Physics Vocab

Front 1

absolute zero

Back 1

The temperature at which the atoms of a substance have their minimum kinetic engery

Front 2

absorption spectrum

Back 2

continuous spectrum interupted by dark lines or bands

Front 3

acoustics

Back 3

study of the properties of sound, especially its transmision

Front 4

additive primary colors

Back 4

colors of light- red,blue,and green. when added will produce any color of the spectrum

Front 5

alpha particle

Back 5

nucleus of a helium atom which consists of two neutrons and two protons, ejeted by certain radioactive nuclei

Front 6

alternating current (ac)

Back 6

electric current that rapidly reverses in direction

Front 7

ampere(A)

Back 7

flow of 6.25x10 to the 18th electrons per second

Front 8

angle of incidence

Back 8

angle between an incident ray and the normal to the surface it encounters

Front 9

angle of reflection

Back 9

angle between a reflected ray and the normal surface at which it is refracted

Front 10

angle of refraction

Back 10

angle between a refracted ray and the normal to the surface at which it is refracted

Front 11

antinode

Back 11

any part of a standing wave with maximum displacement and maximum energy

Front 12

atom

Back 12

smallest particle of an element that has all the element's chemical properties

Front 13

atomic mass

Back 13

the average of the masses of the existing isotopes of an element

Front 14

mass number

Back 14

the number of nucleons (protons and neutrons) in an atom

Front 15

atomic number

Back 15

number of protons in an atom's nucleus

Front 16

Avogadro's number

Back 16

(1 Mole) 6.02x10 to the 23 power)

Front 17

beta particle

Back 17

electron emmited during radioactive decay of certain neutron

Front 18

boiling

Back 18

change from liquid to gas occurring beneath the surface of the liquid; rapid vaporization

Front 19

Calorie(cal)

Back 19

unit of heat. one calorie is the heat required to raise the temperature of one gram of water 1 Celsius degree

Front 20

Celsius Scale

Back 20

temperature scale that assigns 0 to the melt-freeze point for water and 100 to the boil-condense point of water at standard pressure

Front 21

chain reaction

Back 21

self-sustaining reaction that, once started steadily provides the energy and matter necessary to continue the reaction

Front 22

charging by contact

Back 22

Transfer of electric charge between objects by rubbing or simple touching

Front 23

charging by induction

Back 23

redistribution of electric charges in and on objects caused by the electrical influence of a charged object close by but not in contact

Front 24

circuit

Back 24

any complete path along which electric charge can flow

Front 25

circuit breaker

Back 25

device in an electric circuit that breaks the circuit when the current gets high enough to risk causing a fire

Front 26

compound

Back 26

chemical substance made of atoms of two or more different elements combined in a fixed proportion

Front 27

compresion

Back 27

In soud, the region of increased pressure in a longitudinal wave.

Front 28

concave mirror

Back 28

mirror that curves inward like a "cave"

Front 29

condensation

Back 29

change of phase of a gas into a liquid

Front 30

conduction

Back 30

from one material to another when the two are in direct contact

Front 31

conductor

Back 31

material through which heat can be transferred;through which electric charge can flow

Front 32

constructive interference

Back 32

combination of waves so that two or more waves overlap to produce a resulting wave of increased amplitude

Front 33

convection

Back 33

means of heat transfer by movement of the heated substance itself, such as by currents in a fluid

Front 34

convex mirror

Back 34

mirror that curves outward

Front 35

crest

Back 35

part of a wave where the disturbance is highest at greatest

Front 36

critical mass

Back 36

minimum mass of fissionable material in a nuclear reactor or nuclear bomb that will sustain a chain reaction

Front 37

cyclotron

Back 37

particle accelerator

Front 38

de Broglie matter waves

Back 38

all particles have wave properties

Front 39

destructive interference

Back 39

combination of waves so that crest parts of one wave overlap trough parts of another, resulting in a wave of decreased amplitude

Front 40

deuterium

Back 40

isotope of hydrogen whose atom has a proton, a neutron, and an electron... has more mass

Front 41

diffraction

Back 41

bending of light that passes around an obstacle or through a norrow slit

Front 42

direct current (dc)

