In engineering and science, dimensional analysis is the analysis of the relationships between different physical quantities by identifying their base quantities (such as length, mass, time, and electric current) and units of measure (such as miles vs. kilometres, or pounds vs. kilograms) and tracking these dimensions as calculations or comparisons are performed. The conversion of units from one dimensional unit to another is often easier within the metric or the SI than in others, due to the regular 10-base in all units.
Dimensional Analysis Physics Pdf Free
Any physically meaningful equation, or inequality, must have the same dimensions on its left and right sides, a property known as dimensional homogeneity. Checking for dimensional homogeneity is a common application of dimensional analysis, serving as a plausibility check on derived equations and computations. It also serves as a guide and constraint in deriving equations that may describe a physical system in the absence of a more rigorous derivation.
A dimensional equation can have the dimensions reduced or eliminated through nondimensionalization, which begins with dimensional analysis, and involves scaling quantities by characteristic units of a system or natural units of nature. This may give insight into the fundamental properties of the system, as illustrated in the examples below.
There are also physicists who have cast doubt on the very existence of incompatible fundamental dimensions of physical quantity,[5] although this does not invalidate the usefulness of dimensional analysis.
In dimensional analysis, Rayleigh's method is a conceptual tool used in physics, chemistry, and engineering. It expresses a functional relationship of some variables in the form of an exponential equation. It was named after Lord Rayleigh.
The rule implies that in a physically meaningful expression only quantities of the same dimension can be added, subtracted, or compared. For example, if mman, mrat and Lman denote, respectively, the mass of some man, the mass of a rat and the length of that man, the dimensionally homogeneous expression mman + mrat is meaningful, but the heterogeneous expression mman + Lman is meaningless. However, mman/L2man is fine. Thus, dimensional analysis may be used as a sanity check of physical equations: the two sides of any equation must be commensurable or have the same dimensions.
In dimensional analysis, a ratio which converts one unit of measure into another without changing the quantity is called a conversion factor. For example, kPa and bar are both units of pressure, and 100 kPa = 1 bar. The rules of algebra allow both sides of an equation to be divided by the same expression, so this is equivalent to 100 kPa / 1 bar = 1. Since any quantity can be multiplied by 1 without changing it, the expression "100 kPa / 1 bar" can be used to convert from bars to kPa by multiplying it with the quantity to be converted, including the unit. For example, 5 bar 100 kPa / 1 bar = 500 kPa because 5 100 / 1 = 500, and bar/bar cancels out, so 5 bar = 500 kPa.
In finance, economics, and accounting, dimensional analysis is most commonly referred to in terms of the distinction between stocks and flows. More generally, dimensional analysis is used in interpreting various financial ratios, economics ratios, and accounting ratios.
In fluid mechanics, dimensional analysis is performed to obtain dimensionless pi terms or groups. According to the principles of dimensional analysis, any prototype can be described by a series of these terms or groups that describe the behaviour of the system. Using suitable pi terms or groups, it is possible to develop a similar set of pi terms for a model that has the same dimensional relationships.[9] In other words, pi terms provide a shortcut to developing a model representing a certain prototype. Common dimensionless groups in fluid mechanics include:
The first written application of dimensional analysis has been credited to an article of François Daviet at the Turin Academy of Science. Daviet had the master Lagrange as teacher. His fundamental works are contained in acta of the Academy dated 1799.[11]
When faced with a case where dimensional analysis rejects a variable (g, here) that one intuitively expects to belong in a physical description of the situation, another possibility is that the rejected variable is in fact relevant, but that some other relevant variable has been omitted, which might combine with the rejected variable to form a dimensionless quantity. That is, however, not the case here.
