FIelds and their Consequences Flashcards
Coloumbs Law
The size of the force that acts between two point charges is proportional to the product of their charges and inversely proportional to the square of their separation. It is attractive for opposite charges and repulsive for like charges.
Dielectric
An insulating material placed between the two plates of a capacitor in order to increase the amount of charge it can store.
Electrical conductor
A material that contains free electrons that are able to move throughout the material and carry charge.
Cyclotron
A particle accelerator made up of two D shaped electrodes positioned opposite each other. The electric field changes direction each time a particle moves from one electrode to the other, causing the particle to accelerate
Electric field
A region surrounding a charged object which causes a force to be exerted on any charged object placed within the field.
Electric potential, V (at a point in a field)
the work done per unit charge on a positive
test charge in bringing it from infinity to that point in the field
Electric field strength, E (at a point in a field)
The force per unit positive charge exerted on a charged object placed at that point in the field.
Electromagnetic induction
When an emf is induced in a wire /conducting rod when it is moved relative to a magnetic field.
Equipotential
A surface of constant potential. No work is done by the field when an object moves along an equipotential.
Escape velocity
The minimum velocity required by an object to be able to escape a gravitational field of a mass when projected vertically from its surface.
Faraday’s law
The magnitude of the induced emf is equal to the rate of change of flux linkage through the circuit.
Force field
An area in which an object will experience a non-contact force.
Geostationary orbit
A satellite that orbits above the equator with a 24 hour period, so it will always remain above the same position on the Earth. They orbit approximately 36,000km above the surface of the Earth.
Gravitational field
A region surrounding a mass in which any other object with mass will experience an attractive force.
Gravitational potential
The work done per unit mass required to move a small test mass from infinity to that point.
Kepler’s third law
T^2 ∝ r^3
Lenz law
An induced current is always in a direction so as to oppose the change that caused it.
Magnetic field
A region surrounding a magnet or current-carrying wire that will
exert a force on any other magnet or current-carrying wire placed within it.
Magnetic flux density
The force per unit current per unit length on a current-carrying wire placed at 90º to the field lines. Sometimes also referred to as the magnetic field strength.
Motor effect
When a current-carrying wire is placed within a magnetic field (non-parallel to the field lines) and experiences a force perpendicular to both the wire and the field lines.
What is the Permittivity of free space
A measure of the ability of a vacuum to allow an electric field to pass through it.
Polarised
An atom/molecule becomes polarised when an external electric field causes the negative electron cloud to be shifted in the opposite direction to the positive nucleus – the
charges are pulled in opposite directions.
Relative permittivity
The ratio of charge stored in a capacitor with the dielectric to charge stored without the dielectric. Also sometimes referred to as the dielectric constant.
Or the permittivity of the substance/permittivity of free space
Synchronous orbit
An orbit in which the period of the orbit is equal to the rotational period of the object that it is orbiting
Uniform field
A field in which all of the field lines are parallel and equally spaced – field strength is equal in all areas of the field.