Course detail

Physics in Electrical Engineering

FEKT-BPC-FYEAcad. year: 2025/2026

The course presents physical foundations of electrical engineering, i.e. both electronic and power engineering. Students receive an overview of fundamentals of mechanics of a mass point and a rigid body, electromagnetic field theory, oscillations, waves and optics. The last lecture deals with the introduction into quantum mechanics so that the students get acquainted with the existence of quantum phenomena and the basic tools for their description.

Language of instruction

Czech

Number of ECTS credits

5

Mode of study

Not applicable.

Entry knowledge

The secondary school knowledge and pre-intermediate knowledge of English are required.

Rules for evaluation and completion of the course

A short test, evaluation of protocols submitted in laboratories and a written final exam.
The extent of the evaluated education and the way in which the evaluation itself will be carried out are specified by a public regulation issued by the lecturer responsible for the course and updated for every academic year.

Aims

The main objectives are: to provide the students with clear and logical presentation of the basic concepts and principles of physics, in particular those used in electrical engineering, and to strengthen an understanding of these concepts and principles through a broad range of interesting applications.
The students understand basic physical concepts, laws, and processes. They are able to solve simple problems concerning these laws and processes, and can realize simple physical experiments.

Study aids

Not applicable.

Prerequisites and corequisites

Not applicable.

Basic literature

HALLIDAY, D., RESNICK, R., WALKER, J.: Fundamentals of Physics, 11th Edition. Wiley International Edition, John Wiley & Sons, 2018. ISBN: 978-1-119-28624-0. (EN)
HALLIDAY D., RESNICK R., WALKER J. Fyzika. Brno: Vysoké učení technické v Brně - Vutium, 2014. Překlad 8. orig. Vydání. ISBN 9788021418691. (CS)
HALLIDAY, D., RESNICK, R., WALKER, J.: Fyzika. VUT v Brně - VUTIUM a PROMETHEUS. 2007. ISBN: 8071962147. (CS)

Recommended reading

Not applicable.

Classification of course in study plans

  • Programme BPC-APE Bachelor's 1 year of study, winter semester, compulsory
  • Programme BIT Bachelor's 1 year of study, winter semester, elective
  • Programme BIT Bachelor's 1 year of study, winter semester, elective

Type of course unit

 

Lecture

26 hod., optionally

Teacher / Lecturer

Syllabus

Equation of motion and its application. Work, energy, and power.
Conservation laws. Collisions.
Gravitational field.
Electric charge, Coulomb's law. Electric field, field lines.
Point charge and electric dipole in an electric field. Gauss' law of electrostatics.
Capacitance. Electrostatic field in dielectrics. Energy in electric field.
Electric current, continuity relation. Ohm's law.
Electromotive force, work and power of electric current. Electric current in materials.
Magnetic field generated by electric current, Biot-Savart's law, magnetic field lines.
Ampere's law, force action of magnetic field.
Gauss' law for magnetic field. Magnetic field in materials.
Faraday's induction law. Coils and inductance.
Integral form of Maxwell's equations in vacuum and in dielectrics.

The Simple Harmonic Oscillator, Energy of the Simple Harmonic Oscillator.
The Pendulum, Damped Oscillators, Forced Oscillators, Resonance.
Types of Waves. One-Dimensional Traveling Harmonic Waves, Plane and Spherical Waves. Energy Transmitted by Harmonic Waves.
Superposition and Interference of Harmonic Waves, Standing Waves. Sound Waves. The Doppler Effect.
The Nature of Light. The Laws of Geometric Optics: Reflection and Refraction. Fundamentals of Fiber Optics.
Interference of Light Waves: Conditions for Interference, Young´s Double-slit Experiment, Interference in Thin Films.
Single-slit Diffraction, the Diffraction Grating. Polarization of Light. Holography.
Temperature, Thermal Expansion, Heat, Specific Heats.
The First Law of Thermodynamics. Some Applications of the First Law.
Heat transfer, the Second Law of Thermodynamics, Heat Engines and Pumps.
The Limits of Classical Physics.
The Quantization of Energy, Absorption, Stimulated and Spontaneous Emission. Lasers.
The Crystal Structures of Solids. The Band Theory of Solids. Conduction in Metals, Insulators, and Semiconductors. Superconduction.

 

Fundamentals seminar

13 hod., compulsory

Teacher / Lecturer

Syllabus

Equation of motion, conservation laws in mechanics, collisions.
Electric field. Gauss' law of electrostatics.
Magnetic field generated by electric current, Ampere's law. Force action of magnetic field.
Gauss' law for magnetic field. Faraday's induction law. The Simple Harmonic Oscillator.
Traveling Harmonic Waves, Standing Waves.
Reflection and Refraction of Light. Interference of Light.
Diffraction and Polarization of Light.
Heat and Work in Thermodynamic Processes. The First Law of Thermodynamics.
The Second Law of Thermodynamics, Heat Engines, and Pumps.
Blackbody Radiation, the Photoelectric Effect, Emission and Absorption.
Barrier tunneling, particle in a box.

 

 

Laboratory exercise

13 hod., compulsory

Teacher / Lecturer

Syllabus

The rules of work in the laboratory. Evaluation and presentation of measurements.
Determination of the moment of inertia. Conservation laws for angular momentum and mechanical energy.
Gravitational acceleration - Reversion pendulum.
Speed of light.
Elementary charge.
Temperature dependence of resistance of metals and semiconductors. Thermistor.
Superconductivity.
Magnetic field around a conductor. Force action of the magnetic field.
Magnetic properties of materials.
Hall's effect.
Absorption of light.
Polarized light, interference of light, laser.
Seminar, seminar work presentation. Ultrasound experiments
Thermodynamics experiments, Stirling's motor
Temperature radiation, Stefan-Boltzman's law
Photoelectric effect, Planck's constant
X-ray experiments
Radioactivity experiments