Physics for O.N.C. Courses

R.A.E.,     Huddersfield

CHAPTER 1

Mechanics: A Review of Some Basic Principles

Publisher Summary

This chapter reviews the results of certain basic mechanics principles. A body is recognized as possessing mass in as much as it resists change of motion, that is, it requires a force to be exerted on it to move it, from rest, or to change its velocity when in motion. If a force acts through a distance in its own direction, then the product is a measure of the work done by the force. The chapter discusses the basic principle of energy. Energy is defined as that which is required for the performance of work. Power is defined as the rate of performance of work. The three states of matter are solid, liquid, and gas. The measure of the quantity of matter contained in unit volume of a substance, that is, the mass per unit volume, is called the density of the substance. The Archimedes’ principle states that the apparent loss of weight suffered by a body, partly or completely immersed in a fluid, is equal to the weight of the fluid displaced by the body. Graham’s law of gaseous diffusion states that the rate of diffusion of a gas through a porous membrane is inversely proportional to the square root of its density. Experiments performed over a period of time have shown that some diffusion occurs at solid surfaces in contact but to an extremely slight extent.

1.1 Mass, Force and Weight

The mass of a body is said to be a measure of the quantity of matter contained in the body. Thus, two bodies of equal mass represent equal quantities of matter. A body is recognised as possessing mass in as much as it resists change of motion, i.e. it requires a force to be exerted on it to move it from rest or to change its velocity when in motion.

NEWTON’S LAWS OF MOTION

These laws may be stated as follows:

1. Every body continues in a state of rest or of uniform motion in a straight line unless acted upon by an impressed force.

2. The change of momentum per unit time of a body is proportional to the force acting on the body and takes place in the direction of that force.

3. To every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.

The first of these laws means that if a body is at rest or moving with constant speed in a straight line then the net force acting on it is zero.

The momentum of a body of mass m and having a velocity v is defined as the product mv. According to Newton’n second law the force F acting on a body is proportional to its rate of change of momentum, i.e.

Assuming m is constant and independent of velocity this becomes

where a is the acceleration of the body.

We define the unit of force called the Newton (N) as that force which, when acting on a body of mass 1 kg, gives the body an acceleration of 1 m s−².

Following from this definition, the product of the mass of a body in kg and its acceleration in m s−2 gives the force acting in Newtons directly, so that the constant of proportionality in the previous expressions becomes unity and we may write

(1.1)

From this it follows that if g is the acceleration acquired by a body due to gravitational force, then for a body of mass m this force is mg. This is a measure of the weight W of the body, so that

(1.2)

Since, at any point on the earth’h surface g is found to have a fixed value for all bodies, it is clear that W ∝ m, and so a body A has twice the mass of a body B if W for A is twice that for B. The weight of a mass of 1 kg is the unit of force called the kilogram-weight (kg-wt). Assuming the value of g to be 9·81 m s−2 it follows from eqn. (1.2) that 1 kg-wt = 9·81 N.

If, on the other hand, F has a fixed value, it follows from eqn. (1.1) that the accelerations given to bodies of different masses are inversely proportional to those masses so that body A has twice the mass of body B if the same force F gives B twice the acceleration of A.

The third law means that all forces between bodies are mutual, i.e. if a body B acts with a force F on a body A, then equally well the body A may be said to act with this same force F on the body B. Whether or not either body moves depends on what other forces are acting at the same time.

1.2 Work, Energy and Power

WORK

If a force F acts through a distance s in its own direction, then the product Fs is a measure of the work done by the force. If the distance s is in some direction making an angle θ with the direction of the force, then the work done is given by Fs cos θ. If a force of 1 N acts through a distance of 1 m in its own direction the work done is 1 Joule (J). In general,

ENERGY

This may be defined as that which is required for the performance of work. Its measure is exactly that of the work done and is thus expressed in the same units. This means, for example, that the number of Joules of energy used in the performance of work is equal to the number of Joules of work done. The kinetic energy, or energy of motion, of a body of mass m and velocity v . The derivation of this expression is left as an exercise for the student. The potential energy, or energy of position, of a body is measured by the work done in bringing the body into the particular position which it occupies from some suitable, but arbitrarily chosen, position. For example, the work done in raising a body of mass m to a height h above the ground is mgh and this is the gravitational potential energy of the body relative to ground level.