Back 42

Electric current whose flow of charge is always in one direction

Front 43

Doppler Effect

Back 43

change in frequency of a wave of sound or light due to the motion of the source or the receiver

Front 44

electric charge

Back 44

fundamental electrical property to which the mutual attractions or repulsions between electrons or protons is attributed

Front 45

electric current

Back 45

flow of electric charge that transports energy from one place to another

Front 46

electric field

Back 46

force field that fills the space around every electric charge or group of charges

Front 47

electric potential

Back 47

electric potential energy(joules)per unit of charge (in coulombs) at the location in an electric field.. messured in volts

Front 48

electric potential energy

Back 48

energy a charge has due to its location in an electric field

Front 49

electrical force

Back 49

force that one charge exerts on another

Front 50

electrical resistance

Back 50

resistance of a material to the flow of electric charge through it; measured in ohms

Front 51

electrode

Back 51

terminal through which electric current can pass

Front 52

electrodynamics

Back 52

study of moving electric charge

Front 53

em induction

Back 53

inducing a voltage in a conductor by changing the magnetic field near the conductor

Front 54

electromagnetic radiation

Back 54

transfer of frequenciesover which electromagnetic radiation can be propagated

Front 55

electromotive force (emf)

Back 55

any voltage that gives rise to an electric current

Front 56

electrostatics

Back 56

study of electric charges at rest

Front 57

element

Back 57

substance composed of atoms that all hae the same atomic number and, therefore, the same chemical properties

Front 58

elementary particles

Back 58

subatomic particles

Front 59

evaporation

Back 59

change of phase from liquid to gas that takes place at the surface of a liquid

Front 60

excitation

Back 60

process of boosting one or more electrons in an atom or molecule from a lower to a higher energy level

Front 61

Fahrenheit scale

Back 61

32 is the melt-freeze point of water, 212 is the boil-condense point of water

Front 62

freezing

Back 62

change in phase from liquid to solid; the opposite of melting

Front 63

frequency

Back 63

number of vibratios or the number of crests that passs a particular point per unit of time. It is measured in hertz

Front 64

fuse

Back 64

device in an electric circuit that breaks the circuit when the current gets high enough to risk cauing a fire

Front 65

galvanometer

Back 65

instrument used to detect electric current

Front 66

gamma ray

Back 66

high-frequency electromagnetic radiation emitted by atomic nuclei

Front 67

gas

Back 67

molecules fill whatever space is available to them, taking no definate shape

Front 68

generator

Back 68

machine that produces electric current, usually by rotating a coil within a stationary magnetic field

Front 69

grounding

Back 69

allowing charges to move freely along a connection from a conductor to the ground

Front 70

group

Back 70

elements in the same column of the periodic table

Front 71

half-life

Back 71

time required for half the atoms of a radioactive isotope of an element to decay

Front 72

heat of fusion

Back 72

amount of energy that must be added to a kilogram of a solid to melt it

Front 73

heat of vaporization

Back 73

amount of energy that must be added to a kilogram of liquid to vaporize it

Front 74

Hertz

Back 74

Si unit of frequency

Front 75

induction

Back 75

charging of an object without direct contact

Front 76

infrared

Back 76

em waves of frequencies lower than the red of visible light

Front 77

infrasonic

Back 77

sound frequencies below 20 hertz, the normal lower limit of human hearing

Front 78

parallel

Back 78

electric circuit that are connectred at two points

Front 79

insulator

Back 79

material that is a poot conductor of heat and that delays the transfer of heat. Also, it is the material that is a poor conductor of electricity

Front 80

ion

Back 80

atom (or ground of atoms bound together) with a net electric charge, which is due to the loss or gain of electrons

Front 81

ionization

Back 81

process of adding or removing electrons to or from the atomic nucleus

Front 82

isotopes

Back 82

atoms whose nuclei have the same number of protons buut different numbers of neutrons

Front 83

Kelvin Scale

Back 83

absolute zero is the temperature at which it is impossible to extract any more internal energy from a material.

