Ashure university

Department of Biomedical Engineering

Subject: General Physics
Lecture 1: Physics and Measurements

Prepared by
Dr. Ahmed H. Waheeb
Physics and Measurements
• Physics is a Fundamental Science
✓ Concerned with the fundamental principles of the Universe
✓ Foundation of other physical sciences
✓ Has simplicity of fundamental concepts
Divided into Six major areas:
1. Classical Mechanics.
2. Relativity.
3. Thermodynamics.
4. Electromagnetism.
5. Optics.
6. Quantum Mechanics.
• Objectives of Physics
✓ To find the limited number of fundamental laws that governs natural phenomena.
✓ To use these laws to develop theories that can predict the results of future experiments.
✓ Express the laws in the language of mathematics (Mathematics provides the bridge between theory and
experiment).

• Medical Physics

Medical Physics is defined as the application of physics to the needs of medicine.

• Aims of the Medical physics

The aim of medical physics is application of the concepts and methods of physics to understand the function of
human body in health and disease.
• Physics of the body
➢ Is to understand the physical aspect of the body such as; forces on and in the body, work, energy, power of the
body, heat, blood flow, respiration, electricity, circulation and hearing.

• Application of physics in medicine

1. Diagnostic: Manometer (blood pressure), Electrocardiograph(ECG), X- Ray, Electromyography (EMG),

Computer tomography (CT scan ), ....

2. Therapy: Radiotherapy, Ultrasound, High voltage, Laser, ....

3. Patient monitoring: Thermometer, Blood pressure, ECG, ....

Measurements

➢ Used to describe natural phenomena. Each measurement is associated with a physical quantity. Need defined
standards Characteristics of standards for measurements.

✓ Readily accessible.

✓ Possess some property that can be measured reliably.

✓ Must yield the same results when used by anyone everywhere.

✓ Cannot change with time.

Units

Physics experiments involve the measurement of a variety of quantities, and a great deal of effort goes into
making these measurements as accurate and reproducible as possible. The first step toward ensuring accuracy and
reproducibility is defining the units in which the measurements are made.
• Length (Meter, m): by international agreement the meter is the distance between two marks on a bar of
platinum–iridium alloy (Figure 1.1) kept at a temperature of 0 ˚C. Today, for the meter is defined as the
distance that light travels in a vacuum in a time of 1/299 792 458 second. This definition arises because the
speed of light is a universal constant that is defined to be 299 792 458 m/s.

fig (1-1). The standard platinum–iridium -meter bar

• Time (Second, s): The present definition of the second as a unit of time is different from the original definition.
Originally, the second was defined according to the average time for the earth to rotate once about its axis, one
day being set equal to 86 400 seconds. The earth’s rotational motion was chosen because it is naturally repetitive.
Today, we still use a naturally occurring repetitive phenomenon to define the second, but of a very different kind.
We use the electromagnetic waves emitted by cesium-133 atoms in an atomic clock like that in Fig. 1.2. One
second is defined as the time needed for 9 192 631 770 wave cycles to occur.

Fig (1.2). The atomic clock keep time with an

uncertainty of about one second in sixty million year
➢Mass

➢is a measure of the amount of material in an object, being directly related to the number and
type of atoms present in the object. Mass does not change with a body's position, movement or
alteration of its shape, unless material is added or removed. an object with mass 1 kg on earth
would have the same mass of 1 kg on the moon.

➢ Mass is a fundamental property of an object.an object with mass 1 kg on earth would have the
same mass of 1 kg on the moon.

➢ The fundamental property of a substance is the property which depends on the body and does not change due to
any physical factor.
➢ (Kilogram, kg): The definition of a
kilogram as a unit of mass has undergone
changes over the years. Originally, the
kilogram was expressed in terms of a
specific amount of water. Today, one
kilogram is defined to be the mass of a
standard cylinder of platinum–iridium
alloy, like the one in Figure 1.3

Fig (1-3) mass of a standard cylinder of platinum–iridium alloy

• Many SI derived units are defined in terms of these base units. For example, the SI unit for power, called the
watt (W), is defined in terms of the base units for mass, length, and time.

• 1 watt = 1 W = 1 kg.m 2 /s3

• where the last collection of unit symbols is read as kilogram-meter squared per second cubed.
Fundamental Quantities And Their Units
SI – System International ( Agreed to in 1960 by an international committee)
Quantity SI Unit

Length meter

Mass kilogram

Time second

Temperature Kelvin

Electric Current Ampere

Luminous Intensity Candela

Amount of Substance mole

Units

Derived quantities can be expressed as a mathematical combination of fundamental

quantities. Examples:

➢Area (A product of two lengths).

➢ Speed (A ratio of a length to a time interval).

➢density (A ratio of mass to volume).

The SI units used to construct all other derived units,

Units

• The British System

• Finally, we mention the British system of units. These units are used only in the United States and
a few other countries, and in most of these they are being replaced by SI units. British units are
now officially defined in terms of SI units, as follows:

• Length: 1 inch = 2.54 cm (exactly)

• Force: 1 pound = 4.448221615260 newtons (exactly)

Units
• Example1 : weightlifter can lift 495 Ibs how many kg is that ? Note kg = 2.2 Ibs (conversion factor )

𝟏𝒌𝒈 𝟒𝟗𝟓 𝒌𝒈
• 495 Ibs ( ) = = 𝟐𝟐𝟓𝒌𝒈
𝟐.𝟐𝑰𝒃𝒔 𝟐.𝟐

• Example 2 The highest waterfall in the world is Angel Falls in Venezuela, with a total drop of 979.0 m. Express
this drop in feet. Note that 3.281 feet = 1 meter

𝟑.𝟐𝟖𝟏 𝒇𝒆𝒆𝒕
• 979 m ( )= 979 × 3.281 feet = 3212 feet
𝟏𝒎
Units
Exsaple3 :- it is important to write down the units explicitly in the calculations and treat them like any algebraic
quantity. Here, we take advantage of two well-known relationships—namely, 5280 feet = 1 mile and 3600
seconds = 1 hour. As a result, (5280 feet)/(1 mile) = 1 and (3600 seconds)/(1 hour) = 1. In our solution we will use
the fact that multiplying and dividing by these factors of unity does not alter an equation.
Units
• Converting volume units

• The world’s largest cut diamond is the First Star of Africa. Its volume is 1.84 cubic inches. What is its volume
in cubic centimeters? In cubic meters? Solution: Here we are to convert the units of a volume from cubic inches
(in.3 ) to both cubic centimeters (cm.3 ) and cubic meters (m3 ).If you know that 1 in. = 2.540 cm, from which
we obtain 1 in.3 = (2.540 cm)3 , we then have;
Prefixes

➢Prefixes correspond to powers of 10.

➢Each prefix has a specific name and has a specific abbreviation.

➢The prefixes can be used with any basic units.

➢They are multipliers of the basic unit.

➢Examples: 1 mm = 10-3 m 1 mg = 10-3 g