POWER

This is defined as the rate of performance of work. If a force F acts through a distance ds in a time dt then the power P is given by P = Fds/dt. One Watt is that power corresponding to the rate of working of one Joule per second, i.e. 1 Watt (W) = 1 J s−1. One kilowatt (kW) = 10³ W.

One kilowatt-hour (kWh) is the energy consumed or work done as a result of the power of 1 kW continuing for one hour. Its equivalent in Joules = 1000 W×3600 = 3·6×10⁶ J. It is not a unit of power but of work, or energy. In general,

At one time matter was considered as quite distinct from energy, but nowadays the difference between them is not so apparent as was formerly supposed. A quantity of matter may be measured by its mass m, but equally well a quantity of energy E may be said to have this same mass m if E = mc², where c is the velocity of light (3 × 10⁸ m s−1 or 186, 000 miles per second). This equation is derived in Einstein’n Special Theory of Relativity and shows that energy also has mass, so that matter and energy cannot simply be distinguished on the grounds that matter has mass whereas energy does not. Modern nuclear science involves the concept of matter being measured in terms of energy and vice versa.

1.3 The States of Matter

Matter exists in three main forms: solid, liquid and gas, these being referred to as the three states of matter. As a first distinction between these three it must be noted that whereas a solid, in general, may be seen to have a shape of its own (although this may be modified by the application of suitable forces) and a definite volume at any particular temperature, a liquid has no shape of its own although, like a solid, it has a definite volume at any particular temperature. A liquid assumes the shape of the containing vessel, except for the horizontal surface at the top of the liquid when the vessel is not completely full. A gas, on the other hand, has no definite shape or volume at a given temperature. It will extend, in general, to fill completely the space available to it. Water is familiar in all three forms, i.e. ice, water and steam. Steam, like air, is an invisible gas. The so-called steam issuing from the spout of a kettle of boiling water is in fact a cloud of tiny water droplets condensed from the steam itself. Mostly, only the region very close to the spout is truly filled with steam.

These primary distinctions between solids, liquids and gases are accounted for by the molecular and kinetic theories of matter—scarcely mere theories any longer; the weight of evidence in their favour is now so great it may be regarded as known that matter consists of small particles called atoms and that atoms form closely-knit groups called molecules. The atom is the smallest particle of a chemical element which can exist and still have the properties and characteristics of that element. A molecule is the smallest possible particle of a chemical compound which has the characteristics of that compound or, again, it is the smallest particle of an element as it normally exists in the stable state, not as a single atom but a particle containing two or three atoms of that element, e.g. the oxygen molecule contains two oxygen atoms. Atoms are themselves made up of still more elementary particles such as electrons, protons, neutrons, etc., but if an atom is broken down into these fundamental particles the identity of the chemical substance is lost. The difference between one chemical element and another depends on the difference in the number and arrangement of the fundamental particles in the atom.

According to the kinetic theory of matter, the atoms or molecules composing any quantity of matter are not at rest but are in continuous motion, the amount of kinetic energy corresponding to this motion depending on the temperature. In a solid this motion is not free. The molecules or atoms are only able to vibrate about fixed points. In a liquid the molecules are more free to move within the confines of the fixed volume of the liquid but some (although relatively few) do escape from the main body. In a gas the molecules are held in one region of space only by the walls of the containing vessel, or, as is the case with the earth’h atmosphere, by their own weight. They move at remarkably high speeds (of the order of 10³ m s−1 at ordinary temperatures) randomly in all directions, colliding continuously with each other and with the walls of the containing vessel.

The restricted motion of the molecules in a solid, the relatively smaller restriction in the case of a liquid and the comparative freedom in the case of a gas are all determined by the differences in the mean distances which separate the molecules in the three cases and the differences in the effects of the forces of interaction between the molecules which result from these different separations. These forces are effective only at very short distances from any one molecule. At extremely close range they are repulsive forces whilst at somewhat greater distances (though in fact still very small) they become forces of attraction. The fixed shape and size of a solid, the fluidity of liquids and the extreme fluidity, shapelessness and extensibility of gases are all easily understandable in terms of this kinetic, molecular picture or model, as it is called, of matter. It is the energy required to do work against the attractive forces which exist between molecules in order to change the state, either from solid to liquid or from liquid to gas, which represents the latent heats of fusion or evaporation, respectively, of a substance.

