Particles and Waves Flashcards
Standard Model definition
A model used for classifying fundamental particles and their interactions
Fundamental particle
Fundamental particles are not composed of other particles
Composite particles
A particle that is made up of other particles, it is not a fundamental particle
Hadron
Composite particle, made up of quarks: baryons and mesons
Baryon
A type of hadron that consists of 3 quarks. (Eg proton or neutron)
They are stable particles
Meson
A type of hadron that consists of 2 quarks in a quark-antiquark lake
They are unstable and have a short lifetime
Coherent waves
Have a constant phase relationship
Lepton
A lepton is a subatomic fundamental particle, such as an electron/muon/tau, which does not take part i the strong (force) interaction.
They interact with the other 3 force bosons.
Fermion
Fermions are the building block of matter all atoms are made up of fermions
Strong (Nuclear) Force
The strong nuclear force is an attractive force between protons and that keeps the nucleus together.
Weak (Nuclear) Force
The weak nuclear force is responsible for radioactive decay - specifically alpha and beta but most notably beta decay which also provides evidence for the existence of neutrinos.
Electromagnetic Force
The electromagnetic force act between all charged particles and combines all electric and magnetic forces in the universe.
Gravitational Force
The gravitational force is the universal force of attraction that acts between masses and pulls them together.
It is the weakest of the 4 fundamental forces.
Irradiance
Is the power incident per unit area
Critical angle
Is the angle of incidence that produces an angle of refraction of 90 degrees
