Glossary Flashcards
Absolute uncertainty
The uncertainty of a measurement given as a fixed quantity
Absorption (fibre optics)
Where some of the energy of a fibre optic signal is absorbed by the material of the optical fibre
Acceleration
The rate of change of velocity
Accurate result
An accurate result is really close to the true answer
Alpha decay
A type of decay in which an unstable nucleus of an atom emits an alpha particle.
Alpha particle
A particle made up of two protons and two neutrons
Ammeter
A component used to measure the current flowing through a circuit
Amplitude
The maximum displacement of a wave, i.e. The distance from the undisturbed position to a crest or trough
Angle of incidence
The angle that incoming light makes with the normal of a boundary
Angle of refraction
The angle that refracted light makes with the normal of a boundary
Annihilation
The process by which a particle and its antiparticle meet and their mass gets converted to energy in the form of a pair of gamma ray photons
Anomalous result
A result that doesn’t fit in with the pattern of the other results in a set of data
Antimatter
The name given to all antiparticles
Anti neutrino
Antiparticle of a neutrino
Antineutron
Antiparticle of a neutron
Antinode
A point of maximum amplitude on a stationary wave
Antiparticle
A particle with the same rest mass and energy as its corresponding particle, but equal and opposite charge
Antiproton
The antiparticle of a proton
Atom
A particle made up of protons and neutrons in a central nucleus, and electrons orbiting the nucleus
Atomic number
The number of protons in an atom of an element
Average velocity
The change in displacement of an object divided by the time taken
Baryon
A type of hadron made up of three quarks. For example, protons and neutrons
Baryon number
The number of baryons in a particle
Beta-minus decay
A type of decay in which an unstable nucleus of an atom emits a beta-minus particle (electron) and an antineutrino
Beta-plus decay
A type of decay in which an unstable nucleus of an atom emits a beta-plus particle (positron) and a neutrino
Breaking stress
The lowest stress that’s big enough to break a material
Brittle
A brittle material doesn’t deform plastically, but snaps when the stress on it reaches a certain point
Brittle fracture
When a stress applied to a brittle material causes tiny cracks at the materials surface to get bigger until the material breaks completely
Categoric data
Data that can be sorted into categories
Absolute refractive index
The ratio between the speed of light in a vacuum and the speed of light in a material