1.4 Density and Specific Gravity

The measure of the quantity of matter contained in unit volume of a substance, i.e. the mass per unit volume, is called the density of the substance. It is calculated by dividing the mass of any given volume of the substance by that volume, i.e. density = mass/volume.

The density of any given substance depends on the mass of the molecules of that substance and on how closely they are packed together, on an average, in the substance. Gases will in general, thus have the smallest densities because of the loose packing of the molecules. On the other hand, although many solids are denser than common liquids at normal temperatures, it is not true to state that in general solid substances are denser than liquids.

The specific gravity, or relative density, of a substance is the ratio (density of substance)/(density of water) which is the same as the ratio

The specific gravity of a substance has the same numerical value as its density in g cm−3 since the density of water is unity in these units. In M.K.S. units the density of water is 10³ kg m−3, so that the specific gravity of a substance multiplied by 10³ gives its density in kg m−3. Similarly, since the density of water is 62·4 lb ft−3 the density of any other substance in these units is its specific gravity multiplied by 62·4.

The use of a specific gravity bottle for the determination of the specific gravity of liquids, or of solids in finely divided form, as described in the majority of elementary physics textbooks, should be familiar and will not be discussed here.

ARCHIMEDES’ PRINCIPLE

This principle states that the apparent loss of weight suffered by a body, partly or completely immersed in a fluid (liquid or gas), is equal to the weight of the fluid displaced by the body.

The apparent loss of weight is due to an upward force, or upthrust, exerted by the fluid on the body immersed in it, so that we have

For a body which floats in a liquid the weight of the body is entirely supported by the fluid so that the apparent loss of weight is the entire weight of the body, i.e. upthrust = weight of body. Thus in this case the weight of the displaced fluid is the same as the whole weight of the body. The body sinks into the surface of the liquid only as far as is sufficient to displace its own weight of the liquid.

Archimedes’ principle affords accurate means of determining specific gravities of both solids and liquids, for suppose a body has a weight w1 in air and an apparent weight w2 when suspended in water. The upthrust in the water is w1 – w2 and by Archimedes’ principle this is the weight of the displaced water. The volume of the body must be the same as that of the displaced water assuming the body to have been entirely submerged. Hence the specific gravity of the material composing the body

Figure 1.1 shows suitable experimental arrangements: (a) using a chemical balance and affording greater accuracy than (b) using a spring balance.

FIG. 1.1

If the solid has an apparent weight w3 in a second liquid, the apparent loss of weight, w1 − w3, in the liquid, gives the weight of the liquid displaced, and this has the same volume as the water previously displaced, namely the volume of the solid body. Hence the specific gravity of the liquid

Clearly, a body floats in a liquid if its specific gravity is less than that of the liquid, since in this case the weight of an equal volume of liquid is greater than the weight of the body itself so that, if fully submerged, the body experiences an upthrust greater than the downward weight of the body which therefore rises to the surface. Equilibrium is established when sufficient of the body is submerged in the surface to displace a volume of liquid whose weight is equal to the entire weight of the body. The student is reminded that this is the principle of the common hydrometer for the direct determination of the specific gravity of liquids.

1.5 Pressure

If a body rests on a surface, such as a table top, then the weight of the body will tend to cause it to move through the material of the table. The surface of the table thus becomes compressed, however slightly. This compression results in a so-called force of reaction which, when the compression is sufficient, just balances the weight of the body. Thus it is as if the body itself were acting on the table with a force equal to its own weight and the pressure which is exerted by the body is measured as the force it exerts per unit area of the surface. This may be calculated by dividing the total weight of the body by the area of contact with the surface, i.e.

