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Physics for Vision Sciences

Code 12499
Year 1
Semester S2
ECTS Credits 6
Workload TP(60H)
Scientific area Physics
Entry requirements Not applicable.
Learning outcomes Provide the students with the necessary knowledge to understand the physical processes involved in the vision and the environmental conditions to which it is subject. By the end of the semester, students should be able to:
(1) to verify the dimensional homogeneity of equalities and to use it in the verification of errors;
(2) perform elementary operations with vectors;
(3) explain the notion of pressure and its importance in fluid static, ideal flow and viscous flow;
(4) to relate the surface tension with the formation of menisci and adsorption;
(5) deduce the direction and quantify the magnitude of the flow of a substance using Fick's law and relate the concentration gradients to the osmosis through a porous membrane;
(6) explain the forces between electric charges in terms of the electric and magnetic fields they create, understand these interactions in terms of energy considerations;
(7) describe light as an electromagnetic wave.
Syllabus (1) Units and SI,
(2) Dimensional analysis,
(3) Calculations with vectors,
(4) Fluids (fluid statics, elemental fluid dynamics, sedimentation and centrifugation),
(5) Surface phenomena (surface tension, adsorption, electrokinetic phenomena, colloids),
(6) Diffusion (Brownian motion, Fick's laws, osmosis),
(7) Electromagnetism (charges and their interactions, electromagnetic waves).
Main Bibliography - Jay Newman, “Physics of the Life Sciences”, Springer 2008
- Halliday, Resnick, Walker, "Fundamentos de Física", LTC, 2012
- Mirabent, Rabagliati e García, "Física para Ciências de la Vida", 2a ed. McGraw Hill, 2009
Language Portuguese. Tutorial support is available in English.
Last updated on: 2025-06-09

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