Physics 2: Life Sciences & Environment

This subject aims to develop students’ understanding of the physics principles underpinning biological and environmental systems. It is designed for students with a sound background in physics, whose interests lie mainly in the biological sciences. Topics include: Fluids: blood pressure and the circulatory system, breathing and respiration (pressure in fluids, fluid flow, viscosity). Thermal physics: heating and cooling, energy balance of living organisms, ion movement across membranes (temperature and thermal energy, phase changes, heat transfer mechanisms, first law of thermodynamics, diffusion). Electricity and magnetism: bioelectricity, nerve conduction, electrical safety, power transmission, synchrotron, biological effects of electromagnetic fields (electric charge and field, electric potential, capacitance, electric circuits, resistance, magnetic fields and forces, Faraday’s law of induction). Atomic physics and lasers: fluorescence imaging and spectroscopy, laser surgery (structure of the atom, photons, spectroscopy, interaction of light with matter); Radiation: radiation safety, therapeutic uses of radiation (the atomic nucleus, isotopes, nuclear decay and radiation, physical and biological half-life, ionising radiation); and Imaging: modern biomedical imaging (X-rays, CT-scans and angiography, ultrasound imaging, positron emission tomography).