The power of dimensional analysis really becomes apparent when it is applied to situations, unlike those given above, that are more complicated, the set of variables involved are not apparent, and the underlying equations hopelessly complex. Consider, for example, a small pebble sitting on the bed of a river. If the river flows fast enough, it will actually raise the pebble and cause it to flow along with the water. At what critical velocity will this occur? Sorting out the guessed variables is not so easy as before. But dimensional analysis can be a powerful aid in understanding problems like this, and is usually the very first tool to be applied to complex problems where the underlying equations and constraints are poorly understood. In such cases, the answer may depend on a dimensionless number such as the Reynolds number, which may be interpreted by dimensional analysis.
Some discussions of dimensional analysis implicitly describe all quantities as mathematical vectors. (In mathematics scalars are considered a special case of vectors;[citation needed] vectors can be added to or subtracted from other vectors, and, inter alia, multiplied or divided by scalars. If a vector is used to define a position, this assumes an implicit point of reference: an origin. While this is useful and often perfectly adequate, allowing many important errors to be caught, it can fail to model certain aspects of physics. A more rigorous approach requires distinguishing between position and displacement (or moment in time versus duration, or absolute temperature versus temperature change).
Huntley has pointed out that a dimensional analysis can become more powerful by discovering new independent dimensions in the quantities under consideration, thus increasing the rank m \displaystyle m of the dimensional matrix.[29]
Huntley's recognition of quantity of matter as an independent quantity dimension is evidently successful in the problems where it is applicable, but his definition of quantity of matter is open to interpretation, as it lacks specificity beyond the two requirements (a) and (b) he postulated for it. For a given substance, the SI dimension amount of substance, with unit mole, does satisfy Huntley's two requirements as a measure of quantity of matter, and could be used as a quantity of matter in any problem of dimensional analysis where Huntley's concept is applicable.
The assignment of orientational symbols to physical quantities and the requirement that physical equations be orientationally homogeneous can actually be used in a way that is similar to dimensional analysis to derive more information about acceptable solutions of physical problems. In this approach, one solves the dimensional equation as far as one can. If the lowest power of a physical variable is fractional, both sides of the solution is raised to a power such that all powers are integral, putting it into normal form. The orientational equation is then solved to give a more restrictive condition on the unknown powers of the orientational symbols. The solution is then more complete than the one that dimensional analysis alone gives. Often, the added information is that one of the powers of a certain variable is even or odd.
Siano's orientational analysis is compatible with the conventional conception of angular quantities as being dimensionless, and within orientational analysis, the radian may still be considered a dimensionless unit. The orientational analysis of a quantity equation is carried out separately from the ordinary dimensional analysis, yielding information that supplements the dimensional analysis.
The dimensionless constants that arise in the results obtained, such as the C in the Poiseuille's Law problem and the κ \displaystyle \kappa in the spring problems discussed above, come from a more detailed analysis of the underlying physics and often arise from integrating some differential equation. Dimensional analysis itself has little to say about these constants, but it is useful to know that they very often have a magnitude of order unity. This observation can allow one to sometimes make "back of the envelope" calculations about the phenomenon of interest, and therefore be able to more efficiently design experiments to measure it, or to judge whether it is important, etc.
This volumepresents a collection of papers covering applications from a wide range ofsystems with infinitely many degrees of freedom studied using techniques fromstochastic and infinite dimensional analysis, e.g. Feynman path integrals, thestatistical mechanics of polymer chains, complex networks, and quantum fieldtheory. Systems of infinitely many degrees of freedom create their particularmathematical challenges which have been addressed by different mathematicaltheories, namely in the theories of stochastic processes, Malliavin calculus,and especially white noise analysis.
I was recently introduced to dimensional analysis and I wanted good references for learning the ideas behind it and representation of the natural world. I'm a grad student in biology. I don't have much of a physics background.
This is a great summary of dimensional analysis written by Ain Sonin, a former professor of mechanical engineering at MIT. It's only 50 pages, and most of it should be accessible to you. Though some examples may draw on parts of physics you're not familiar with, it is very well-written and should clarify the subject greatly. 2ff7e9595c
Commentaires