Introduction to Biophysics

Physics is a science

dealing

with nature

& natural

phenomenon. It is concerned with the study of two concepts matter and energy and how they interact with

each other.
Biophysics is an interdisciplinary science which uses the principles of physics to study the biological systems. Matter is the one which occupies space and is made up of molecules or atoms. Energy is the ability to do work and it has several forms. Matter is classified into 3 states : (i) Solid (ii) Liquid (iii) Gas

Properties of matter
1.

2.
3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.

It occupies space It has weight Inertia Resistance It is divisible Compressibility Porosity Elasticity / Plasticity Cohesion Adhesion

Unit and Measurements

To study the matter and energy and understand their properties ,measurements of physical quantities are needed. Quantities like mass, length ,volume and pressure are called physical quantities and are measurable. So, Unit is a quantity adopted as a standard of measurement in

terms of which similar quantities can be measured.

The units which are independent of one another and have their own standard (base) are called Fundamental Units . The 3 important fundamental units are (i) Length (ii) Mass (iii) Time

Systems of Units

FPS (Foot ,pound,sec.) ; CGS( cm,gm,sec.); MKS (meter, km, sec.)

SI system :
In 1990, the systems international units was introduced. They are based on properties of an atom. It is a coherent system
Physical Quantities 1. Length 2. Mass 3. Time 4. Current 5. Temperature 6. Luminous intensity 7. Plane angel 8. Solid angel SI Unit Meter Kilogram Second Ampere kelvin Candela radian steradian Symbol m kg s A K cd rad sr

6 Basic units

2 Supplementary units

Units of Length ,Mass & Time

1.

Length : The unit of length is meter.

- 1 meter is the length equal to 16507630.73 wavelength of the

orange-red line of krypton-86 discharge lamp kept at 15C and 76 cm of mercury. - In practice ,we use : dm ,cm ,mm, m,nm,Angstrom,Fermi(fm),km
2.

Mass : The unit of mass is kilogram.

- 1 kilogram is the mass of the platinum-iridium cylinder of diameter equal to its height kept at the international bureau of weights and

measure near paris,france.

- In practice ,we use : gm, mg, quintal ,ton

3.

Time : The unit of time is second.

- 1 second is defined as the duration of 9,192,631,770 periods of the radiation corresponding to the transition between two

specified energylevels of cesium-133 atom.

- In practice ,we use : s , ms ,min. ,hr

# Derived Units :

The units which are not having their standard and obtained from the fundamental units are called derived units. Examples are : Area = meter x meter = m

Velocity = meter/second = ms Density = kilogram/meter = kgm Acceleration = meter/second = ms

Motion

Rest and Motion

A body is said to be at rest if it does not change its position with respect to its surroundings.

A body is said to be in motion if it changes its position with

respect to its surroundings. Rest and Motion are relative terms. Motion can be defined as the change in position of a body with time. Different kinds of motion are : 1. Translatory /linear motion 2. Rotary/circular motion

3. Oscillatory motion
4. Random motion 5. Periodic motion

Displacement, Speed and Velocity

Displacement(s) is defined as the shortest distance between the initial and the final positions of a body.

The rate of change of position of a body is called speed.

Speed in a particular direction is called velocity. Hence ,velocity of a moving body is the rate of change of displacement of the body in a particular direction. Speed is a scalar quantity, has only magnitude and direction. Velocity is a vector quantity ,has both magnitude and direction. SI unit is ms.

A body is said to be in uniform velocity if body travel equal

distances in equal intervals of time.

Acceleration

It is defined as the rate of change of velocity. ( ms) a v u t a acceleration v - final velocity u initial velocity t total time

Acceleration can be negative ( deceleration/retardation )

When the velocity of a body changes by equal amounts in

equal intervals of time it is called uniform acceleration.

Scalar and Vector Quantities

The physical quantities that have only magnitude and no direction are called scalar quantities.

Ex. are : length ,mass ,time Specified merely by stating a number. Quantities that have a magnitude as well as direction are

called vector quantities.

Ex. are : velocity ,acceleration Represented by directed line segments ( Thus , vector is defined as a directed ) line segments in

space representing quantity both in magnitude & direction.