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50 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
Law of universal gravitation
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for any pair of objects, each object attracts the other with a force that is directly proportional to the product of the masses of the objects, and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between their centers of mass
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Gravitational field
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a force field that exists in the space around every mass or group of masses
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Escape speed
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the minimum speed necessary for an object to escape permanently from a gravitational field that holds it
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Period
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time required for a complete orbit
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Amplitude
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the distance from the midpoint to the crest
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Wavelength
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the distance from the top of the crest to the top of the following crest
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Frequency:
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number of events per time (units= hertz)
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Crest
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one of the places in a wave where the wave is highest or the disturbance is greatest
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Trough
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one of the places in a wave where wave is lowest
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Hertz
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SI unit for frequency
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Standing wave
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wave in which parts of the wave remain stationary and the wave appears not to be traveling. The result of interference between an incident wave and reflected wave
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Blue Shift
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an increase in the measured frequency of light from an approaching source; called the blue shift because the apparent increase is toward the high-frequency, or blue, en of the color spectrum.
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Red Shift
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a decrease in the measured frequency of light from a receding source; called the red shift because the decrease is toward the low-frequency, or red, end of the spectrum.
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Shock wave
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a cone-shaped wave produced by an orbit moving at supersonic speed through a fluid
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Sonic boom
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the sharp crack heard when the shock wave that sweeps behind a supersonic aircraft reaches the listener
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Infrasonic
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term applied to sound pitch too low to be heard by the human ear, that is, below 20 hertz
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Ultrasonic
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term applied to sound frequencies above 20,000 hertz, the normal upper limit of the human hearing
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Rarefaction
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a disturbance in air in which the pressure is lowered
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Beats
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a periodic variation in the loudness of the sound caused by interference when two tones of
slightly different frequencies are sounded together |
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Resonance
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a phenomenon that occurs when the frequency of forced vibrations on an object matches the object’s natural frequency and a dramatic increase in amplitude results
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Electromagnetic Wave
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a wave that is partly electric and partly magnetic and carries energy. Emitted by vibrating electric charges
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Polarization
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the aligning of vibrations in a transverse wave, usually by filtering out waves of other directions
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Photon
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in the particle model of the electromagnetic radiation, a particle that travels only at the speed of light and whose energy is related to the frequency of the radiation in the wave model
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Opaque
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term applied to materials that absorb light without reemission, and consequently do not allow light through them
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Spectrum
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for sunlight and other white light, the spread of colors seen when the light is passed through a prism or diffraction grating
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Scattering
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a process in which sound or light is absorbed and reemitted in all directions
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Normal
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a line perpendicular to a surface
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Dispersion
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the separation of light into colors arranged according to their frequency, by interaction with a prism or diffraction grating, for example.
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Total Internal Reflection
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the 100% reflection of light that strikes the boundary between two media at an angle greater than the critical angle.
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Focal Length
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the distance between the center of a lens and either focal point
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Diverging Lens
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a lens that is thinnest in the middle and that causes parallel rays of light to diverge
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Coherent
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as applied to light waves, having identical frequency and identical phase, and traveling in the same direction. Lasers create coherent light.
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Monochromatic
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having a single color or frequency
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Laser
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an optical instrument that produces a beam of coherent light – that is, having the waves all the same frequency, phase and direction.
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Coulomb
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SI unit of charge
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Induced
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term applied to electric charge that has been redistributed on an object because of the
presence of a charged object nearby |
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Conservation of Charge
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the principle that net electric charge is neither created nor destroyed but is transferable from one material to another
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Electric Field
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a force field that fills the space around every electric charge or group of charges.
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Capacitor
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a device used to store charge in a circuit
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Ohm’s Law
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the statement that the current in a circuit is directly proportional to the voltage impressed across a circuit, and is inversely proportional to the resistance of the circuit
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Potential Difference
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the difference in electric potential between two points
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Diode
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an electric device that restricts current to flow in a single direction in an electric circuit
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Superconductivity
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a property of material that has infinite conductivity at very low temperatures, so that charge flows through it without resistance.
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Transverse Wave
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a wave with vibration at right angles to the direction the wave is traveling
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Longitudinal Wave
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a wave in which the vibration is in the same direction as that in which the wave is traveling
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Reflection
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the bouncing back of particle or wave that strikes the boundary between two media.
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Refraction
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the change in direction of a wave as it crosses the boundary between two media in which the wave travels at different speeds.
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Diffraction
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the bending of a wave around a barrier, such as an obstacle or the edges of an opening.
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Wave Propagation
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The movement of energy through a medium in a straight line by longitudinal or transverse waves.
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Wave Interference
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The idea of superposition of waves. When two waves are added the resultant is just the sum of the displacements. The result can be constructive or destructive interference.
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