Thus pressure is force per unit area, the area being measured normal to the direction of action of the force. Strictly, the above expression gives the mean pressure and, in fact, the total area of the base of a block of wood resting on a table is not all in contact with the table. The pressure p at any point of a surface may be expressed as p = F/dA, where F is the force acting normally over the vanishingly small element of area dA containing the point. If we consider the force exerted by a liquid on the base of a container we see that there is contact at each point and the pressure at every point of the base is the same and equal to the weight of the liquid column vertically above the base divided by the area of the base. If the density of the liquid in the tumbler illustrated in ×g = AD g which is given in Newtons if A is in m², D is in kg m−3 and g = 9·81 m s−2. Hence the pressure on the base

FIG. 1.2

and this does not depend on A. In fact, if we consider a small element of area dA of the base, the pressure is found to be the same as that calculated by considering the whole area A since the force F is then given by F = (dA)gD , so that p = F/dA gD as before.

If we consider the pressure at depths D and D, then

i.e. pressure ∝ depth. It should be clear that the pressure anywhere within the liquid is quite independent of the shape or size of the vessel at any particular depth below the surface. For a given depth D ′ we have

i.e. pressure ∝ density of liquid at any given depth.

PRESSURE IN GASES : ATMOSPHERIC PRESSURE

Gases differ from solids and liquids in the important respect that any given mass of gas may be compressed readily into a significantly smaller volume so that its density increases. Since it is the collisions of the gas molecules against the walls of the container which is responsible for the pressure exerted by the gas, the pressure will increase as the volume of any given mass of gas is reduced because molecules collide more frequently with the walls due to the increased density. The relationship between the pressure exerted by a fixed mass of gas and its volume at a constant temperature is given by Boyle’e law which is discussed in detail in Chapter 8. In particular, however, if the volume of a fixed mass of gas is halved at constant temperature, its pressure doubles.

The pressure throughout any static mass of gas in a vessel has everywhere within that vessel essentially the same value. Its value at any point does not depend significantly on the weight of gas above that point, i.e. the pressure does not vary with depth to any appreciable extent as it does in the case of a liquid. Although this remains apparently true for quite tall columns of gas, the pressure does in fact vary with depth when the height of the column of gas becomes great. The gas at the base of the column is compressed by the weight of gas above it and its density is thus greater. It therefore exerts a greater pressure, sufficient in fact to support the pressure upon it. The pressure of a gas in equilibrium conditions is the same as the pressure exerted on it. The obvious example of a very tall column of gas is the Earth’h atmosphere which is many miles high. The pressure and density fall off with the height above the Earth’h surface. The measurement of atmospheric pressure, for example at sea level, is a measurement of the pressure of the air at this level due to the pressure on it resulting from the weight of the atmosphere above. By contrast, the measurement of the air pressure in a bicycle tyre is not the measurement of pressure resulting directly from the weight of air in the tyre (although, of course, the pressure increases with the weight, or rather the mass, of air in the tyre). The tyre pressure would exist even in the absence of gravitational force; the atmospheric pressure results directly, on the other hand, from gravitational force giving the air its weight and thus compressing the air beneath it.

A barometer is used for the purpose of measuring atmospheric pressure, not only in meteorological work but also for many scientific or technical purposes. The simple mercury barometer consists of a stout-walled glass tube closed at one end and over 76 cm in length. It is filled with mercury so that all air is excluded and the open end inverted under mercury in a reservoir. The tube is placed vertically and the mercury falls leaving a vacuous space at the top of the tube known as the Torricellian vacuum, after Torricelli, who first constructed such a barometer in the seventeenth century. The level of the mercury rises and falls as the pressure of the atmosphere varies, although it is never more than 2 or 3 cm or so different from 76 cm above the level of the mercury in the reservoir (Fig. 1.3).

FIG. 1.3

The pressure of the atmosphere supports the mercury in the tube but only to a height h, so that the pressure at the base of the tube, on the same level as the surface of the mercury in the reservoir, due to the column of mercury, is equal to the pressure of the atmosphere acting on the surface of the mercury in the reservoir;

for mercury is greater than other available liquids at ordinary temperatures (1·36×10⁴ kg m−3), so that h will have the least value of all liquids. A water barometer would need to be over 10 m high in order for a vacuum to form at the top. An ordinary lift pump, which operates by atmospheric pressure, was found to be unable to raise water more than about 32 ft or so, and this led ultimately to Torricelli’i discovery of the mercury barometer and to the understanding of the operation of the lift pump.

