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Georgia Tech Student Wiki for Introductory Physics.

This resource was created so that students can contribute and curate content to help those with limited or no access to a textbook. When reading this website, please correct any errors you may come across. If you read something that isn't clear, please consider revising it for future students!

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1. Pick one of the topics from intro physics listed below
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Please remember that this is not a textbook and you are not limited to expressing your ideas with only text and equations. Whenever possible embed: pictures, videos, diagrams, simulations, computational models (e.g. Glowscript), and whatever content you think makes learning physics easier for other students.

Source Material

All of the content added to this resource must be in the public domain or similar free resource. If you are unsure about a source, contact the original author for permission. That said, there is a surprisingly large amount of introductory physics content scattered across the web. Here is an incomplete list of intro physics resources (please update as needed).

• A physics resource written by experts for an expert audience Physics Portal
• A wiki written for students by a physics expert MSU Physics Wiki
• A wiki book on modern physics Modern Physics Wiki
• The MIT open courseware for intro physics MITOCW Wiki
• An online concept map of intro physics HyperPhysics
• Interactive physics simulations PhET
• OpenStax intro physics textbooks: Vol1, Vol2, Vol3
• The Open Source Physics project is a collection of online physics resources OSP
• A resource guide compiled by the AAPT for educators ComPADRE

Resources

• Commonly used wiki commands Wiki Cheatsheet
• A guide to representing equations in math mode Wiki Math Mode
• A page to keep track of all the physics Constants
• A page for review of Vectors and vector operations
• A listing of Notable Scientist with links to their individual pages

Physics 1

Week 1

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Help with VPython

• Python Syntax

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Vectors and Units

• Vectors
• SI Units

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VPython

• VPython
• VPython basics
• VPython Common Errors and Troubleshooting
• VPython Functions
• VPython Lists
• VPython Loops
• VPython Multithreading
• VPython Animation
• VPython Objects
• VPython 3D Objects
• VPython Reference
• VPython MapReduceFilter
• VPython GUIs

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Vectors and Units

• Vectors
• SI Units

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Interactions

• Types of Interactions and How to Detect Them

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Velocity and Momentum

• Newton's First Law of Motion
• Velocity
• Mass
• Speed and Velocity
• Relative Velocity
• Derivation of Average Velocity
• 2-Dimensional Motion
• 3-Dimensional Position and Motion

Week 2

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Momentum and the Momentum Principle

• Momentum Principle
• Inertia
• Net Force
• Derivation of the Momentum Principle
• Impulse Momentum
• Acceleration
• Momentum with respect to external Forces

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Iterative Prediction with a Constant Force

• Newton’s Second Law of Motion
• Iterative Prediction
• Kinematics
• Newton’s Laws and Linear Momentum
• Projectile Motion

Week 3

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Analytic Prediction with a Constant Force

• Analytical Prediction

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Iterative Prediction with a Varying Force

• Predicting Change in multiple dimensions
• Spring Force
• Hooke's Law
• Simple Harmonic Motion
• Iterative Prediction of Spring-Mass System
• Terminal Speed
• Determinism

Week 4

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Fundamental Interactions

Main Idea

• Gravitational Force

• An Application of Gravitational Potential
• Electric Force
• Reciprocity

Week 5

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Conservation of Momentum

• Conservation of Momentum

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Properties of Matter

• Kinds of Matter
• Ball and Spring Model of Matter
• Density
• Length and Stiffness of an Interatomic Bond
• Young's Modulus
• Speed of Sound in Solids
• Malleability
• Ductility
• Weight
• Hardness
• Boiling Point
• Melting Point
• Change of State

Week 6

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Identifying Forces

• Free Body Diagram
• Inclined Plane
• Compression or Normal Force
• Tension

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Curving Motion

• Curving Motion
• Centripetal Force and Curving Motion
• Perpetual Freefall (Orbit)

Week 7

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Energy Principle

• The Energy Principle
• Conservation of Energy
• Kinetic Energy
• Work
• Power (Mechanical)

Week 8

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Work by Non-Constant Forces

• Work Done By A Nonconstant Force

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Potential Energy

• Potential Energy
• Potential Energy of Macroscopic Springs
• Spring Potential Energy
• Ball and Spring Model
• Gravitational Potential Energy
• Energy Graphs
• Escape Velocity

Week 9

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Multiparticle Systems

• Center of Mass
• Multi-particle analysis of Momentum
• Momentum with respect to external Forces
• Potential Energy of a Multiparticle System
• Work and Energy for an Extended System
• Internal Energy
  • Potential Energy of a Pair of Neutral Atoms

Week 10

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Choice of System

• System & Surroundings

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Thermal Energy, Dissipation and Transfer of Energy

