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70 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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sine curve
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The waveform traced by simple harmonic motion, which can be made visible on a moving conveyor belt by a pendulum swinging at right angles above the moving belt.
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amplitude
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For a wave or vibration, the maximum displacement on either side of the equilibrium (midpoint) position.
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wavelength
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The distance between successive crests, troughs, or identical parts of a wave.
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frequency
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For a vibrating body or medium, the number of vibrations per unit time.
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Hertz
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The SI unit of frequency; one equals one vibration per second.
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period
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The time in which a vibration is completed
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wave speed
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The speed with which waves pass a particular point; equals frequency times wavelength
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transverse wave
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A wave in which the medium vibrates perpendicular to the direction in which the wave travels; light and water waves are examples
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longitudinal wave
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A wave in which the medium vibrates in a direction parallel to the direction in which the wave travels; sound waves are an example
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wave interference
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Phenomenon that occurs when two waves meet while traveling along the same medium.
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interference pattern
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The pattern formed by superposition of different sets of waves that produces reinforcement in some places and cancellation in others.
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standing wave
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A stationary wave pattern formed in a medium when two sets of identical waves pass through the medium in opposite directions.
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Doppler effect
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The shift in received frequency due to motion of a vibrating source toward or away from a receiver.
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Bow wave
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The V-shaped disturbance created by an object moving across a liquid surface at a speed greater than the wave speed.
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shock wave
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The cone-shaped disturbance created by an object moving at supersonic speed through a fluid.
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sonic boom
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The loud sound resulting from the incidence of a shock wave.
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pitch
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The highness or lowness of a tone related to wave frequency.
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infrasonic
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Describes a sound that has a frequency too low to be heard by the normal human ear.
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ultrasonic
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Describes a sound that has a frequency too high to be heard by the normal human ear.
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compression
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Condensed region of the medium through which a longitudinal wave travels.
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rarefaction
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Rarefied region (of reduced pressure) of the medium through which a longitudinal wave travels
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reverberation
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Persistence of osund, as in an echo, due to multiple reflections
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refraction
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Bending of osund or any wave caused by a difference in wave speeds.
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forced vibration
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The setting up of vibrations in an object by a vibrating force.
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natural frequency
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A frequency at which an elastic object naturally tends to vibrate if it is disturbed and the disturbing force is removed.
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resonance
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The response of a body when a forcing frequency matching its natural frequency.
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interference
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A result of superposing different waves, often of the same wavelength.
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beats
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A series of alternate reinforcements and cancellations produced by the interference of two waves of slightly different frequencies, heard as a throbbing effect in sound waves.
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pitch
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The highness or lowness of a tone, as on a musical scale, which is principally governed by frequency.
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intensity
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The power per square meter carried by a sound wave, often measured in decibels.
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loudness
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The physiological sensation directly related to sound intensity or volume.
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quality
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The characteristic timbre of a musical sound, which is governed by the number and relative intensities of partial tones
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partial tone
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Single-frequency component sound wave of a complex tone.
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fundamental frequency
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The lowest frequency of vibration, or first harmonic, in a musical tone.
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harmonic
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A partial tone whose frequency is an integer multiple of the fundamental frequency.
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Fourier analysis
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A mathematical method that disassembles any periodic waveform into a combination of simple sine waves.
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electrostatics
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The study of electric charge at rest (not in motion, as in electric current)
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conservation of charge
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Electric charge is neither created nor destroyed. The total charge before an interaction equals the total charge after.
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Coulomb's law
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The relationship between electrical force, charge, and distance. If the charges are alike in sign, the force is repulsive; if the charges are unlike, the force is attractive.
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Coulomb
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The SI unit of electrical charge; one is equal to the total charge of 6.25 x 10^18 electrons.
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conductor
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Any material having free charged particles that easily flow through it when an electric force acts on them.
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insulator
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A material without free charged particles and through which charge does not easily flow.
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semiconductor
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A material with properties that fall between a conductor and an insulator and whose resistance can be affected by adding impurities.
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superconductor
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A material that is a perfect conductor with zero resistance to the flow of electric charge.
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charging by contact
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Transfer of electric charge between objects by rubbing or simple touching.
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charging by induction
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Redistribution of electric charges in and on objects caused by the electrical influence of a charged object close by but not in contact.
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electrically polarized
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Term applied to an atom or molecule in which the charges are aligned so that one side has a slight excess of positive charge and the other side a slight excess of negative charge.
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electric field
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Defined as electric force per unit charge, it can be considered to be an "aura" surrounding charged objects and is a storehouse of electrical energy.
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electric potential energy
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The energy a charged object possesses by virtue of its location in an electric field.
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electric potential
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The electric potential energy per unit of charge, measured in volts, and often called voltage.
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capacitor
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an electrical device - in its simplest form, a pair of parallel conducting plates separated by a small distance - that stores electric charge and energy.
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potential difference
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The difference in electric potential between two points, measured in volts.
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electric current
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The flow of electric charge that transports energy from one place to another; measure in amperes
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electrical resistance
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The property of a material that resists electric current; measured in ohms
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Ohm's law
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The statement that the current in a circuit varies in direct proportion to the potential difference or voltage across the circuit and inversely with the circuit's resistance; current is equal to voltage divided by resistance.
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direct current
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Electrically charged particles flowing in one direction only.
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alternating current
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Electrically charged particles that repeatedly reverse direction, vibrating about relatively fixed positions; in the US, the vibrational rate is commonly 60 Hz
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electric power
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The rate of energy transfer, or the rate of doing work; the amount of energy per unit of time, which electrically can be measured by the product of current and voltage; measured in watts
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series circuit
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An electric circuit in which electrical devices are connected along a single wire such that the same electric current exists in all of them.
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parallel circuit
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An electric circuit in which electrical devises are connected in such a way that the same voltage acts across each one, and any single one completes the circuit independently of all others.
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magnetic force
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The attraction of unlike poles and the repulsion of like poles.
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magnetic field
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The region of magnetic influence around a magnetic pole or a moving charged particle.
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magnetic domain
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Clustered regions of aligned magnetic atoms; when these regions themselves are aligned with one another, the substance containing them is a magnet.
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electromagnet
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A magnet whose field is produced by an electric current, usually in the form of a wire coil with a piece of iron inside the coil.
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cosmic rays
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Various high-speed particles that travel throughout the universe.
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electromagnetic induction
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The induction of voltage when a magnetic field changes with time. If the magnetic field within a closed loop changes in any way, a voltage is induced in the loop.
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Faraday's law
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An electric field is created in any region of space in which a magnetic field is changing with time. The magnitude of the induced electric field is proportional to the rate at which magnetic field changes. The direction of the induced field is at right angles to the changing magnetic field.
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generator
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An electromagnetic induction device that produces electric current by rotating a coil within a stationary magnetic field; converts mechanical energy to electrical energy.
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transformer
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A device for transferring electric power from one coil of wire to another, by means of electromagnetic induction, for the purpose of transforming one value of voltage to another.
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Maxwell's counterpart to Faraday's law
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A magnetic field is created in any region of space in which an electric field is changing with time. The magnitude of the induced magnetic field is proportional to the rate at which the electric field changes. The direction of the induced magnetic field is at right angles to the changing electric field.
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