Pressures are often quoted in centimetres of mercury or millimetres of mercury, and the pressure in absolute units may be obtained from these figures by multiplying by the density of mercury and the acceleration due to gravity g in the appropriate units. Thus, for accurate work, barometer readings must be corrected (a) for the temperature of the mercury which determines its exact density, (b) the expansion of the scale used to measure the height of the column, since this scale is strictly correct only at one temperature, and (c) for the latitude where the barometer is situated since this affects the value of g.

The Fortin barometer (Fig. 1.4) is an accurate form of mercury barometer. The reservoir has a flexible leather base and is enclosed in a metal casing. A screw adjustment C serves to alter the volume of this reservoir so that the level of mercury in it is always made just to touch the ivory pointer A, visible through a glass window, before a reading is taken of the mercury level B. In this way the zero of the scale, on which the level B is measured (this zero corresponding in position to the tip of A), is always at the surface of the mercury in the reservoir. (In the simple mercury barometer the level in the reservoir is always changing as the mercury rises and falls in the tube.) The level at B is read off on an adjustable vernier scale controlled by a knob D, the correct setting corresponding to the condition in which the lower edge of the metal collar E just appears to touch the mercury surface when the two are viewed with the eye at the level of the mercury surface at B.

FIG. 1.4

gh, where h is the density of the liquid and g is in kg m−3, g is in m s−2 and h is in m. Now

FIG. 1.5

pressure at A = pressure at B,

p (i.e. pressure in apparatus) = P gh,

excess pressure in apparatus = (p – Pgh.

For pressures up to 76 cm of mercury the liquid used may be mercury and the value of the pressure can be expressed directly as h cm of mercury. For pressures of only a few centimetres of mercury, water may be used, whilst for smaller pressures a suitable oil of lower specific gravity (0·8) is often used.

If the manometer is used to measure pressures lower than atmospheric, it is termed a vacuum gauge or vacuum manometer and the level of the liquid is now lower in the limb open to the atmosphere than in the other limb.

For the measurement of high pressures a Bourdon gauge is used (Fig. 1.6.) and this consists essentially of a steel or phosphor- bronze tube of oval section and bent into a circular shape, one end being fixed and the other connected to a system of levers to magnify the movement of the tube. A pointer which moves over a circular scale is attached to this lever system, the scale being calibrated directly to give pressure in the required units. The fixed end of the tube communicates with the air or gas in the vessel or apparatus in which the pressure is required. Increases in this pressure cause the tube to attempt to straighten out and this causes the pointer to move. These gauges need recalibration from time to time and are not suitable for accurate work.

FIG. 1.6

1.6 Diffusion

If an inverted gas-jar of hydrogen, the least dense of all gases, is placed over a gas-jar of oxygen, for example, which is about 16 times denser, and the two gases allowed to communicate by removing the glass covers between them, it might be supposed that the light gas would remain floating on the denser gas as does cork on water. In fact after a relatively short period of time there results a considerable mixing of the two gases and the contents of each jar is an explosive mixture of oxygen and hydrogen as is shown if a lighted taper is applied to both. This penetration of the one gas into the other, even against gravitational force, is known as diffusion and results not from a movement of the gas in bulk but from the individual motion of the molecules, and is easily accounted for by the kinetic theory. Gases also diffuse through solid walls of vessels, most readily through the more porous materials such as plaster, brick, etc. Graham’s law of gaseous diffusion states that the rate of diffusion of a gas through a porous membrane is inversely proportional to the square root of its density. Thus oxygen, which is 16 times denser than hydrogen, diffuses only 1/√16 times the rate of hydrogen, i.e. one-quarter the rate of hydrogen.

Diffusion also occurs in liquids but not to such a marked degree as in gases. A drop of ink which is allowed to fall into a beaker of water will gradually cause a uniform coloration of the water by the diffusion process. A crystal of potassium permanganate placed in water begins to dissolve and form a purple solution. This diffuses throughout the water and all of it becomes coloured.

Experiments performed over a long period of time have shown that some diffusion occurs at solid surfaces in contact but to an extremely slight extent.