• Thermal Energy
• Specific Heat
• Heat Capacity
• Specific Heat Capacity
• First Law of Thermodynamics
• Second Law of Thermodynamics and Entropy
• Temperature
• Predicting Change
• Energy Transfer due to a Temperature Difference
• Transformation of Energy
• The Maxwell-Boltzmann Distribution
• Air Resistance

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Rotational and Vibrational Energy

• Translational, Rotational and Vibrational Energy

Week 11

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Different Models of a System

• Point Particle Systems
• Real Systems

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Models of Friction

• Friction
• Static Friction

Week 12

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Collisions

• Newton's Third Law of Motion
• Collisions
• Elastic Collisions
• Inelastic Collisions
• Maximally Inelastic Collision
• Head-on Collision of Equal Masses
• Head-on Collision of Unequal Masses
• Scattering: Collisions in 2D and 3D
• Rutherford Experiment and Atomic Collisions
• Coefficient of Restitution

Week 13

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Rotations

• Rotation
• Angular Velocity
• Eulerian Angles

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Angular Momentum

• Total Angular Momentum
• Translational Angular Momentum
• Rotational Angular Momentum
• The Angular Momentum Principle
• Angular Momentum Compared to Linear Momentum
• Angular Impulse
• Predicting the Position of a Rotating System
• Angular Momentum of Multiparticle Systems
• The Moments of Inertia
• Moment of Inertia for a cylinder
• Right Hand Rule

Week 14

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Analyzing Motion with and without Torque

• Torque
• Torque 2
• Systems with Zero Torque
• Systems with Nonzero Torque
• Torque vs Work
• Gyroscopes

Week 15

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Introduction to Quantum Concepts

• Bohr Model
• Energy graphs and the Bohr model
• Quantized energy levels

Physics 2

Week 1

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3D Vectors

• Vectors
• Right-Hand Rule
• Right Hand Rule

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Electric field

• Electric Field
• Electric Field and Electric Potential

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Electric force

• Electric Force
• Lorentz Force

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Electric field of a point particle

• Point Charge

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Superposition

• Superposition Principle
• Superposition principle

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Dipoles

• Electric Dipole
• Magnetic Dipole

Week 2

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Interactions of charged objects

• Electric Field
• Electric Potential
• Electric Force
• Lorentz Force

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Tape experiments

• Polarization
• Electric Polarization

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Polarization

• Polarization
• Electric Polarization
• Polarization of an Atom

Week 3

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Insulators

• Insulators
• Potential Difference in an Insulator
• Charged Conductor and Charged Insulator
• Charged conductor and charged insulator

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Conductors

• Conductivity
• Charge Transfer
• Resistivity
• Polarization of a conductor
• Charged Conductor and Charged Insulator
• Charged conductor and charged insulator

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Charging and discharging

• Charge Transfer
• Electrostatic Discharge
• Charged Conductor and Charged Insulator
• Charged conductor and charged insulator

Week 4

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Field of a charged rod

• Charged Rod

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Field of a charged ring/disk/capacitor

• Charged Ring
• Charged Disk
• Charged Capacitor

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Field of a charged sphere

• Charged Spherical Shell
• Field of a Charged Ball

Week 5

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Potential energy

• Potential Energy - Claimed by Janki Patel

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Electric potential

• Electric Potential
• Path Independence of Electric Potential
• Potential Difference Path Independence, claimed by Aditya Mohile
• Potential Difference in a Uniform Field
• Potential Difference of Point Charge in a Non-Uniform Field

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Sign of a potential difference

• Sign of a Potential Difference

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Potential at a single location

• Electric Potential
• Potential Difference at One Location

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Path independence and round trip potential

• Path Independence of Electric Potential
• Potential Difference Path Independence, claimed by Aditya Mohile

Week 6

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Electric field and potential in an insulator

• Potential Difference in an Insulator
• Electric Field in an Insulator

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Moving charges in a magnetic field

• Magnetic Field
• Magnetic Force
• Lorentz Force

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Biot-Savart Law

• Biot-Savart Law
• Biot-Savart Law for Currents

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Moving charges, electron current, and conventional current

• Moving Point Charge
• Current

Week 7

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Magnetic field of a wire

• Magnetic Field of a Long Straight Wire

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Magnetic field of a current-carrying loop

• Magnetic Field of a Loop

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Magnetic field of a Charged Disk

