introduction to the basic concepts and phenomenology of continuous macroscopic systems.

The course is intended for physics, biology, math, engineering and geophysics advanced undergraduates and starting graduate students. The mathematical prerequisites are modest and are developed further as the need arises.

Benny Lautrup, "Physics of Continuous Matter: Exotic and Everyday Phenomena in the Macroscopic World," (IoP Publishing, 2005).

There will be a mid-term and a final exam; the grades will be based solely on the results of these exams (40%/60%). Homework assignments will be posted on the web every Thursday. They will not be graded (the textbook contains solutions), but we will have an in-class discussion of any difficulties you may have encountered. Homeworks are your way to prepare for the exams, as such you are required to worked them through. In general, you are expected to comply with the academic honor code.

August 19
Introduction
Reading: lecture notes, Chapter 1
Check out these cool numerical simulations of continuum matter.

August 21
Pressure
Reading: lecture notes, Chapter 4
Problems: 1.1, 2.16, 2.17, 2.18, 2.23 (rotation is around z axis).

August 26
Atmosphere
Reading: lecture notes, Chapter 4

August 28
Planets
Reading: lecture notes, Chapter 6
Additional information about the planets of our solar system.
Problems: Problems: 4.2, 4.3, 4.5, 4.7, 6.3, 6.4

September 2
Hydrostatic shapes
Reading: lecture notes, Chapter 7

September 4
Surface tension
Reading: lecture notes, Chapter 8
Problems: 6.6, 6.7, 6.8, 7.3, 7.5, 7.8

September 9
Surface tension and little droplets
Reading: lecture notes, Chapter 8
Fun stuff: water-walking, fluid chains and fishbones, Rayleigh-Plateau instability, droplets collisions (make sure to click "next")

September 11
Jet break-up and capillary effect
Reading: lecture notes, Chapter 8
Problems: 8.1, 8.3
For your viewing pleasure: jet breakup of newtonian, slightly non-newtonian, and viscoelastic fluid shot using strobe light. More jet breakup for a non-newtonian fluid under continuous illumination.

September 16
Big droplets and bubbles
Reading: lecture notes, Chapter 8
For your viewing pleasure: dripping faucet movie and theoretical model.

September 18
Stress
Reading: lecture notes, Chapter 9
Problems: 8.4, 9.1, 9.2, 9.3, 9.4

September 23
Stress and strain
Reading: lecture notes, Chapter 10

September 25
Strain
Reading: lecture notes, Chapter 10
Problems: 9.6, 9.8, 9.9, 10.1, 10.2, 10.3, 10.8

September 30
Linear elasticity
Reading: lecture notes

October 2
Midterm

October 7
Midterm review

October 9
Linear elasticity
Reading: lecture notes

October 14
Recess

October 16
Buckling under load
Reading: lecture notes
Problems: 11.3, 11.4, 11.5, 11.6, 12.4

November 7
Elastic equilibrium
Reading: lecture notes

November 9
Elastic vibrations
Reading: lecture notes
Problems: 12.2, 12.5, 12.6, 14.1, 14.4

November 14
Fluids in motion
Reading: lecture notes

November 16
Euler equation
Reading: lecture notes
Problems: 15.2, 15.3, 15.4, 15.6, 16.1, 16.2

November 21
Vorticity
Reading: lecture notes

November 23
Holiday

November 28
Potential flow
Reading: lecture notes

November 30
Viscous flow
Reading: lecture notes
Problems: 16.3, 16.4, 16.13, 17.1, 17.2, 17.4

December 5
Creeping flow
Reading: lecture notes

December 7
Turbulence

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