Front 84

Kilowatt-hour

Back 84

amount of energy consumed in 1 hour at the rate of 1 kilowatt

Front 85

laser

Back 85

light with all waves of the same frequency, phase, and direction

Front 86

light

Back 86

visible part of em spectrum

Front 87

liquid

Back 87

phase of matter between the solid and gaseous phases in which the matter possesses a definite volume but no definite shape

Front 88

longitudinal wave

Back 88

wave in which the individual particles of a medium vibrate back and forth in the direction in which the wave travels

Front 89

magnet

Back 89

any object that has magnetic properties, that is the ablility to attract objects made of iron or other magnetic substances

Front 90

magnetic domain

Back 90

microscopic cluster of atoms with their magnetic fields aligned

Front 91

magnetic field

Back 91

region of magnetic influence around a magnetic pole or a moving charged particle

Front 92

magnetic monopole

Back 92

hypothetical particle having a single north or a single outh magnetic pole

Front 93

melting

Back 93

change in phase from solid to liquid

Front 94

microwaves

Back 94

electromagnetic waves with frequencies great than radio waves but less than infrared waves.

Front 95

mixture

Back 95

substances mixed together without combining chemically

Front 96

molecule

Back 96

two or more atoms of the same or different elements bonded to form a larger particle

Front 97

neutron

Back 97

electrically neutral particle that is one of the two kinds of nucleons that compose an atomic nucleus

Front 98

normal

Back 98

right angles to, or perpendicular to

Front 99

nuclear fission

Back 99

splitting of an atomic nucleus.

Front 100

nucleon

Back 100

a neutron or a proton

Front 101

nucleus

Back 101

positively charged center of an atom

Front 102

Ohm

Back 102

si unit of electrical resistance

Front 103

opaque

Back 103

materials that absorbe light without re-emission and do not allow light through them

Front 104

oscillation

Back 104

vibration

Front 105

parallel circuit

Back 105

two or more devices connected in such a way that the same voltage act across each one

Front 106

periodic table

Back 106

lists elements by atomic number and by electron arrangements, so that elements with similar chemical properties

Front 107

photoelectric effect

Back 107

ejection of electrons from certain metals when exposed to certain frequencies of light

Front 108

pitch

Back 108

highness or lowness of a tone related to the frequency of the tone

Front 109

Planck's constant (h)

Back 109

multiplied by the frequency of radiation gives the energy of a photon. h=6.6 x 10 to the -34 power joule per second

Front 110

plane mirror

Back 110

flat surfaced mirror

Front 111

polarization

Back 111

aligning of vibrations in tranverse wave

Front 112

potential difference

Back 112

voltage

Front 113

prism

Back 113

triangular solid of a transparent material such as glass that seperates incident light by refraction

Front 114

proton

Back 114

positively charged particle that is one of the two kinds of nucleons in the nucleus of an atom

Front 115

quantum

Back 115

photon

Front 116

quantum mechanics

Back 116

branch of physics concerned with the atomic microworld based on wave functions and probabilities

Front 117

radiation

Back 117

energy transmitted by em waves

Front 118

radioactive

Back 118

atom having an unstable nucleus that can spontaneously emit a particle and become the nucleus of another element

Front 119

radioactivity

Back 119

process of the atomic nucleus that results in the emission of energetic particles

Front 120

radiotherapy

Back 120

use of radiotherapy as a treatment to kill cancer cells.

Front 121

rarefaction

Back 121

region of reduced pressure in a longitudinal wave

Front 122

reflection

Back 122

return of light rays from a surface

Front 123

refraction

Back 123

bending of an oblique ray of light when it passes from one transparent medium to another

Front 124

resistor

Back 124

designed to resist the flow of charge

Front 125

Schrodinger's wave equation

Back 125

interprets the wave nature of material particles in terms of probability wave amplitudes

Front 126

semiconductor

Back 126

properties of a coductor or an insulator with conditions depending on radioactivity

Front 127

series circuit

Back 127

electric circuit with devices connected in such a way that the electric current through each of them is the same