• Magnetic Field of a Disk

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Magnetic dipoles

• Magnetic Dipole Moment
• Bar Magnet

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Atomic structure of magnets

• Atomic Structure of Magnets

Week 8

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Steady state current

• Steady State
• Non Steady State

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Node rule

• Node Rule
  • In an electric circuit in series, electrons flow from the negative end of a power source, creating a constant current. This current remains consistent at each point in the circuit in series. Sometimes, a circuit is not simply one constant path and may include parts that are in parallel, where the current must travel down two paths such as this:
  • File:Noderule.jpg
  • In this case, when the current enters a portion of the circuit where the items are in parallel, the total amount of current in must equal the total amount of current out. Therefore, the currents in each branch of the parallel portion must sum up to the amount of current at any other point in series in the circuit.
  • For the previous image, the node rules can be written as I_total = I_1 + I_2 and I_total = I_3 + I_4. It is also true that I_1 + I_2 = I_3 + I_4.
  • However, each of these currents are different because each point has a different resistance. The current is different for each because it is equal to V/R, and in a parallel circuit, the voltage drop across each point is equal.

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Electric fields and energy in circuits

• Series circuit
• Node Rule
• Loop Rule
• Electric Potential Difference

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Macroscopic analysis of circuits

• Series Circuits
• Parallel Circuits
• Parallel Circuits vs. Series Circuits*
• Loop Rule
• Node Rule
• Fundamentals of Resistance

Week 9

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Electric field and potential in circuits with capacitors

• Charging and Discharging a Capacitor
• RC Circuit
• R Circuit
• AC and DC

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Magnetic forces on charges and currents

• Magnetic Force
• Lorentz Force
• Applying Magnetic Force to Currents
• Magnetic Force in a Moving Reference Frame
• Right-Hand Rule
• Analysis of Railgun vs Coil gun technologies

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Electric and magnetic forces

• Electric Force
• Magnetic Force
• Lorentz Force
• VPython Modelling of Electric and Magnetic Forces

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Velocity selector

• Lorentz Force
• Combining Electric and Magnetic Forces

Week 10

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The Hall effect

• Hall Effect
• Right-Hand Rule
• Motional Emf
• Magnetic Force
• Magnetic Torque

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Motional EMF

• Motional Emf
• Motional Emf using Faraday's Law

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Magnetic force

• Magnetic Force
• Lorentz Force

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Magnetic torque

• Magnetic Torque
• Right-Hand Rule

Week 12

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Gauss's Law

• Gauss's Flux Theorem
• Gauss's Law
• Magnetic Flux

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Ampere's Law

• Ampere's Law
• Ampere-Maxwell Law
• Magnetic Field of Coaxial Cable Using Ampere's Law
• Magnetic Field of a Long Thick Wire Using Ampere's Law
• Magnetic Field of a Toroid Using Ampere's Law
• Magnetic Field of a Solenoid Using Ampere's Law
• The Differential Form of Ampere's Law

Week 13

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Semiconductors

• Semiconductor Devices

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Faraday's Law

• Faraday's Law
• Motional Emf using Faraday's Law
• Lenz's Law

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Maxwell's equations

• Gauss's Law
• Magnetic Flux
• Ampere's Law
• Faraday's Law
• Maxwell's Electromagnetic Theory

Week 14

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Circuits revisited

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Inductors

• Inductors
• Current in an LC Circuit
• Current in an RL Circuit

Week 15

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Electromagnetic Radiation

• Electromagnetic Radiation

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Sparks in the air

• Sparks in Air
• Spark Plugs

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Superconductors

• Superconducters
• Superconductors
• Meissner effect

Physics 3

Week 1

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Classical Physics

Week 2

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Special Relativity

• Frame of Reference
• Einstein's Theory of Special Relativity
• Time Dilation
• Einstein's Theory of General Relativity
• Albert A. Micheleson & Edward W. Morley
• Magnetic Force in a Moving Reference Frame

Week 3

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Photons

• Spontaneous Photon Emission
• Light Scattering: Why is the Sky Blue
• Lasers
• Electronic Energy Levels and Photons
• Quantum Properties of Light

Week 4

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Matter Waves

• Wave-Particle Duality

Week 5

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Wave Mechanics

• Standing Waves
• Wavelength
• Wavelength and Frequency
• Mechanical Waves
• Transverse and Longitudinal Waves

Week 6

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Rutherford-Bohr Model

• Rutherford Experiment and Atomic Collisions
• Bohr Model
• Quantized energy levels
• Energy graphs and the Bohr model

Week 7

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The Hydrogen Atom

• Quantum Theory
• Atomic Theory

Week 8

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Many-Electron Atoms

• Quantum Theory
• Atomic Theory
• Pauli exclusion principle

Week 9

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Molecules

Week 10

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Statistical Physics

Week 11

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Condensed Matter Physics

Week 12

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The Nucleus

• Nucleus

Week 13

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Nuclear Physics

• Nuclear Fission
• Nuclear Energy from Fission and Fusion

Week 14

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Particle Physics

• Elementary Particles and Particle Physics Theory
• String Theory