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College of Medicine and Health Sciences

Department of Medical Imaging Sciences-L1




Introduction
Physics aims to describe the function of
everything around us, from the movement of
tiny charged particles to the motion of people,
cars, and spaceships.
Physics describes the relationship between
the speed of an object, the distance over
which it travels, and the time it takes to travel
that distance.
What is physics ? (and why do YOU
need it ?)
Foundation on which all modern science and
technology is built it is becoming more and
more important.
Today's medical imaging technology/computers
/ telecommunication / is yesterday's physics
research.
Teaches a particular way of addressing problems
and observing the environment.
Helps you understand what is possible and what
is not, which information to believe and which
not.
Units
Physics measurements require units
1 in = 2.54 cm
= 0.0254 m
= 0.0833 ft
= 1.58 x 10-5 mi

We see five different expressions (using different
units) for the same length measurement. Physical
expressions are meaningless without specifying
the units.


Unit conversions
In real life you will encounter that more than one unit is used to
measure the same thing. e.g. American Unit system <=> Metric
System
Conversion mi/hr into km/hr
1 mile = 1.609 km

Conversion mi/hr into m/s
1 hour = 3600 s, 1 mile = 1609 m

hr
km
mile
km
hour
mile 112
1
609 . 1 1
70
hour
mile
70 mph 70
s
m
s
hr
mile
m
hr
mile 3 . 31
3600
1
1
1609 1
70
hour
mile
70 mph 70
Conversion mi/gallon into km/liters
1 gallon=3.8 liters, 1 mi = 1.609 km
L
km
L
gal
mile
km
gal
mile 62 . 7
8 . 3
1
1
609 . 1
1
1
18
gallon
mile
18
Our units
Physics uses the International Unit System
Systeme Internationalle (SI),
which is a version of the metric system.
The standard units:
Property Unit Name Symbol
Length Meter m
Mass Kilogram kg
Time Second s
Essentially All other units are derived from
these three!
Modification of Units
For some problems, the standard units are unconvenient.
They can be modified by prefixes to show powers of ten
such as
Name Symbol Value
Nano n 10
-9

Micro 10
-6

Milli m 10
-3

Kilo k 1
Mega M 10
3

Giga G 10
6

Kinematics
Kinematics:
How do we describe the motion of objects?

a) In one and two dimensions .
b) As a function of time.
c) with constant acceleration (free fall)
Frame of Reference
If we want to describe motion mathematically,
we must choose a frame of reference in which
we measure the (changing) position of an object
by providing its coordinates.

Displacement vs Distance
DISPLACEMENT is the difference between final and original coordinates as
defined by your Frame of Reference


The stands for change in ...
Example: Travel 70 m to the east, then turn around and travel 30 m to the
west
Displacement (Here = 40 m) pos. or neg.
Distance is the
total length of the path
always positive (Here = 100 m)

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