Front 128

shock wave

Back 128

cone-shaped wave produced by an object moving at supersonic speed

Front 129

solid

Back 129

phase of matter characterized by definite volume and shape

Front 130

sound

Back 130

longitudinal wave of successive compressions and rarefactions

Front 131

sound barrier

Back 131

pile up of sound waves in front of an aircraft approaching or reaching the speed of sound

Front 132

standing wave

Back 132

stationary wave pattern formed in a medium when two sets of identical waves pass through the medium in opposite directions. the wave appears not to be traveling

Front 133

sublimation

Back 133

direct conversion of a substance from the solid to the vapor phase, or vice versa, without passng through the liquid phase

Front 134

superconductor

Back 134

perfect conductor with zero resistance to the flow of electric charge

Front 135

supersonic

Back 135

traveling faster than the speed of sound

Front 136

temperature

Back 136

measure of the average translational kinetic energy per molecule of a substance

Front 137

thermodynamics

Back 137

study of heat and its transformation to mechanical energy

Front 138

thermometer

Back 138

device used to measure temperature

Front 139

transformer

Back 139

device for increasing or decreasing voltage

Front 140

transmutation

Back 140

conversion of one element into an another through a loss or gain in the number of protons

Front 141

transparent

Back 141

materials that allow light to pass through them in straight lines

Front 142

transuranic element

Back 142

element with an atomic number above 92

Front 143

transverse wave

Back 143

wave with vibration at right angles to the direction that the wave is traveling

Front 144

tritium

Back 144

unstable, raioactive isotope of hydrogen whose atom has a prton, two neutrons and an electron

Front 145

trough

Back 145

wave where the wave is the lowest or the disturbance is greatest in the opposite direction from a crest

Front 146

ultrasonic

Back 146

term applied to sound frequencies above the normal upper limit of human hearing

Front 147

ultraviolet (UV)

Back 147

em waves of frequencies higher than those of violet light

Front 148

uncertainty principle

Back 148

it is not possible to measure exactly both the position and the momentum of a particle at the same time

Front 149

vibration

Back 149

oscillation

Front 150

visable light

Back 150

electromagnetic spectrum that the human eye can see

Front 151

volt(v)

Back 151

si unit of electric potential

Front 152

voltage source

Back 152

device, batter or generator, that provides a potential difference

Front 153

watt

Back 153

SI unit of power

Front 154

WAVE

Back 154

A disturbance hat repeats regularly in space "a wiggle in space and time"

Front 155

wave speed

Back 155

wave speed = wavelength x frequency

Front 156

wavelength

Back 156

distance between sucessive crest, troughs, or identical parts of a wave

Front 157

weak force

Back 157

force within a nucleus that allows for radioactivity

Front 158

strong force

Back 158

part of the nuclear force that holds the nucleus together

Front 159

white light

Back 159

combination of all colors

Front 160

X ray

Back 160

em radiation higher in frequency han ultraviolet

Front 161

electricity

Back 161

electrical phenomena

Front 162

em spectrum

Back 162

range of frequencies over which electromagnetic radiation can be propagated

Front 163

heat

Back 163

the energy that flows from one object to another by virtue of difference in temperature

Front 164

in series

Back 164

portions of an eletric circuit that are connected in a row sothat the current that goes through one must go through all of them

Front 165

magnetic pole

Back 165

one of the refions on a magnet that produces magnetic forces

Front 166

magnetosphere

Back 166

earths magnetic field

Front 167

natural frequency

Back 167

frequency at which an elastic object naturally tends to vibrate if it is distrubed and the disturbing force is removed

Front 168

node

Back 168

any part of a standing wave that remains stationary; a region of minimal or zero energy

Front 169

noise

Back 169

sound that corresponds to an irregular vibration of the eardrum

Front 170

nuclear force

Back 170

attractive force within a nucleus that hjolds neutrons and protons together

Front 171

nuclear fusion

Back 171

combining of nuclei of lght atoms

Front 172

photon

Back 172

quantum; paquet of energy

Front 173

radient energy

Back 173

any energy that is transmitted by radiation. occurs in the form of em waves

Front 174

radio waves

Back 174

em waves of the longest frequency